When are we going to be honest with ourselves about how bad Kyle Dubas is?

[MilkofthePoppy]

He is your typical gatekeeper, a leftist white male. He preaches equity, inclusivity, and equality and proceeds to do what every other "old boy" in NHL management does: hire his friends (from the Soo). He is a poser, like most lefties. He once complained that the Leafs were too "white" after trading the beloved Kadri, one of the few Middle Eastern players in the NHL.

 

[Empoleon8771]

He is your typical gatekeeper, a leftist white male. He preaches equity, inclusivity, and equality and proceeds to do what every other "old boy" in NHL management does: hire his friends (from the Soo). He is a poser, like most lefties. He once complained that the Leafs were too "white" after trading the beloved Kadri, one of the few Middle Eastern players in the NHL.

Lol you know it's election season when this kind of nonsense is being posted on HF

 

[PaulD]

That's why the Penguins got him for 3 cap dumps and a 1st.

That being said, the Karlsson deal ended up terrible because it seems like Karlsson is a "good player on a bad team" type of player. He can't be effective playing within a structure and needs to be allowed to play like a rover to be a net positive, but good teams aren't going to want to let him play like a rover. I think what he was last year (55 points in 82 games with a neutral +/-) can be what he can be while playing within a team's system, but that's not even remotely worth $10 million a year.

I think the Penguins will get value for him with retaining 50% and trading him with only a year or two left, but the deal ended up a dud for sure. It's less that Dubas paid a ton for him, but more that Karlsson isn't remotely worth $10 million a year on a good team. Coincidentally, this is similar to what I've been saying about Granlund since he has been performing great with San Jose. I figure that Karlsson ends up getting traded for like a conditional 1st and a B prospect with the Penguins eating half of his deal at either the 2026 or 2027 deadline.

1. Pens are a bad team.
2. Pens have no structure.

So according to your theory this is a perfect team for EK.