The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2023-24 NHL season hoping to contend for the Stanley Cup. However, that is not on the cards this year. General manager Kyle Dubas has watched his team fall out of playoff contention. And at the NHL Trade Deadline, he made the tough decision to sell. Among the players to move teams was star winger Jake Guentzel.
Dubas received some backlash for the trade of Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes. Pittsburgh received a package of picks and prospects. However, they did not receive any of Carolina's top prospects. Furthermore, there is a non-zero chance that Pittsburgh won't receive a first-round pick. This isn't mentioning the backlash for simply moving the Nebraska native in the first place.
To his credit, Dubas addressed this backlash when speaking with the media recently. “You're trying to thread that needle, and when there are players who have that success in that marketplace anything you do that isn't seen as doing everything for them, it can be seen as a slight,” he said, via NHL.com. “I knew that coming in and that's part of the role.”
Kyle Dubas wants to maintain balance for Penguins
Kyle Dubas came into his Penguins tenure wanting to win. As mentioned, that hasn't worked out. Now, the team has to do what some would argue they should have done years ago. Pittsburgh has to get younger all while trying to keep themselves from truly bottoming out in the standings.
“That is what anchors our decision-making, how can we be competitive now but also be ensuring that we aren't just layering quick fix on top of quick fix and then that leaves the Penguins in bad shape for the long run,” said Dubas, via NHL.com.
The Jake Guentzel trade allowed the Penguins to get younger. They picked up three forward prospects in the deal with the Hurricanes. One of those prospects had skated in a couple of NHL games prior to the trade. Whether these prospects make an impact for Pittsburgh remains to be seen. But for Dubas, the return accomplished his goal.
“There are going to be hard decisions with some of this stuff that won't fit what the public and local groups or even people throughout the hockey would think is the best way to treat all those people who had success with the team. But you have to always anchor it with what's right for the long term of the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Dubas said, via NHL.com.
Penguins need to keep Sidney Crosby, aging core in mind
Despite the desire to get younger, the Penguins aren't necessarily ready to rebuild. Pittsburgh likely can't enter a rebuild as of now given their commitments to their core. Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin are all in the back end of their careers. To do right by them, Pittsburgh must try to remain competitive.
This could change at some point. Crosby is eligible for a contract extension on July 1. It's rather unlikely, but the future Hall of Famer could be had in a trade if he isn't on board with Pittsburgh's direction. Perhaps Crosby is in favor of a rebuild, and is willing to play a mentor role to remain with the Penguins.
In any event, Kyle Dubas is currently not committing to either side of the coin. “It's not the binary, full-on contending or full-on rebuilding,” he said, via NHL.com. “It's something different, uncommon and there's not a crystal-clear view of how it is supposed to go timeline-wise or transaction-wise.”
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