This Pittsburgh Penguins Act is Getting Old

[AvroArrow]

Dubas built you guys an amazing team and you still find a way to complain lmao. You would've a couple Stanley cups already with just some goalie luck(Hill in Vegas) or if Matthews would step it up in the POs just once in his life. As for Pittsburgh, they're getting old. They tried one last hurrah with Karlsson but that team is done. Time to rebuild and that's exactly what dubas was hired for.

Dubas didn't build shit lmao, he didn't draft any of Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Rielly. In fact he destroyed this cores chance of competing as RFA's.


What Dubas did

Let Hyman walk, traded Kadri for Kerfoot + Barrie, overpaid Tavares, signed old man Thornton, brought in Galchenyuk who threw the series vs Montreal, along with Dermott and Thornton (all his acquisitions), gave away Marchment for Malgin, protected Kerfoot and Holl instead of McCann, gave away Barabanov for free, traded a 1st for an injured Foligno,

 

[ClydeLee]

With all the Dubas blame, I get him not being able to defy Shannahan and keep his job.

But what is stopping him now? That's what I dont get. I was of the camp the Pens should of traded Letang when Rutherford allegedly was going to before stepping away. Think they should have rebuilt this for years now.

I get the owners hired Dubas to say we will win... but what stops him from not doing the smart thing and rebuild. People praise getting out of bad old contracts. Bad contracts don't matter much when you're not trying to win. Keeping the mid 1st was needed. Maybe Granlund at 50% gets a mid round pick. Those are better solutions than another last hurrah. I thought the last 2 seasons already were the last hurrah?

 

[Kocur Dill]

People act like the Penguins are bad because some of their super stars are old now. Letang and Malkin are playing for 6MM cap hits. They are not overpaid by any stretch. Crosby is still a steal at 8.7. Guentzel is a point per game at 6MM. Tristan Jarry leads the league in shutouts.

The one big ticket player you could want more from is Karlsson and he still on pace for 60 points.

This team is bad because the powerplay is bad. That's coaching.

Sullivan ran the PP under Torts in NY and it was horsesht then too. His system stinks.

 

[Donnie740]

Instead of "sign free agents" can you provide WHO you would have signed with the $15M last year?

Instead of flushing almost $20M - - PLUS draft picks and prospects- - down the toilet for Karlsson, Reilly Smith and Graves, Dumbass could have easily added quality veterans on short affordable contracts.

If it works out and they’re a playoff team, great. If it doesn’t work out and they’re a bottom feeder as they are now, you can flip them all at the deadline for picks and prospects. Especially if they’re on expiring contracts because you can retain most of the salary and get even more value in return.

So let’s think, what type of players are in demand at the deadline? Oh, I know - - reliable defensemen and proven forwards who have been there before. Now who could Dumbass have signed to fit that criteria?

Shattenkirk 1yr at $1.05M
Ekman Larsson at 1yr $2.25M
Matt Dumba 1yr at $3.9M
Beardy Goudas 3yr at $2.5M per
Kulikov 1yr at $1M
Tony DeAngelo 1yr at $1.675M

Bertuzzi 1yr at $5.5M
Tarasenko 1yr at $5M
Max Domi 1yr at $3M

Take your pick - - every single one of those guys could be flipped at the deadline for picks and/or prospects.

Now it’s impossible to move Karlsson at the deadline with that $10M boat anchor, and Graves is also difficult with another 5yrs at $4.5 per. Reilly Smith still has another year left at $5M which makes it tough to retain beyond this year.

 

[Peasy]

Instead of flushing almost $20M - - PLUS draft picks and prospects- - down the toilet for Karlsson, Reilly Smith and Graves, Dumbass could have easily added quality veterans on short affordable contracts.

If it works out and they’re a playoff team, great. If it doesn’t work out and they’re a bottom feeder as they are now, you can flip them all at the deadline for picks and prospects. Especially if they’re on expiring contracts because you can retain most of the salary and get even more value in return.

So let’s think, what type of players are in demand at the deadline? Oh, I know - - reliable defensemen and proven forwards who have been there before. Now who could Dumbass have signed to fit that criteria?

Shattenkirk 1yr at $1.05M
Ekman Larsson at 1yr $2.25M
Matt Dumba 1yr at $3.9M
Beardy Goudas 3yr at $2.5M per
Kulikov 1yr at $1M
Tony DeAngelo 1yr at $1.675M

Bertuzzi 1yr at $5.5M
Tarasenko 1yr at $5M
Max Domi 1yr at $3M

Take your pick - - every single one of those guys could be flipped at the deadline for picks and/or prospects.

Now it’s impossible to move Karlsson at the deadline with that $10M boat anchor, and Graves is also difficult with another 5yrs at $4.5 per. Reilly Smith still has another year left at $5M which makes it tough to retain beyond this year.

Dubas goes for the easy way out 9/10 times. Hes not creative at all and very one note lol. And its ironic because he was pumped up to be some genius out of the box thinker.

 

[Pancakes]

It's really funny watching Leafs fans march in here to shit on Dubas as though the Pens weren't a giant steaming turd last year before Dubas even touched this roster.

The Reilly Smith trade was fine. He was acquired for nothing and he has no trade protection so Dubas can easily move him this week should he choose to.

The EK trade was great. Dubas flushed a bunch of crap players off the roster and in return got a very good one. That EK hasn't been enough to make the Pens a playoff team is not on EK. He's played pretty well for the most part and been as advertised. Nobody with any real sense thought he would be a 100 point player again.

Where Dubas f***ed up wasn't the big moves it was the little ones. He tried to repair the bottom six but almost every guy he has picked up for that has sucked ass except for Lars Eller.

And Dubas' biggest mistake (and one which Hextall also made) is hitching his wagon to Mike Sullivan instead of being willing to fire a coach who is clearly past his expiration date. There's a chance that this flawed roster could have been a playoff team if he'd fired Sullivan two months ago. But he didn't.

What I am going to judge Dubas on now is how he approaches this deadline. If they re-sign Guentzel instead of trading him I'm going to be pretty pissed at KD. And I'm already pre-emptively mad at the fact that I know Sullivan won't get fired this off season. Sully is going to torpedo any attempts Dubas makes at trying to make the playoffs next year. But at this point Dubas has to take a share of the blame for that because FSG handed him a lot of power and I think he has the political capital to fire Sullivan if he wants to. The issue is for some dumb ass reason Dubas and every other person who has ever GMed the Pens thinks Sullivan's shit doesn't stink. Sully is a good coach but every coach hits their expiration date. The Pens knew this once upon a time when they fired Bylsma after years of ineptitude and then won a couple more cups but they have forgotten the lesson.

 

[BallardEra]

What I am going to judge Dubas on now is how he approaches this deadline. If they re-sign Guentzel instead of trading him I'm going to be pretty pissed at KD. And I'm already pre-emptively mad at the fact that I know Sullivan won't get fired this off season. Sully is going to torpedo any attempts Dubas makes at trying to make the playoffs next year. But at this point Dubas has to take a share of the blame for that because FSG handed him a lot of power and I think he has the political capital to fire Sullivan if he wants to. The issue is for some dumb ass reason Dubas and every other person who has ever GMed the Pens thinks Sullivan's shit doesn't stink. Sully is a good coach but every coach hits their expiration date. The Pens knew this once upon a time when they fired Bylsma after years of ineptitude and then won a couple more cups but they have forgotten the lesson.

I think Dubas was told from FSG that Sid, Malkin, Letang and Sullivan were all off limits.

He took the job knowing that and that still holds true. Maybe that stance changes in the off season though.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Dubas has done a poor job as the Penguins GM overall, but it's hilarious that anyone in here is acting like this team sucks because of him.

After January 1st last year, the Penguins finished the year 21-20-5 with 47 points in 46 games. They've been this stale crap team since the second half of last season. Adding Karlsson improved them a bit, but that's just it, it only improved them a bit.

 

[Donnie740]

Dubas goes for the easy way out 9/10 times. Hes not creative at all and very one note lol. And its ironic because he was pumped up to be some genius out of the box thinker.

Dumbass is hopelessly unqualified to be a pro level GM, but he’s an excellent ass-kisser which is how he’s gotten to where he’s at.

Look at how carefully he’s crafted his image as an unthreatening beta and the way his first order of business is to friend up the local media shills so they’ll spew positive narratives about him.

It’s understandable that Penguin Fan would be so protective of the GM, but Pittsburgh is going to find out the hard way just how incompetent Dumbass is as he runs a once proud franchise completely into the ground.

Watch what happens at the deadline.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Dumbass is hopelessly unqualified to be a pro level GM, but he’s an excellent ass-kisser which is how he’s gotten to where he’s at.

Look at how carefully he’s crafted his image as an unthreatening beta and the way his first order of business is to friend up the local media shills so they’ll spew positive narratives about him.

It’s understandable that Penguin Fan would be so protective of the GM, but Pittsburgh is going to find out the hard way just how incompetent Dumbass is as he runs a once proud franchise completely into the ground.

Watch what happens at the deadline.

Who is being "protective of Dubas"? Most Penguins fans would describe his performance so far between poor and mediocre.

It's just stupid to blame him on the current issues of the team, considering what he inherited from the last GM.

 

[Artemi Panarin]

Dubas has done a poor job as the Penguins GM overall, but it's hilarious that anyone in here is acting like this team sucks because of him.

After January 1st last year, the Penguins finished the year 21-20-5 with 47 points in 46 games. They've been this stale crap team since the second half of last season. Adding Karlsson improved them a bit, but that's just it, it only improved them a bit.

And who was the guy that decided to add Karlsson to that already over the hill team?

 

[Peasy]

Dubas has done a poor job as the Penguins GM overall, but it's hilarious that anyone in here is acting like this team sucks because of him.

After January 1st last year, the Penguins finished the year 21-20-5 with 47 points in 46 games. They've been this stale crap team since the second half of last season. Adding Karlsson improved them a bit, but that's just it, it only improved them a bit.

People arent saying the Pens sucks because of Dubas. Were just simply saying he did a poor job with the hand he was dealt (sounds familiar).

 

[Empoleon8771]

And who was the guy that decided to add Karlsson to that already over the hill team?

The Karlsson trade isn't why Dubas has done a poor job.

You can really tell who pays attention to the Penguins and who doesn't based on these kind of posts. Dubas has done a poor job as the Penguins GM due to things like the Graves and Acciari signings, not the Karlsson trade.

 

[Mr Positive]

Dubas has done a poor job as the Penguins GM overall, but it's hilarious that anyone in here is acting like this team sucks because of him.

After January 1st last year, the Penguins finished the year 21-20-5 with 47 points in 46 games. They've been this stale crap team since the second half of last season. Adding Karlsson improved them a bit, but that's just it, it only improved them a bit.

Missing Guentzel and Rust doesn't help, although Guentzel hasn't been gone that long.

The truly bizarre handicap for the Pens isn't even the age or skating. It's the powerplay. That is baffling how all those talents don't find a way. Under 15%. The NHL is a sport where 1 or 2 goals determine an outcome, and where if you switch 5 wins out for losses you are seen in a totally different way

 

[Empoleon8771]

Missing Guentzel and Rust doesn't help, although Guentzel hasn't been gone that long.

The truly bizarre handicap for the Pens isn't even the age or skating. It's the powerplay. That is baffling how all those talents don't find a way. Under 15%. The NHL is a sport where 1 or 2 goals determine an outcome, and where if you switch 5 wins out for losses you are seen in a totally different way

The Penguins would be a playoff team with a functional powerplay, it's truly bizarre.

But Dubas deserves blame for that as well. The big addition he made in Karlsson has not helped the powerplay whatsoever and he's deciding to stick with the bad PP coaching that they're still getting.

 

[Pancakes]

The Karlsson trade isn't why Dubas has done a poor job.

You can really tell who pays attention to the Penguins and who doesn't based on these kind of posts. Dubas has done a poor job as the Penguins GM due to things like the Graves and Acciari signings, not the Karlsson trade.

100%. People blaming Dubas for the EK trade have no clue what the actual issues of the Pens are.

The Pens are crap because their depth stinks and they have a coach who is past his expiration date. EK has nothing to do with either of those two issues.

 

[Grifter3511]

The Penguins would be a playoff team with a functional powerplay, it's truly bizarre.

But Dubas deserves blame for that as well. The big addition he made in Karlsson has not helped the powerplay whatsoever and he's deciding to stick with the bad PP coaching that they're still getting.

I don't watch the Penguins, but when I look at the standings, the thing that jumps out to me is that the Pens, as a whole, are +8, and every team around them above and below in the standings is a negative. Pens are 24 in point % but are 15th in team +/-.

As someone who again, doesn't watch them, Ifeel this can be explained in one of two ways: Either Pens lose close games and win blowouts, or their special teams stink and their 5on5 play is solid.

So based on comments like yours and obviously looking at Penguins special team records, I agree that it is really bizarre how atrocious their PP is, and how drastically it is affecting what should otherwise be a wild card (maybe slightly better) level season for them.

 

[NVious]

The best thing Crosby can do for the Pens is accept a trade, he looks good enough that he can even come back in a few years and still be a contributing piece. Yeah it's his "right" to stay, but what's the point? The team is cooked af and going absolutely nowhere.

I don't personally get the fascination with only playing for 1 team, everybody thinks of Sid as a Pen, even if he won a cup somewhere else, doesn't change anything, but accepting a trade helps everyone;
Sid gets a chance at the cup
Pens fans can bandwagon whoever he goes to
Pens get much needed assets to start the rebuild

 

[8To34]

100%. People blaming Dubas for the EK trade have no clue what the actual issues of the Pens are.

The Pens are crap because their depth stinks and they have a coach who is past his expiration date. EK has nothing to do with either of those two issues.

You don't think the Pens spending 10M and a 1st on EK has anything to do with their shit depth?

 

[Realgud]

Dubas is a shortsighted GM who absolutely doesn't want to anger fans in the short term. He doesn't want to have the negative PR that comes with taking hard decisions that could go against what the fanbase wants. It's a recipe for complete disaster.

 

[Pancakes]

You don't think the Pens spending 10M and a 1st on EK has anything to do with their shit depth?

No because you're looking at this the wrong way. It wasn't like they had 10m cap space available in a vacuum that they could use on depth instead of EK.

They had to trade Petry, Granlund, and Rutta just to take on the EK contract, and the only reason SJ/Detroit took those players is because they had to in order to make the trade work.

There was no situation where Dubas could just trade Petry, Granlund, and Rutta for nothing and then address the depth with the magically available cap space he got for moving those guys out.

 

[Donnie740]

You don't think the Pens spending 10M and a 1st on EK has anything to do with their shit depth?

This is where Penguin Fan comes rushing in to defend his GM.

Same thing with blaming the coach. Dumbass is going to hang onto Sullivan for at least another year, because he’s the ideal scapegoat.

Fan base despises Sullivan so the longer Dumbass can drag out his firing the more time it buys him as GM and president.

Hiring a new coach gives Dumbass at least two more years at a minimum probably three years until the brain trust finally figures out that he’s a total fraud.

 

[Pancakes]

Dubas is a shortsighted GM who absolutely doesn't want to anger fans in the short term. He doesn't want to have the negative PR that comes with taking hard decisions that could go against what the fanbase wants. It's a recipe for complete disaster.

I doubt very much that KD gives a shit about that. He had to deal with the Toronto media/fans. You think he's worried about Pens fans or media giving him a hard time? The media/fans in Pittsburgh aren't even as close to as rabid as the Toronto fans/media is (and for good reason because this city has actually won cups in most of their fan's lifetimes lol)

 

[8To34]

No because you're looking at this the wrong way. It wasn't like they had 10m cap space available in a vacuum that they could use on depth instead of EK.

They had to trade Petry, Granlund, and Rutta just to take on the EK contract, and the only reason SJ/Detroit took those players is because they had to in order to make the trade work.

There was no situation where Dubas could just trade Petry, Granlund, and Rutta for nothing and then address the depth with the magically available cap space he got for moving those guys out.

Granlund has shown himself to be pretty good depth this year. They could have likely parlayed Petry to Detroit with retention, even if not he'd still be a functional 2nd pairing D. Rutta had value even if it was low and himself is a good depth player. Instead Dubas watched one of the biggest roster dysfunctions in recent history of having Burns and Karlsson tripping over each other for several years and thought hey what if I run that back but with an even more Karlsson like D even more set in his role than Burns.

 

[Realgud]

I doubt very much that KD gives a shit about that. He had to deal with the Toronto media/fans. You think he's worried about Pens fans or media giving him a hard time? The media/fans in Pittsburgh aren't even as close to as rabid as the Toronto fans/media is (and for good reason because this city has actually won cups in most of their fan's lifetimes lol)

He did exactly what I've explained in Toronto. If a name was linked to Toronto, or there was a fan favourite among their top players, he would do anything to overpay and get them on the team (or to stay). He then had to scramble to get cheap depth and goalies that never got anything done for them. He focuses on elite talent because that's what fans care about.