The Pittsburgh Penguins had a resurgence last season under General Manager Kyle Dubas and new head coach Dan Muse. Most expected the Penguins to miss the playoffs and get the number one overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Clearly, that did not happen as the Penguins made the playoffs and lost in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers.
GM Kyle Dubas has taken his fair share of criticism over the years, especially after trading for Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks. Karlsson looked like his old self under Dan Muse and was not a fan of playing former head coach Mike Sullivan. But when you have Sidney Crosby still averaging a point per game a season, Evgeni Malkin finding the fountain of youth, and Kris Letang anchoring the defense, the goal is to win.
Connor Hellebuyck Trade Talks Continue
The Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to prove everyone wrong last season, including GM Kyle Dubas. During the 2026 offseason, Dubas acquired Nick Robertson from the Toronto Maple Leafs and signed him to a two-year, $3.25 million-per-season deal. He also signed Andrei Kuzmenko and Trevor van Riemsdyk, and he acquired Hendrix Lapierre and Kaedan Korczak. So it is time to give Dubas his due.
Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff was on TSN Radio in Montreal and was asked about the job Kyle Dubas has done in Pittsburgh retooling the Penguins on the fly while still trying to win with Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Host: “What have you made of the Pittsburgh Penguins offseason, and everything Kyle Dubas had to say, as far as the legacy players, and trying to continue to build around them?”
Anthony Di Marco: “I mean, that’s kind of been the mandate, right, since he got to Pittsburgh. Just try and keep this thing going while retooling or rebuilding on the fly. And I want to give Kyle Dubas credit. I think that he learned from his time in Toronto. He’s been one of the more aggressive general managers in the NHL.
You take a flyer on Nick Robertson to come in. And I just think that he has done a brilliant job there of really trying to keep this thing competitive and honor the legacies, as you mentioned, of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, and I guess now, by extension, Erik Karlsson, but also trying to rebuild this thing on the fly.
I think they’ve done a good job, like reloading their goaltending position, but, pardon me, with Artur Silovs and the other young goaltender, whose name is escaping me. You bring in, like Rutger McGroarty for Brayden Yager last season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins had legit talks with the Stars, and would Elias Pettersson be a fit?
So I mean, for me, I think that he’s done as good of a job as he could possibly have imagined, given the position he was put in when he was hired three seasons ago.”
It is clear that under GM Kyle Dubas, the Pittsburgh Penguins are heading in the right direction once the legendary trio moves. Who knows, he might find a way to add a 40-scorer before the offseason is all said and done.
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