Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Operations and general manager Kyle Dubas met with the media on Wednesday. Dubas updated his plans for heading into the March 8th NHL Trade Deadline.
According to reports, the Penguins could be heading for a fire sale, and almost everyone on the roster is available except the team’s core pieces. Those pieces include Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson.
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However, Dubas clarified those comments on Wednesday as the Penguins general manager continues to be patient with his team.
“Yeah, I didn’t see the exact verbiage or wording of it. I only had another GM mention it to me today or ask me about it clearly,” Kyle Dubas told the media. “Think we’ve received a lot of calls on a lot of our players, especially as our team has been in the spot that it’s at my view of it, Rob has been to I feel like I’d have respect to the group here and what they’ve accomplished. I’m trying to be as patient as possible and give the group the time, and I’ve outlined that to them to show that we can really make a push and make a run at it.”
Kyle Dubas has been trying to give his team the best possible chance to win against an aging squad from the start. He continues to show he has respect and patience with this group, or else he would have made changes already.
“I think if the group didn’t have the pedigree or the history that it has, I wouldn’t feel they’re owed that same latitude,” Dubas said. “I feel this group, in respecting them and what they’ve accomplished in the past… I think that’s the right and fair thing to do.”
And while nothing is off the table, Dubas clarified that the Penguins will most likely not be buyers at the deadline.
“Ultimately, at this point, I can’t see them moving future draft capital to bolster the team. But nothing is off the table,” Dubas continued.
Kyle Dubas Facing Similar Situation In Pittsburgh As He Did In Toronto
Entering the season, the Penguins faced an uphill climb in the Metro Division after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since Sidney Crosby was a rookie in the league. But that run has come with a cost.
We are seeing it in Chicago, Detroit, Washington, and Pittsburgh. Long-term playoff success has a price down the road when no replacements are in the pipeline.
This aging group does not have much left in the cupboard. And while Crosby, Letang, Malkin, and Karlsson need help, Dubas knows he has to get this team younger.
“We have to take stock of where we’re at and be realistic that one of the issues we have is we need to get younger,” Dubas said. “We have to find a way to continue to have those solid veteran guys but also continue to get younger.”
And that is the biggest issue with the Penguins right now. They are one of the oldest teams in the league and do not have the supporting cast to help the core of this group succeed, as TSN’s Director of Scouting Craig Button stated on SportsCenter with Jay Onrait.
“So when you look at the team, and for me, it’s very, very clear what the problem is with this team. They have too few players do it too much. And too many players do and far too little. In my view, Jay, they have four forwards, four defensemen and a goaltender most of the time being able to play.
I’m counting nine players. You dress 20 players for every game. That means you’re running short 11 guys. Jake Guentzel is one of those four, and he is out of the lineup. So it’s real simple. Malkin’s been good. Letang has been good. Karlsson has been good. Crosby has been good.
The bottom line is here for Kyle Dubas; how do you get 11 players in there to help this group? How do you get them? It’s not about an aging group. The age has nothing to do with the performance of those guys.
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The problem that those guys have is they don’t get any help Jay, they have no help. So get 11 More players, Kyle, that’s what the job is. If you want to see Sidney Crosby at all, when I say at all, I’m talking about the core, have another crack at the Stanley Cup. This group of players ain’t helping Sidney Crosby, Malkin or Letang.”
And it has been like this for over two seasons now. Too many bad contracts have been handed out to players like Rickard Rakell, Ryan Graves, and others who have not helped this team succeed.
The Penguins had a chance to rebuild when Letang and Malkin were free agents and decided not to. Now, they are paying the price for it.
The question remains: how long will Kyle Dubas’s patient last before he starts to sell off assets to get younger?