[Friedman] Pittsburgh hires Kyle Dubas as President of Hockey Operations

[HockeyVirus]

Great on Dubas.

However the saltiness is based on Dubas failing as GM of the Leafs - not him working for Pittsburgh. Any GM in the league could have the same results Dubas had with the Leafs. He took a first round exit team and... lost in the first round until he traded 2 1st round picks for a second round loss.

He didn't fail people are just morons. They can't see that Dubas has the stuff to build dynasties. The Leafs should have given him the keys to the franchise and instead it took 5 seconds for another org to recognize his ability and do it.

Literally laughing at Leaf fans saying he would never work in the NHL again and stuff after he was fired. Just absolutely out to lunch

 

[LevelingSolo]

Not the GM though?

Odd

 

[3ladesof5teel]

If you want a more realistic take, Malkin and Letang will each miss like 35+ games and be mostly ineffective even when healthy. Crosby will maybe miss time as well and continue to slide down the hierarchy of NHL forwards in the present day. Pens will miss the postseason once again. And Matthews will have already signed his 8 year/Eleventy Gazillion dollars extension in Toronto by then. Dubas and whatever GM will be fired in 3 years or so when somebody needs to take the fall for the team's obvious and natural decline.

People said that last season about Geno and Letang as well coming back from prior injuries and Covid shortened seasons. Not exactly a the best times for offseason conditioning. Once they got that there were no issues last season.

Predicting injuries is like picking lotto numbers, can happen to anyone any game.

Geno and Letang were both very effective last season. And Crosby/Malkin down the middle while coming to the end of their careers are still one of the better 1/2 punches in the NHL

 

[Canucks LB]

I’d say it worked out pretty well for him. Gets out of that mess in a Toronto, is in a higher power of authority, and doesn’t have to work in a fishbowl.

I did have a few internal laughs, reading some of the comments about how he should enjoy the unemployment line, and how he’s gonna be working at McDonald’s now.

Literally, every single organization in the league would love to have dubas.

Even Toronto, before he came back with a pretty significant financial package, and ego got in the way for both sides

 

[Divine]

I would say the core 4 have done the same impressive thing in Toronto. They hold onto their jobs there when they have done absolutely nothing in 7 years.

Isn't that on Dubas also - or do you expect the players to trade themselves?

I don't get how that is the players fault... we're arguing the exact same thing but you think you're taking a shot somehow.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Just a friendly reminder, Jim Benning is available!

 

[TheBeastCoast]

He didn't fail people are just morons. They can't see that Dubas has the stuff to build dynasties. The Leafs should have given him the keys to the franchise and instead it took 5 seconds for another org to recognize his ability and do it.

Literally laughing at Leaf fans saying he would never work in the NHL again and stuff after he was fired. Just absolutely out to lunch

Didn't you want him fired this season after he traded Curtis Douglas?

 

[Canucks LB]

Wouldn't he just....not come back to Toronto then? I think you are probably reading to much into this lol he decided he wanted to come back to Toronto for a lot more money, Toronto said nope and he quickly shifted gears elsewhere.

True, but again, really depends on what he went back with

 

[rt]

Not the GM though?

Odd

He’s a man of his word. Haha.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I'm honestly interested to see how Dubas does in a comparatively low-pressure environment, which, although Pittsburgh isn't as much so as a place like Raleigh or South Florida, is a relative cakewalk compared to the Leafs fandom and press.

 

[Rob Brown]

I did have a few internal laughs, reading some of the comments about how he should enjoy the unemployment line, and how he’s gonna be working at McDonald’s now.

Literally, every single organization in the league would love to have dubas.

Even Toronto, before he came back with a pretty significant financial package, and ego got in the way for both sides

I agree that every organization would want him, which just makes it extra funny that he was universally hated and ripped on by other fanbases here. He's going to end up being universally respected here, same as Kessel when he left Toronto.

 

[Kranix]

Not the GM though?

Odd

He'll hire a bald puppet like Alvin or Kent Hughes

 

[Divine]

He didn't fail people are just morons. They can't see that Dubas has the stuff to build dynasties. The Leafs should have given him the keys to the franchise and instead it took 5 seconds for another org to recognize his ability and do it.

Literally laughing at Leaf fans saying he would never work in the NHL again and stuff after he was fired. Just absolutely out to lunch

Look, you may be won over by his vocabulary but I'm not.

 

[Turin]

LMAO. Pens are so screwed.

hey Fenway group

Give him 55 years and see if he can match the Leafs futility

 

[PromisedLand]

What have most presidents done? What has Shanahan done to be POHO, be a good player?

Shanny played hockey and had plenty of executive experience. One simple google search on Wiki tells you how Shanahan was more than capable than dubas is now

 

[nucks88]

Dubas picks Craig Janney as GM as a salute to Shanahan

LOL...I forgot about that....

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I’d say it worked out pretty well for him. Gets out of that mess in a Toronto, is in a higher power of authority, and doesn’t have to work in a fishbowl.

Right for the super bright future of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Didn't you want him fired this season after he traded Curtis Douglas?

Ah yes, my favourite part of HF. Spend literally years arguing with people as a clearly pro Dubas person, and yet people will find a few emotional posts on a random day and that is all that matters.

 

[Divine]

As a Pens fan if the options are Ron Hextall, Brad Treliving, or Kyle Dubas, Dubas is by far the best options. The playoffs can be a crapshoot but 221-109-42 record as a GM speaks for itself. Bitter Leafs fans are funny though

Yeah, but he inherited a winning team.

It's like going to a team with a young Crosby and Malkin and having a winning record and no playoff success - is that impressive?

 

[Canadienna]

Toronto or nowhere. You won't see him popping up elsewhere

Not the kind of guy I'd want to work with. I mean using his family's woes in public to sneakily ask for more money behind the scenes was bad enough but also now pretending it's only one place or bust during negotiation only to backtrack in literal days.

Hope he crashes and burns in Pittsburgh. Sorry Crosby.

 

[3ladesof5teel]

He didn't fail people are just morons. They can't see that Dubas has the stuff to build dynasties. The Leafs should have given him the keys to the franchise and instead it took 5 seconds for another org to recognize his ability and do it.

Literally laughing at Leaf fans saying he would never work in the NHL again and stuff after he was fired. Just absolutely out to lunch

Still alot to play out but I think it says something that Pittsburgh had their interviews go on for weeks and suddenly Dubas becomes available and puts all the interviews on halt while Dubas jumps to the top of the list.

He is one of the better up and coming hockey executives in the league. I think its a really solid move, we will see

 

[North Cole]

Most President's have won, either as players or GM's.

Winning as a player matters also - because it shows you know what it takes to win, in the locker room culture, etc.

What does winning as a player have to do with being a POHO? They aren't anywhere near the locker room, it's not a coaching role. If Dubas shouldn't be a president because he never won as a GM, then Shanny should never have been hired as a POHO and certainly shouldn't be one after 7-8 years of failures, most of which are simultaneous to your derision of Dubas.

In an earlier post you say that Dubas has shown he can get high up without any success, which also ironically true of Shanny getting into a high position with the league for basically no reason other than being a future HOFer.

 

[Canucks LB]

He’s a man of his word. Haha.

You could just hear the collective sigh by the media.

He got promoted, there goes that storyline haha

 

[JianYang]

Suddenly, Dubas is an elite manager on the hf mains!

Seriously though, he will finally get respect now that he isn't associated with the Leafs. He's a top manager in the league if not the best.

We are not in the day to day of operations to know with certainty who is good or not, but what we do know is that the leafs had almost zero results in seven years with this particular core, for which dubas was on board in some capacity.

We also could deduce from the fact that he got rehired so quick and also promoted, that he is highly though of in at least some hockey circles, so the thought may be in those circles that leaf management issues remain systemic with or without dubas.

 

[Telos]

Good, now hopefully he builds a team that can knock out the Leafs. We need maximum entertainment value out of this.