Grabbing low-hanging fruit for Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins is easy. However, if you look at his history as a general manager in the National Hockey League, he tends to make one big mistake in his first year in his new position.
The first came in Toronto when he signed John Tavares to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $11 million. Now, Tavares has done his part. However, this season has not been ideal for Tavares. Not to mention, the team did not win during his time there. Many expected Tavares and the Maple Leafs to have a Stanley Cup by now.
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The Maple Leafs have had one playoff series win since 2004, and it was because of John Tavares in 2023. Toronto had other chances, but the big boys did not do their part. In 2021, in the Canadian Playoff Bracket, Tavares got injured, and that was the best chance for the Leafs to make a deeper run, but we will never know what might have been.
However, despite his good stats of 400 points (175 goals and 225 assists), the Maple Leafs needed other areas or positions to fill, mainly between the pipes and on defense.
The Maple Leafs may have found their goalie in Joseph Woll, but they still need someone to back him up, whether that is Ilya Samsonov or someone else. Time will tell. The big issue is on defense. Toronto does not have a stud number-one defenseman.
Morgan Rielly is a good player and is playing on the top pair, but they need someone else to put them over the edge because that has been an area of weakness since Tavares arrived in Toronto. You build from the back out, and the Maple Leafs are so top-heavy that money could have been used to fill those needs instead.
It has come up for the Maple Leafs since Tavares got to Toronto, and it will be interesting to see how they proceed when his contract is up.
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After Kyle Dubas’s strange departure from Toronto, he went to Pittsburgh. The Penguins’ ownership group was still in the mindset of giving Sidney Crosby the best chance to win another Stanley Cup.
This is why Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang were extended in 2022 when the previous management was still there. Even though that management group knew a rebuild was necessary at that time.
However, with Dubas in charge, the Penguins traded for Erik Karlsson. He has been the significant reason the Penguins are struggling, but his point production is not what it was in San Jose, especially his power-play points. Pittsburgh has one of the worst power plays in the league.
But despite Karlsson’s history in San Jose playing alongside another top guy like Brent Burns before he was traded to Carolina, Pittsburgh made the trade anyway. However, most knew there was not enough puck to go around with Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Jake Guetnzel when they were all on the power play.
While Karlsson’s $11 million cap hit is reduced thanks to the Sharks retaining money, the Penguins did not need him. They had other areas to address. Depth scoring was one area. The trade for Reilly Smith has not worked out. Rickard Rakell is what he is now. Not to mention, the re-signing of Tristan Jarry and the money given to Ryan Graves were not the moves Pittsburgh needed to make.
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But getting Karlsson hurt the Penguins prospect pool, and Kyle Dubas had to trade Guentzel at the deadline. Maybe they can re-sign him, but that is a big IF when he gets to market. The money used for Karlsson could have been spent on Guentzel to keep him there, not on a long-term deal but on a mid-range agreement to quiet the Sidney Crosby rumours.
Again, the current Penguins ownership wanted another title, but it has not worked out. It also proves that Dubas did not need to get $11 million to keep the team relevant.
The Karlsson deal by Kyle Dubas will set the Penguins back further than the Tavares deal did in Toronto. Dubas made a tough decision on Guentzel; he probably did not want to make it all because of one move in the summer.
Only time will tell if his two costly $11 million mistakes were worth it. Right now, they are not.