SDPN Sports: Chris Johnston on two tasks Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of money here and there’s a, there’s a really unique opportunity. I mean, what Kyle Dubas is going to try to do in Pittsburgh, he’s going to try and take whatever this window is left with, with (Sidney) Crosby, (Evgeny) Malkin, (Kris) Letang as key players in the team but what he’s really trying to do is shrink the next window.
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For when those guys are no longer performing at a level that can make Pittsburgh a special team and make sure it’s not this long bottoming out period. I mean, he’s, what he’s going, what he’s been tasked with there is a long-term job.
I mean, there’s the short-term aspect. He’s going to try to build the Penguins up into a team that can reach the playoffs again next year, that can maybe contend. But really his biggest job is establishing a long-term plan and pipeline of prospects and what have you, to have it so that they don’t go through a 10 year period where they’re just wandering around the desert. When you no longer have 87 and 71 in the lineup.
But I think that that is interesting. That’s the kind of challenge knowing Kyle a little bit, that’s got him excited, I’m sure, because otherwise it’s a tough job, right? I mean, I loved how he backed these guys. I thought he was very forceful, you know, saying he’s betting on Mike Sullivan and these players and with good right. Those players are all going to the Hall of Fame.
I’m not, I’m not here to chip away at them, but the question from the outside can be asked about what you know, what they have left. I mean, Sidney Crosby just had 90 plus point at age 35. He didn’t miss a game, like you hope he can replicate that next year, but just given what we know about timelines and aging, it’s certainly not a guarantee.
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That being said, you know, I just watched Joe Pavelski play pretty well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he’s a few years older than Sid, so it’s certainly not impossible.”