It's unclear what Nathan MacKinnon will do after his successful playing career, but he now has some experience playing behind the scenes in a draft.

The Colorado Avalanche Center can put that on his resume if he wants to take a general manager job someday.

On Thursday night, the captain of one of the four teams that will take part in National League All-Star Game activities negotiated the selection of Sidney Crosby with his first pick in the draft, which took place on the ice at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto .

MacKinnon had the third pick overall. He spoke about the Quinn brothers and Jack Hughes club, as well as the Auston Matthews club.

“I asked Quinn and Jack if they could let me have him, and in return they asked me not to touch Brock Boeser,” MacKinnon told lnh.com.

“We have good leadership now,” he added. I hope we can win because of this.”

However, he didn't reveal what he offered the Toronto Maple Leafs sharpshooter to ensure he got his hands on his mentor.

MacKinnon and Crosby are very good friends. The two star players are from Nova Scotia and train together in the off-season.

At 36 years old, the Penguins captain is once again having an outstanding season. He has hit the target 27 times so far in the 2023-24 season and provided 23 assists for 50 points in 46 games.

“He’s a very special player,” MacKinnon said. There is a lot of work behind the leadership he shows. He still has a lot of responsibility in Pittsburgh, and I don't need to emphasize how impressive it is to see that in his 19th season in the league.

For the All-Star Game, MacKinnon will rely on his Avalanche teammate Cale Makar as assistant captain. The defenseman was also excited to share the ice with Crosby over the weekend.

“'Sid' is dominant despite everything and that's exactly why we wanted him,” said Makar. He does everything so well. It is extremely difficult to defend against him. He can score, he makes plays. It’s impressive to see him do that…this late in his career.”