Penguins’ Kyle Dubas on potential rebuild: ‘You can hope in one hand and s— in the other’
There’s a lot of unrest around the Pittsburgh Penguins following another disappointing end to the season, as the team has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season.
Many outside the organization would like to see the team embark on a long-awaited rebuild. Yet, the Penguins’ brass sees the potential move to tear apart the team is tougher than what meets the eye.
During his media availability on Monday, general manager Kyle Dubas was very blunt about his feeling towards going through a rebuild in Pittsburgh.
My personal favorite Kyle Dubas quote of the day:
"You can go into the mass teardown rebuild and hope you get lucky with the lottery and hope that all this happens. But you can hope in one hand and shit in the other, and see which one fills up first."#LetsGoPens
“You can go into the mass teardown rebuild and hope you get lucky with the lottery and hope that all this happens,” Dubas said. “But you can hope in one hand and shit in the other, and see which one fills up first.”
It hasn’t been an easy run for Dubas since he took over as president of hockey operations in June 2023, assuming the role as GM prior to the 2023-24 season. He inherited a Penguins team that was already aging, and had just missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. While he has stars such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, it has been a long time since Pittsburgh has been considered a threat to be a postseason team, let alone a Stanley Cup contender.
Many have questioned Dubas’ choices in personnel, especially at this past trade deadline when he gave up players like Michael Bunting, Anthony Beauvillier and Luke Schenn (two days after acquiring him) for a few draft picks and some lower-level talent. It looked like it might be a sign that the former Toronto Maple Leafs GM might be ready to tear things down.
Maybe not so.
Dubas cited the Washington Capitals‘ recent return to the top of the leaderboard. Just two years after missing the playoffs entirely, the Caps finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Dubas stated with the right tools and choices, they’ve become contenders again.
“[Washington’s] not going to go anywhere. So, we have to haul ass and catch them because they’re way ahead right now, as the standings show. … They weren’t two years ago. But they’ve done a great job in coaching, development, drafting. It’s impressive.”
Dubas has five more years on his current contract with the Penguins. While one might think that gives him the runway to turn the team around, no job is safe in today’s age.