After the players spoke to the media it was Kyle Dubas’ turn yestereday to opine on where he sees the Penguins heading into next season and beyond. Here’s what he had to say:
On where things currently are:
Maybe we had less points than we had last year, but I feel like we're slightly better positioned as we move ahead because of the younger players here. We have our own younger players that have come up, performed well, and I'm more optimistic going into next year than I was organizationally. The results are going to be what they're going to be, but I feel we're closer to where we want to get back to now than last year.
I don’t disagree with the sentiment. He has been collecting futures at a good clip and some of those futures have already started to accumulate NHL games. The most noticeable addition to this point has been Ville Koivunen. Part of the reason Dubas targeted Rutger McGroarty was that he perceived him to be more NHL ready. McGroarty was thrown into professional life at the beginning of this season and took some time to get adjusted. I think he got some traction and will likely continue to play in the NHL to start the 2025-26 season.
He was asked to compare the Penguins to the Capitals who went through a similar task of trying to recharge the team on the fly
“We're trying to rapidly get to that point. The two guys that came up and showed the most promise at the end were guys that one wasn't here 10 months ago, the other wasn't here 15 months ago. So, we're trying to use our assets to get us there and push us there,” Dubas said. “That's where we lack. So, I think that's what we can learn.
“The other part is they went into the mass acquiring assets mode, and they used the assets to add players that they thought complemented. They had to do one thing, we have to do two, which is fill that lack of the young 22, 23, 24, 25-year-old NHL player and also continue to build out or assets to use them to acquire and trade.”
That is pretty much saying they are trying to do what the Capitals did. Which is fine, as long as Sidney Crosby holds up
On goaltending:
The message given to Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic is that “they’re going to be competing for their spots in camp,” said Dubas, who noted that the overall performance flat-out has to be better.
“We also conceded a lot defensively in terms of what was expected to be given up. But we also allowed more than expected, so that's a really poor combination. Both need to be rectified,” he said.
“They are still in competition. Sergei is leading Wheeling in the playoffs and Joel will start with (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) on Wednesday against Lehigh Valley,” Dubas said. “Those are two massive developmental opportunities for the two of them, and they’re very important development opportunities for us to continue to watch.”
There really isn’t much that needs to be said about Jarry. Dubas was clearly pissed at his quality of play to send him to the minors. Burying him at the end of the year press conference doesn’t serve him or Jarry. I don’t think Dubas is particularly excited about running Jarry back, but that was a real consequence of giving Jarry the deal he gave him. Now you’re kinda stuck, unless the younger guys find their way up. I think Dubas will give Blomqvist and Murashov a good look in training camp. I only think he will start them on the big roster if he is convinced they will be there for the long haul. Otherwise, the team will be running it back.
On the defense:
Defense group is an area of major concern at NHL level. … area of major for focus us.
“That said, you can't just wish that all of them are going to improve and all move up into 1-2-3, the left side of the defense,” Dubas said. “So, that's an area I think, externally, that we have to (improve). So, we’ll be on the lookout for that as we go through here.”
The left side of the defense hasn’t been great. Even Marcus Pettersson wasn’t looking quite like himself before the team traded him. The left side included Matt Grzcelyk and Ryan Graves, two of Dubas’ additions to the roster. I think it is good he is self-aware of this issue and will be looking towards rectifying this problem.
There were some shots fired at Erik Karlsson and I think Dubas was right to be direct about it.
Erik, I think is, and will forever be, a polarizing figure. I don't know his exact comments that he made. My view would be that we expect him to be one of the people that pulls us from where we're at and into contention. And so, I would, I had a long meeting with Erik on Friday. My push to him would be that his actions have to match his ambitions. That's in consistency, preparation, training like every other player on the team. I think he's shown throughout the year that he has another level to him, at times playing for us, certainly playing for Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off. He was a player that you would watch and say, 'This guy can help any team, not only contend but probably win.' It's emblematic of the rest of the group as well. There were moments of great play with too many inconsistent. We have to push him to get there. That's the expectation that's dictated by his talent level and the impact he can make. It's a joint venture. So, yes, some of it is on the team. Part of it is on Erik. We have to find our way through."
He didn’t pull any punches and try to put some lipstick on a pig. Karlsson has been… fine. The trade made complete sense and still does. There’s also clearly room for improvement like Dubas stated. Karlsson was one of the top rated skaters, if not the top rated skater, during the round robin of the Four Nations tournament earlier this year. I know there are some who want to see Karlsson traded away, but I don’t think that is matching up with what Dubas is trying to do with the big picture. He isn’t looking to tank. When you take Erik Karlsson away from the right side of the defense of this team and then look at how Letang played this past season, things get dicey real quick. I think Karlsson will be on the roster to start the year next year and if that is the plan, calling him out directly like this seems like an open, honest, and fair thing to do.
On Rakell and Rust
“I go back to the thing about how everybody wants to stay. My view of it is that both on and off the ice they are [valuable]. As good of seasons as they had production-wise – they were at their best – but in terms of what they contributed defensively, they were both excellent for us the whole year. Their competitiveness. Especially in Rusty’s case. He’s been here his whole career. His daily commitment to be an elite Pittsburgh Penguin and setting the example. He also bridges the gap. One of the things we see here with the young guys, there is such a reverence for Sid, who’s earned that reverence. So Rusty, he sets the example that guys will always look to. And if you start to lose too many of those players, then you can get yourself into a bit of a quandary fast. Both have set great examples. Both of them are excellent players and people and members of the community. All of that said, we value both of them very highly. But if there are moves that are going to make our team significantly better in the short and long run, we’ll look at anything with anyone. That’s just where we’re at.”
To me that reads like the Penguins two best wingers are going to be with the team for the foreseeable future unless someone bowls Dubas over with an offer. Both players had great seasons and set career highs in goals. Both players are in their thirties so there is no guarantee of future play at this caliber. The ball is in other team’s court if they seriously want to target one of these wingers, they can, but they need to be ready to pay the price, otherwise they will continue to have 412 area codes.
Up-and-coming prospects
"When it comes to other younger guys, I think it's hard to predict what guys will break camp. But I think the guys we expect to make a push are obviously, Jack St. Ivany finished the year how he started this year. He had an ill-timed injury at the end when he probably could have come up. We would expect Jack to push for sure. Owen Pickering, he's got to have a real strong playoff here for Wilkes-Barre and he's got to have a great summer. We can't have him same as we had him go down, settling into a 12-13 minute a night role. He needs to come in and push his way into 17-18-19-20 minutes and earn that. And then Harrison Brunicke's down there again playing very well. That's on the back end. It'll be wide open for the guys, otherwise we probably build up the depth and address the position in general. Up front, I think mostly everybody, because of the injury situation we had, everybody that had a chance will be the same people again in camp. But I would add Tristan Broz to that, as well. He had a really strong start to the year but had a really tough case of mono. We could have probably brought him up last week but we just didn't think that those types of games should be his first recalls into the NHL, notably the game on Thursday night, playing a team that's dressing 14 forwards and four (defensemen) — best to have him stay down in Wilkes and come up next year where we can guarantee him a legitimate opportunity.”
I think what Dubas is saying about Pickering is the smart thing to do. If he’s going to get called up he needs to be able to handle the 17-20 minutes a game. Otherwise he should be getting his 20+ minutes a game in WB/S. After Brunicke’s camp last year he is going to be at the forefront of camp again in the fall. He certainly has a solid opportunity to make some noise again. Tristan Broz being mentioned by name is good for him. The door is open for players like him to make their mark.
Will Sullivan be back next year?
"I haven't had any postseason meetings yet with Sully, just with the way the season ended (and) with it being a holiday. So, I'll meet with Sully tomorrow. Sully is under contract. I think he was very clear with his intentions last week and what he's expressed in our conversations. So, I'll meet with Mike tomorrow and sort through everything. I think with a coach like Sully, he's an elite-level coach as he's shown through his time here and as well as for Team USA. There's always the point that very few coaches who are in that realm often want to see a team through this, but he's been very open about this is what he wants to do. So, we'll just continue to reaffirm that and as long as he's on that side of it, then we’ll roll with that."
Mike Sullivan is going to coach the Penguins if he wants to coach the Penguins. It is really as simple as that until something significantly changes. I certainly have my issues with certain things Sullivan does, but I also think a coaching change given where the team is at the current moment is pointless. They aren’t making a full push to the playoffs and they aren’t trying to. Save the coaching change, if there is going to be one, to when the team is authentically making their return to prominence. For now, it makes sense to me to just continue the working relationship Dubas has forged with Sullivan and more importantly the relationships in place with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
Overall, I think the Penguins are going to have a similar looking season in 2025-26. They are going to continue to try and give looks to younger players who earn their opportunities while rotating younger veteran players to see what sticks. While the approach may be similar the results could change based on things like goaltending and special teams. They might find themselves in a wild card hunt despite not going all out to try and make a run like that. That’s what you get with the way the NHL standings work.
I think this is a retool and not a rebuild. I think if there are trades to be had that makes sense for the long term they will be made. The long term is going to be the primary focus. That said, if there are short term moves that will help the current roster they will not be ignored. They just won’t be rentals and things of that nature.
This should make for an interesting offseason.
Thanks for reading!
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