Don't look now, but Kyle Dubas may have pivoted AGAIN and lost another GM job
The spider keeps spinning its web for Kyle Dubas as it is now being reported that he might be turning down the general manager's position in Pittsburgh. Months before he was let go by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Penguins were preparing to bid for his services as the new ownership group was enamoured with analytics and how Dubas was able to seemingly build a formidable group around his core players in Toronto, changing the peripheral pieces surrounding them year-over-year.
After being fired, Dubas mentioned how it was Toronto or nothing and that he wouldn't be popping up in the news as a new hire for another team so soon. However, earlier yesterday, it was reported that he was going to be named the new general manager for the Penguins, but now those reports are being refuted.
Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff joined the Fan Drive Home to discuss the latest on the rumours:
"... I did see a report in the last half hour from Mark Madden from 105.9 the X in Pittsburgh, a pretty well connected guy in the Pittsburgh scene, who is reporting that Kyle Dubas is closing in on a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. That kind of goes against just about every single thing that I've heard. I seem to have some indication and not obviously to a point where I feel comfortable in reporting it but there's been lots of smoke in the last 24 hours that Kyle Dubas has in fact turned down the Pittsburgh Penguins... it just seems that there's an indication that the Penguins and Fenway Sports Group have re-engaged with some other people that they were previously interviewing which would lend to speculation that Kyle Dubas has turned them down. But again nothing that I'm comfortable sharing in an official way."
After giving it some thought they likened the decision to Dubas also not wanting to leave Toronto high and dry so soon but also because maybe Pittsburgh isn't as attractive as people think they are. Seravalli gives an honest reflection on what he thinks is going to happen in Pittsburgh:
"Maybe 2 more years that you have a chance to win and even then you're going to have to move heaven and earth in order to make it happen and then you begin the tear-down process that's going to be 5-7-8 years+, so you're looking at a 10-year span of time where the Penguins aren't gonna be a very competitive team. They're gonna be the Blackhawks. Are you ready to sign up for that?"
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are future hall of famers and are still producing elite numbers. However Crosby (soon-to-be 36) still has 2 more years left at a cap hit of $8.7 million, Malkin (soon-to-be 37) still has 3 more years left at a cap hit of $6.1 million, and Letang (37) has 5 years left at a cap hit of $6.1 million as well. The Penguins don't have much depth around them outside of Jake Guentzel and Rickard Rakell, they have no prospects churning in the pipeline, and their draft cupboard is a little barren but they still have their first round picks.
The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in the Crosby-Malkin-Letang era that spanned 17 seasons. They were hoping to hire Dubas and that his analytical mind would be able to use their 20+ million in cap space to find the right pieces to the puzzle with their window closing very soon. They lack defense, goaltending, secondary scoring, and everything in between.
Ottawa has always been an enticing spot for Dubas so maybe turning down the Penguins has something to do with him waiting out the situation in Ottawa. However, for the time being, nothing has been finalized and it seems like the Penguins boat has sailed as they have begun re-interviewing previous candidates.
