When Kyle Dubas went back on his word before being let go in Toronto and accepted a job in Pittsburgh after he told fans that wouldn't happen, I don't think anyone was prepared for what a disastrous season the Pens were steering towards.
As you'll recall, Dubas swung for the fences in the off-season, acquiring Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson in a 3-team trade involving San Jose and Montreal in an attempt to bolster the Pens' lineup for one last hurrah with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang in the fold. As it turns out, the better option at the time would have been to begin to part out the roster and trigger a top-to-bottom rebuild. Now, it appears as though Dubas may finally be steering the ship in that direction.
The Pens are currently 10 points out of a playoff spot with 23 games remaining in the season. Mathematically, there's still time, but a report from Darren Dreger and Chris Johnston on Tuesday seems to indicate that Dubas is closing in on a deal to part with a major piece of his roster. Per Dreger, the Pens will look to move Jake Guentzel by tomorrow evening, with the expected return being a 1st round pick, a young NHL player and multiple prospects.
Per Johnston, the Pens are not considering a sign-and-trade scenario and will deal Guentzel specifically as a rental player. As a result, Johnston says teams in the running for Guentzel will not attempt to have an extension worked out as a part of the deal either.
It's unfortunate that things didn't work out for Dubas as planned in year one of his contract in Pittsburgh, but I'm sure that he knew going in that a rebuild was eventually going to be a part of the plan in Pittsburgh. I just don't think he counted on it happening so soon.
