I don't know where to post this but Lebrun has an article on the athletic with Dubas. Has anybody read it? Anything good?
“We’re still in it, in the wild-card race and in our division,’’ insisted Dubas. “We just have to be stacking more wins together, having had a better week last week and I’m excited to see how we handle the weeks ahead.’’
"I could feel internally the disappointment in seeing Jake walk out the door,’’ Dubas said. “And I understand that. He was a key member of the last Stanley Cup the team won, as a younger player coming up with the group. He’s a great, character person, everyone knows he’s a tremendous competitor.
“It’s tough when you have to make those decisions,’’ added Dubas. “But you have to always do what you believe is best for the long term of the organization and my sights were set on giving the team as long as possible to assert itself more in the race. The other part was getting back a roster player that could help us as well in addition to the future assets.’’
“I think you’d be remiss not to seek his opinion and how he’s feeling,’’ Dubas said. “Obviously he’s done so much for the city of Pittsburgh and for the Penguins. … I want his opinion, I value his opinion.
“We may not always agree and I might have to do things in the short run he disagrees with.’’
This summer, Crosby will be one year from the expiry of his contract. This is a natural window for a player of his stature to sit down with the organization to discuss the future, both the team’s and his own. We’ll see where those conversations go.
“Sure, I think that will be a private discussion with Sid, myself and (agent) Pat Brisson once the season is over,’’ Dubas said.
“But I think everyone’s been pretty clear on where they stand on the fact everyone would like to see him end his career in Pittsburgh and it’s my intention that in those years that we’re back and definitively contending.’’
“It’s trying to find our own group of younger players who can come in and support the team, you never know how long that’s going to take,’’ Dubas said of the re-tool in the next few years. “And it’s never certain. Any maneuvers we can take, we want to give ourselves the assets to be able to get into those conversations this summer for good, young players who come available in trades or younger players in free agency.
“That’s our intention at this stage.’’
Nice.
