After setting off the fireworks to start the offseason, the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a front office move. Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas now will be the President of Hockey Operations. This is a great hire for Pittsburgh and now the real work gets done.
Welcome to Pittsburgh, Kyle Dubas!
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 1, 2023
Kyle Dubas Hired as Pens’ President of Hockey Ops
After parting ways with the Toronto Maple Leafs, finding work was not going to be an issue. After the Penguins parted ways with their entire front office, a new injection of blood was in need. Pittsburgh already has their coach in place and the core locked up for the foreseeable future. However, there is plenty of work to be done and the time to win is right now.
Dubas Has Work To Do
Ron Hextall got the job done making sure to extend Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. The core is together until the bitter end. However, Hextall made a few questionable moves that hindered their cap situation. It did more harm than good. Not to mention the trades that did not work out (Jeff Petry and the John Marino trade). But with this team ready to win now while the window is open, it is up to Dubas to make it happen.
Dubas comes in with much experience. He spent nine years in Toronto with many years of manager experience. He was able to build successful team’s that were among the best in the regular season. However, the result of that was only one playoff series win. Not every move was poor in Toronto, but one playoff series win will be criticized heavily. Dubas gets a fresh start with a new team in a new city. It is a great move for him and for the Penguins as they go on their quest for the Stanley Cup. Dubas has a large chunk of cap space to work with, but also key free agents to lock up as well.
A new general manager should be coming soon, but he’ll surely get help from Dubas in making moves.
Main Photo: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
