Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas is currently taking in the NHL Draft Combine. He does not have a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft at this time, but that could certainly change at some point. After the draft, his focus will immediately shift to NHL Free Agency. But his priority on July 1 will not be an external free agent. Rather, his priority will be tendering a new contract to franchise icon Sidney Crosby.
Crosby signed a 12-year, $104 million contract with the team back in 2012. On July 1, he is eligible to sign a new extension with the team. If he doesn't sign a new extension, then he can hit the open market in 2025. However, Dubas hopes the Penguins icon will stick around. There is confidence a deal can get done, but there is one main objective for the Pittsburgh general manager during these negotiations.
“The key for us is, because of the importance of it and how much Sid means to the organization and the city, we want to keep that as quiet as possible and go through it,” Dubas said Saturday, via NHL.com. “And then hopefully as we get through this summer, get a sense where everybody's at and then let everybody know at the right time.”
The importance of Sidney Crosby
Crosby is undoubtedly a future Hall of Famer. In fact, there is a fair argument to make that he is one of the greatest players of all time. The Penguins legend is 10th all-time in NHL history with 1596 points. His sixth goal of the 2024-25 season will be the 600th of his illustrious career. He will become the 21st player in league history to achieve that feat.
Crosby helped Pittsburgh out of a dark time, as well. He captained the team to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final in a losing effort. In 2009, they returned and defeated the Detroit Red Wings to avenge their loss the previous year. The Cole Harbour native went on to lead Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. The Penguins were the first team to achieve that feat since the Red Wings of the late 1990s.
The 36-year-old has not lost his touch with age, either. This past season saw Crosby score 42 goals and 94 points. He helped Pittsburgh make a run at the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite a poor start to the year. However, they fell short and missed the postseason for a second consecutive season.
Sidney Crosby has been a fixture with Pittsburgh since his debut. He brought unparalleled success during his prime, and continues to play an important role with the franchise. It's certainly understandable why Dubas wants to keep the future Hall of Famer in Black and Yellow moving forward.
How Kyle Dubas wants to build
That said, the Penguins general manager understands that changes are necessary. Last summer, Dubas tried to put experienced players around Crosby and the rest of the core. However, things did not go as planned. Players like Erik Karlsson played well enough. But others certainly left something to be desired on the ice.
This summer, Dubas recognizes that experienced voices aren't what the Penguins need. So, he will look at bring in younger talent who can contribute sometime soon. The Pittsburgh general manager said he felt the team needed an injection of youth “urgently.”
“If we can do that, while those players are still playing, that standard [core of] Sid, ‘Geno (Evgeni Malkin),' Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust set, that just helps young players come in and get up to speed quicker,” Dubas said, via NHL.com.
Of course, the Penguins want to contend for the playoffs. A full on rebuild is out of the question for Kyle Dubas. His objective is to find younger player without sacrificing short-term roster quality. “We're trying to strike that balance of not just focusing just on draft capital or just on … younger players, but on trying to find that mix in everything we go through,” he said, via NHL.com.
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