Jarry debacle just one part of Dubas’ disastrous timeline as Penguins’ GM

Credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff

On the day goaltender Tristan Jarry was jettisoned on waivers, with the Pittsburgh Penguins sitting in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and on track for their lowest full-season point total since Sidney Crosby’s rookie year, it’s fair to ask the question: How did we get here?

Part of that answer lies in the tenure of GM Ron Hextall, who appeared ready to rebuild in the Steel City, only to send mixed messages and ultimately double down on the core. The other part of that answer lies in the first calendar year of successor Kyle Dubas’ tenure, which can now be classified only as a full-fledged disaster.

To refresh, here is a timeline of events:

> June 3, 2023: Dubas was hired as Pittsburgh’s president of hockey operations 18 days after he held a press conference in Toronto and professed that we wouldn’t see him “pop up as GM of any other team.”

> June 28, 2023: In his first trade, Dubas bailed out the Vegas Golden Knights and traded a third-round pick in exchange for forward Reilly Smith, who had two years remaining at a full $5 million per year. After a below-average season in which Smith’s goal production was cut in half, Dubas traded Smith to the New York Rangers on July 1, 2024 for a pick one round higher in the 2027 (!) Draft that might not help the Penguins until 2030. In addition, Dubas added $1.25 million in dead space to the Penguins’ books by retaining 25 percent on Smith.

> July 1, 2023: In five separate deals, Dubas spent more than $65 million.

Goaltender Tristan Jarry: Five years x $5.375 million = $26.875 million. Jarry, 29, was waived on Wednesday less than one-third of the way through the deal after posting an .888 save percentage in 21 appearances this season.
Defenseman Ryan Graves: Six years x $4.5 million = $27 million. Graves, also 29, has not registered a single point in his 31 games played this season. With the term remaining on his deal, he is an untradeable asset.
Center Lars Eller: Two years x $2.45 million = $4.9 million. Eller, 35, was traded to Washington on Nov. 13, 2024, in exchange for a third and conditional fifth-round pick.
Forwards Noel Acciari and Matt Nieto: 3 years x $2 million and 2 years x $900,000. Nieto has played in a total of 46 games over these two seasons due to injury; Acciari surprisingly earned a three-year deal after Dubas traded for him at the previous deadline in Toronto.

> August 3, 2023: After conducting a search that vowed to “make the decision that is best for the hockey operations department,” Dubas named himself as the Penguins’ permanent general manager.

> August 6, 2023: Dubas executed a three-way trade with the San Jose Sharks and Montréal Canadiens that brought Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh. The Penguins were able to move off the contracts of Jeff Petry (with money retained), Mikael Granlund and Jan Rutta. But the move was to boost their back end by bringing in Karlsson, a 33-year-old with four years remaining at a net $10 million per season. Karlsson’s production dropped by 45 points year-over-year. The first-round pick traded to San Jose ultimately became star prospect Sam Dickinson of the OHL’s London Knights, who has a staggering 49 points in 28 games this season as a defenseman.

> March 7, 2024: To the disappointment of the Penguins’ core, Dubas shipped out star forward Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes, taking some juice out of their playoff chase. In a trade deadline period in which six players were traded for first-round picks, Dubas did not receive a first-round pick in exchange for the two-time 40-goal scorer and point-per-game Guentzel. Dubas also did not receive any one of the Hurricanes’ top five organizational prospects. For reference, these players fetched first-round picks at the 2024 trade deadline: Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, Adam Henrique, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm and Sean Walker. Guentzel went on to sign the largest free agent deal ($63 million) of all of the UFAs on that list last summer.

> April 17, 2024: The Penguins failed to qualify for the playoffs for a second consecutive season. A year prior, they missed for the first time since 2006, Crosby’s rookie season, snapping a 16-year run that produced three Stanley Cups.

Since he joined the Maple Leafs‘ front office nearly a decade ago, Dubas has continuously been seen as the boy genius who topped every 30 Under 30 list and earned accolade after accolade. Over this last year, he was even hired by Hockey Canada to assist with Team Canada’s roster selection for the 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Olympics. He inherited a core with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and won one round in five playoff appearances. For whatever reason, he has largely been immune to criticism along the way despite spending so much time in the eye of the hockey hurricane in Toronto.

It feels like not enough critical thought and analysis was put into his decision making in Toronto, particularly since he tried to strong-arm the Leafs and wrest control from president Brendan Shanahan. Now, it feels like the only deal that the Penguins will rue more than any of the ones Dubas made in his first year at the helm is the seven-year deal that they gave Dubas himself, one of the longest and richest of any executive in hockey.

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Jarry debacle just one part of Dubas’ disastrous timeline as Penguins’ GM

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