Confirmed with Link: Kyle Dubas named President of Hockey Operations

[ColePens]

@Coffee just remember you are always welcomed here. We are one of the few boards that WELCOMES opposing fans.

But we also are sarcastic and old... so you are going to have to give us grace. We are a bunch of old dudes sitting on a front porch yelling at kids to get off of our lawn.

 

[HandshakeLine]

It's fun to actually be excited by front office hire for the first time since Shero

Rutherford shockingly panned out for a glorious moment there but absolutely no one was psyched when he was hired Lmao

And Hextall was the Ann Veal of hirings

Orson_Wells_clappin.mov

 

[Gurglesons]

Given Dubas' age I think he's here both to try and squeeze a cup win out of our narrowing window and then to also steer us through the rebuild.

The current squad isn't really his team but he'll try to tweak it into a contender, and then in the following years build it in his image.

I think from Dubas’ perspective getting the title and influence over a sports conglomerate entity belonging to FSG is a huge move especially if he has intentions on getting out of hockey.

Move makes a lot of sense from my perspective if he is as smart as he is portrayed.

 

[Pens1566]

Grad school was the most surreal experience of my life. I met people so smart I couldn't believe it; like you start to think maybe there really are adults running the world. Then I would hear people so dumb I couldn't believe they were able to handle basic activities of daily living like grocery shopping or washing themselves. We all had roughly the same career outcomes.

There was a guy I was in undergrad (engineering) with. He had a 4.0 and daily asked the dumbest questions out loud in class, but I had to ask him who tied his shoes for him in the morning.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[JTG]

I can’t prove this to you, so take it as you will, but the decision to sign Tavares, the hometown boy, came from the top.

Tavares was the palate cleanser. Proof that the leafs were still good and relevant and forget about all the recent blowups

I don't follow the Leafs, so I believe you. I hope Dubas having some more flexibility and power shows that he actually much better than he was in Toronto. Toronto to me seems like working for the government - layers upon layers of management, slow to react, and it just milks any will to live out of your system if you have to work under the crown.

 

[WickedWrister]

 

[Lara Emily]

How come no one here took the initiative to make a post on main boards?

Leave it to a Sens fan to break the news.

Or do you guys just dont care what the rest of the league has to say ?

Dubas is a former Leafs most of us know what that thread is about and it ain't the Pens so why bother

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

I'm hoping that Darche is the one getting the GM job now!

 

[Ryder71]

I'm hoping that Darche is the one getting the GM job now!

100% agree! I think those two would really do wonders for this franchise. They're both forward thinkers and would really change the trajectory of this team, the culture and the mindset in every good way possible. Well, in my opinion anyhow.

 

[ThosePuckingPenguins]

The Penguins have Kyle Dubas as their POHO and the Flyers have Keith Jones lol

 

[HandshakeLine]

I actively wish harm and ill fortune to anyone who posts on the main board

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

100% agree! I think those two would really do wonders for this franchise. They're both forward thinkers and would really change the trajectory of this team, the culture and the mindset in every good way possible. Well, in my opinion anyhow.

Darche is probably the best cap guy around as well, with our situation for the next 3-4 seasons it just makes a ton of sense.

 

[Peat]

It is a fair cop that this isn’t some long-tenured thing here, I’m just saying the last PoHO Hank was supposed to have just as much power, was known for being opinionated, and was immediately completely sidelined.

Maybe it was Hextall? I’m willing to be wrong, as I said. But it’s not like we saw the previous regime give it a lot of weight.

I don't think this is true. I mean, consider the circumstances of their hiring as reported

Burke - Hextall is hired as GM, and someone in the Pens (I think Mario?) suggests "hey, why not work with Burke as well?". We never knew their exact dynamic, but it clearly wasn't Burke calling all the shots and shaping things in his image. All the front office hires were Hextall's.

Dubas - First hire of a new regime. Not after the GM, but before the GM.

I'm in wait and see mode but I think the circumstances point to Dubas having a ton more power here.

 

[cookthebooks]

i just struggle to believe a guy like dubas is looking to do the same job brian burke did

 

[Ryder71]

Darche is probably the best cap guy around as well, with our situation for the next 3-4 seasons it just makes a ton of sense.

Absolutely! But I also think he's really good at evaluating talent and knowing how and where to place players. I just hope Sullivan doesn't soil the bed in that regard. But I have no doubt they will get the right depth players to compliment and surround the dinosaurs with.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

pixies is right... Burke was literally only here to take the occasional interview, get redfaced mad when someone even suggested that Sullivan's job deserves an audit, give Tristan Broz life advice and find exciting new ways to wear an untied tie.

 

[Ryder71]

i just struggle to believe a guy like dubas is looking to do the same job brian burke did

Even though they might have the same job title I think they'll do their job in a completely different manner. I look at him as kind of a puppet master from behind the scenes, the GM will take the lead on certain things but he'll have his hand print on almost every decision.

 

[Malkinstheman]

Dubas got fired in Toronto because he wanted more power. I dont see him accepting a ceremonial position two weeks later. Dubas got what he wanted here imo

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Doobler failing upwards.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I don't think this is true. I mean, consider the circumstances of their hiring as reported

Burke - Hextall is hired as GM, and someone in the Pens (I think Mario?) suggests "hey, why not work with Burke as well?". We never knew their exact dynamic, but it clearly wasn't Burke calling all the shots and shaping things in his image. All the front office hires were Hextall's.

Dubas - First hire of a new regime. Not after the GM, but before the GM.

I'm in wait and see mode but I think the circumstances point to Dubas having a ton more power here.

Like I said, I hope I’m proven wrong, but we have more evidence for the previous being SoP than the new hypotheticals people are throwing around. But you’re right, we’ll see, and hopefully I’m wrong.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Yohe: Kyle Dubas, Penguins are a match made in hockey heaven

Kyle Dubas fits the Penguins mold in a number of ways. It was meant to be.

theathletic.com

The job facing Dubas is daunting, make no mistake.

Consider what awaits him in Pittsburgh:

• He needs to figure out who his goaltender is. Tristan Jarry is an unrestricted free agent come July 1. He’s talented but as unpredictable as Pittsburgh weather in March. It’s not an easy choice. Do you keep Jarry? Do you let him walk? What’s the plan?

• The Penguins’ blue line is a problem. Kris Letang and Marcus Pettersson are quality, top-four performers. Otherwise, there are major issues. Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta never really fit. Brian Dumoulin is an unrestricted free agent and is probably gone. Is Pierre-Olivier Joseph capable of being an everyday, top-six player? What’s the deal with Ty Smith?

• The Penguins’ top six are very good but old. The rest of the forwards are something of a disaster. Hextall’s bottom six were putrid. Who stays? Who’s gone? Do you buy out Mikael Granlund? What do you do with Jeff Carter? Then, there are all of those no-trade clauses.

Yes, the Penguins job comes with potential pitfalls in every direction.

But of all the available candidates, I can’t imagine anyone with a higher ceiling than Dubas. He has his detractors. Doesn’t everybody? Rutherford still takes heat from some fans — two Cups in seven years apparently isn’t enough to satisfy everyone.

Still, Dubas was the right choice. I heard universal praise about him from so many people around the NHL. He’s smart. Really, really smart. He thinks outside the box.

That’s probably what the Penguins need. Though their situation isn’t hopeless, they can’t rightfully be viewed as a Stanley Cup contender right now. Major, sweeping changes are needed. But all is not lost.

The Penguins still have Crosby, and there are few better foundations in all of sports than No. 87. They have plenty of other talented forwards and, of note, they’ll have more than $20 million in cap space this summer.

Completely reinventing the Penguins in one offseason would seem difficult, especially when half of the league is looking to dump unflattering contracts. Dubas’ job isn’t for the faint of heart.

Still, it’s hardly impossible.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I knew he'd go for this over gm. Said as much in the other thread.

 

[BetterCallSaul]

Even though they might have the same job title I think they'll do their job in a completely different manner. I look at him as kind of a puppet master from behind the scenes, the GM will take the lead on certain things but he'll have his hand print on almost every decision.

This. New GM will have to get the green light from Dubas for most of the decisions. Less work, more power than he had in Toronto.

 

[Coffee]

@Coffee just remember you are always welcomed here. We are one of the few boards that WELCOMES opposing fans.

But we also are sarcastic and old... so you are going to have to give us grace. We are a bunch of old dudes sitting on a front porch yelling at kids to get off of our lawn.

Cheers, my friend.

Much appreciated