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

[Guttersniped]

if they hire Eric Tulsky as the GM now this will be quite a journey from Burke/Hextall.

They will make a hell of a team if that happens (sadly).

 

[Malkinstheman]

Being fired tends to change your thinking and your plan. Anyone calling him a fraud is a loser quite frankly. Not like he made false promises and then sabotaged the team.

 

[AvroArrow]

Is Kyle Dubas the greatest president to never win anything ?

 

[Icarium]

very well, do you want to do extensive research based on journals and press release and provide any insight?

My "insight" is that it's all little more than guesswork, it's hard to say if Shanahan is any good at his job or not. Especially after learning about the tension between him and Dubas. If one likes Shanahan, they will credit him for the Leafs good moves and Dubas for the bad moves. If one likes Dubas more, they will do the opposite.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

The saltiness you bring to every leafs related thread is hilarious

Dubas played it about as bad as you could, he used his family as leverage thinking he'd get 7M a year here and it back fired. 100% confirmed now that it was not a family decision as he claimed it was, he claimed he wouldn't go anywhere else even if he didn't come back (lol)

That's not how leveraging works. If you're trying to get the most money out of a potential employer, you don't tell them they are your only/preferred choice.

 

[DS7]

Smart guy.

He took a team who lost in the first round 3 consecutive years before he was GM and traded 3 1st round picks only to lose in the first round 7 consecutive years. He then doubled down and traded another 2 1st round picks in his final year for a second round exit.

He's never proven any success at the NHL level - and now never has to because he's not the GM.

There's very few people who can obtain a high level position with zero results, Dubas seems to be one of them.

The Leafs averaged 106 points under him while their season record before was 105. That's pretty consistent success.

I can't speak for the playoffs obviously. That's the core he chose to die on the hill for, but how he maneuvered the flat cap around them (because he signed those deals pre-covid) was still impressive.

Even if the core four is overpaid at least they aren't boat anchors like OEL.

Coming at this from a team that's had generationally bad GMing during the same window under Benning. It's not as bad as it seems. I think Dubas can find success elsewhere.

 

[IceManCat]

Very surprised he chose to go there given that is a team heading for a rebuild or maybe that was why he was intrigued by it.

Either way, congrats Pens fans y'all are in good hands.

I still remember a time when a person had to accomplish something to be considered the best

 

[SI90]

So they don’t have to rush,since Dubas can do draft/free agent signing as well,or you think theyll get a GM soon?

It’s all up to Dubas. He doesn’t have to hire a GM if he wants to wear that hat. As president though he is the ultimate decision maker.

 

[AvroArrow]

That's not how leveraging works. If you're trying to get the most money out of a potential employer, you don't tell them they are your only/preferred choice.

In this situation he had no choice, he can't openly say anything because that would be tampering; he was still under contract. But everyone in the hockey world knew Pittsburgh was going hard for him and landed him. He said he might not come back, it's a family decision etc etc and then demanded more money, knowing he had an offer from Pittsburgh available.

 

[Hierso]

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

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Dubas. The trades are extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical hockey most of the trades will go over a typical posters head.

 

[Divine]

Pittsburgh replaces former Leafs GM Burke with former Leafs GM Dubas for POHO

Let's hope it works out better this time.

 

[LevelingSolo]

He's higher than the GM. He took a promotion in Pittsburgh

Fair, but would have thought he'd have both jobs

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Fair, but would have thought he'd have both jobs

Nah, there's still hope for Chiarelli.

 

[Divine]

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Dubas. The trades are extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical hockey most of the trades will go over a typical posters head.

Of course, definitely a much higher IQ than the Harvard law graduate they just fired to replace with Dubas.

 

[MXD]

He may be better suited to building all aspects of the organization then being strictly the GM.

Anyways, good luck Kyle and Pens fans

I'm absolutely not disagreeing with you here. He wasn't even an awful GM.

But boy, if it was early for Gorton...

 

[LeafsandSharksfan]

Shanahan next time he sees Dubas as a fellow president:

 

[francis246]

Fair, but would have thought he'd have both jobs

He essentially does, he makes the final call. Just now, he'll have someone under him doing the negotiations and executing his vision. He also can continue to do what he excels at which is building a diverse hockey operation with good / strong divisions.

 

[nhlfan9191]

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?

Don’t ever compare those guys in Toronto to a young Crosby and Malkin. Lol

 

[K Fleur]

This is a stain on Sids legacy.

But the real question is: how does this affect Kravtsov’s legacy?

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

It's still a bit slimy on his part. Claim 'Toronto or no where' to appeal to the fans, players, and ownership, before asking for more money and doing the exact opposite of what he said days prior.

Don't think it's even a little bit slimy. Had he gone elsewhere while still negotiating with Toronto or if they wouldn't have given him what he wanted, you'd have a point. But they denied him and took that option off the table, saying the reason was that he didn't want it enough!!

After Toronto kind of trashed him on the way out by outlining in unnecessary detail the process in order to make him look bad, he also took the high road and only said nice things. If there is slime, it's on the Maple Leaf organization.

 

[Divine]

Don’t ever compare those guys in Toronto to a young Crosby and Malkin. Lol

Having a winning record with young stars is not on the GM.

Most GM's have winning records when they join a team that just finished rebuilding.

 

[Rob Brown]

Don't think it's even a little bit slimy. Had he gone elsewhere while still negotiating with Toronto or if they wouldn't have given him what he wanted, you'd have a point. But they denied him and took that option off the table, saying the reason was that he didn't want it enough!!

After Toronto kind of trashed him on the way out by outlining in unnecessary detail the process in order to make him look bad, he also took the high road and only said nice things. If there is slime, it's on the Maple Leaf organization.

Agree to disagree. Saying it's Toronto or nothing would imply that if it didn't work here he wouldn't go sign elsewhere right after, which is what he did.

 

[WarriorofTime]

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

A team desperately holding onto 35+year old players with injury histories remaining healthy and effective to come in... 9th place is about as bleak a situation as one can be in.

 

[Guttersniped]

Wouldn't be surprised if he's already on the phone asking for permission to talk to Pridham for GM. Or Tulsky.

Tulsky is already reportedly a favorite candidate for the GM job and apparently killed it in his interviews.

He also reportedly likes the dynamic he has with Waddell, so the Pens went out and got a guy who will happily run the team in many ways while Tulsky focuses on what he’s good at.

Pretty sure only way this doesn’t happen is Carolina makes Tulsky GM, and kicks Waddell upstairs, but there’s been no sign that the Canes are going to do that.

However, it’s a candidate without ties to the Penguins that seems to have aced his interviews. Eric Tulsky, the Hurricanes assistant GM, impressed FSG brass — specifically at an in-person meeting with Henry and chairman Tom Werner, said a Penguins team source granted anonymity by The Athletic because they are not permitted to speak publicly about the process.
<cut>
While Tulsky has emerged as one of the top candidates, former Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas recent availability might play into the Penguins’ final decision.
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The Penguins were willing to offer Dubas full control of their hockey operations department. With FSG looking to hire at least a GM and president of hockey operations, it’s possible the Penguins could look to bring in Dubas as president of hockey ops and Tulsky as GM.

The latest on Tulsky, Dubas and Penguins GM search

The Penguins’ long, wide-ranging search for new hockey leadership has entered its sixth week but is seemingly nearing a conclusion.

theathletic.com

 

[Divine]

The Leafs averaged 106 points under him while their season record before was 105. That's pretty consistent success.

I can't speak for the playoffs obviously. That's the core he chose to die on the hill for, but how he maneuvered the flat cap around them (because he signed those deals pre-covid) was still impressive.

Even if the core four is overpaid at least they aren't boat anchors like OEL.

Coming at this from a team that's had generationally bad GMing during the same window under Benning. It's not as bad as it seems. I think Dubas can find success elsewhere.

Yeah, so he increased them 1 point while trading 5 1st round picks in 5 years and having Matthews/Marner and Nylander enter their prime. Zero playoff success also.

Dubas inherited a 21 year old Matthews, 22 year old Marner and 23 year old Nylander. He didn't draft any of them.

Is that really praiseworthy?