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Kyle Dubas

Latest On Pittsburgh Penguins Roster

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The Pittsburgh Penguins finally found a goal scorer in their bottom six forwards as Radim Zohorna lit the lamp in the final minutes of the Penguins’ 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues last night. Zohorna was playing in his first game of the season after being sent down to the AHL after a strong training camp and formed a unit with fellow winger Drew O’Connor and center Lars Eller.

After the game, Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan was visibly frustrated with his team’s play, and while he didn’t talk about roster decisions going forward, General Manager Kyle Dubas has been. Dubas spoke with NHL On TNT just a few nights ago and said he wanted the bottom six forwards to be tougher to play against and added that he didn’t feel the group was there yet. Dubas’ comments sparked speculation that the Penguins could be looking to make a move in the bottom six and they did by waiving Jansen Harkins and re-calling Zohorna before last night’s game. The Penguins also health-scratched defenseman P.O. Joseph in favor of Ryan Shea who made his NHL debut on the Penguins’ third pairing.

Kyle Dubas stocked up on fringe NHL talent in the offseason and has stashed many of those options in the AHL specifically for a moment like this. The Penguins AHL affiliate has so many veterans in fact that Alex Nylander and Andreas Johnsson had to be veteran scratches for last night’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins game. On top of Nylander, Johnsson, and Harkins, the Penguins also have Vinnie Hinostroza, Rem Pitlick, and Colin White as former NHLers who could be called up to shuffle the furniture in the Penguins bottom six.

Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote in his 10 Postgame Observations piece that Sullivan typically doesn’t make major changes after a loss, but given the team’s recent record and his comments, he implies that it could happen. The Penguins third line of O’Connor, Eller and Zohorna was very good last night, however, the fourth line of Matthew Nieto, Jeff Carter and Noel Acciari has offered very little to the team and appears to be constantly chasing the play. That group is at the bottom of the Penguins lineup in almost every analytical statistic and has a combined zero points in five games together. Sullivan has been apprehensive about scratching Carter in the past and became defensive with the media last season on multiple occasions when the topic was asked about.

It might be just five games into the season but given that the Penguins are 2-3 against five teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season, there could be big changes brewing in Pittsburgh as Dubas and company try to find an identity for the bottom six forwards. A competent bottom-six has been something the Penguins have lacked since they lost Brandon Tanev (and Jared McCann via trade) in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and it was one of the big reasons they missed the playoffs in 2023.

Examining The Pittsburgh Penguins Bottom Six Options

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The Pittsburgh Penguins saw more turnover this offseason than any other organization in the NHL. From the hiring of President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas to the signing of a multitude of fourth liners, the Pittsburgh Penguins look wildly different than they did six months ago. It’s certainly a welcome change in the Steel City after the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

In a recent season preview that was completed by Sean Gentille, Shayna Goldman, and Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic, the trio pointed out that one of the biggest issues with the Penguins last season was the lack of support from the bottom six forward group. The group was so bad that nearly half of it was put on waivers before the trade deadline. Kasperi Kapanen was claimed, Brock McGinn was traded, and many others departed in free agency or were traded away.

Kyle Dubas completely overhauled the bottom six almost exclusively through free agency. In the early days of free agency, the Penguins signed Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, Vinnie Hinostroza, Andreas Johnsson, Joona Koppanen, Matt Nieto, and Radim Zohorna. Dubas also traded for Rem Pitlick who was a throw-in as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. These eight players now find themselves competing with the remaining Penguins’ bottom six options Jeff Carter, Alexander Nylander and Drew O’Connor, as well as Colin White who is in camp on a PTO. The group of 12 will be competing for six or seven NHL spots in the Penguins forward group.

Competition is almost always a good thing in the NHL and the Penguins training camp has seen a lot of it. Very little is set in their bottom six, except that it will likely be again void of offence. While the group doesn’t have a ton of offensive firepower, they clearly have an identity, which is something that didn’t exist in previous seasons in Pittsburgh. Dubas has targeted players who are capable defensively, can skate with pace, and won’t hand the game away by giving up backbreaking goals. The same can’t be said for the Penguins’ bottom six last season.

With all this, one must wonder which players will have the inside track to start opening night on the Penguins’ third and fourth line. Let’s look at the way Head Coach Mike Sullivan and the Penguins might utilize their options.

In a perfect world, Eller would be a perfect fourth-line center, but in Pittsburgh, he will likely see duty as a third-line pivot. At 34 years old, Eller’s best days are behind him, but he is still a very capable penalty killer and is defensively sound. Eller doesn’t offer the offensive pop he did in his last 20s, but he is just a year removed from a 31-point season.

Flanking Eller on the left side will likely be O’Connor, the Penguins love his size and speed and are hoping he can piece it all together. It goes to show how top-heavy the Penguins are when they are counting on a player who has eight goals and nine assists in 78 career games to be a key component of their third line.

When healthy, it seems very possible that the Penguins will deploy Nylander. The former eighth-overall pick has the pedigree to be a scorer in the NHL, but he has never been able to produce enough offense to stick with an NHL club. Nylander will start the season on the Penguins second line in the absence of Jake Guentzel, and depending on his production he could find himself flanking the right side of the third line, or exposed to waivers.

The Penguins’ fourth line is where it gets interesting. Nieto and Acciari were targeted by Dubas on July 1st and fit the identity that Dubas and Sullivan are building for that group. Nieto is a terrific penalty killer and will be utilized in that role a lot, while Acciari adds a physical element and is good defensively. Both players can add a bit of offense as well, Nieto is coming off a season in which he posted 12 goals and 12 assists in 81 games, while Acciari had 14 goals and 9 assists last season in 77 games.

Finally, last season’s lightning rod Carter remains under contract for one more season and is still a favorite of Coach Sullivan. Carter was never removed from the Penguins lineup last year, despite having the worst season of his professional career. Carter looked run down at times and was consistently a step behind when it came to both offense and defense. However, he was utilized in a third-line center role and probably shouldn’t have been. Carter could perform better when being deployed less often and in a more sheltered role. Given Sullivan’s affinity for Carter, it would take a lot to remove the 38-year-old from Pittsburgh’s lineup.

How the Penguins bottom six will look on opening night remains a mystery. But it should be one of the more exciting roster battles to see in the final week of training camp. The Penguins will have to expose a lot of players to waivers to trim down their roster and could lose some bodies to other teams depending on how things shake out.

Can The Pittsburgh Penguins Actually Sign Tomas Tatar?

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There aren’t many impact unsigned free agents remaining at this point in the offseason, but one name of note is forward Tomas Tatar. Tatar has been linked to several teams, including the Buffalo Sabres as an inexpensive replacement for the injured Jack Quinn. One team that popped up in the rumor mill last week was the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rob Rossi of The Athletic wrote that the Penguins were keenly interested but it all came down to whether Tatar would get a guaranteed contract offer elsewhere as the Penguins appeared to be offering a PTO for training camp in Pittsburgh with the expectation of a contract after. But can the Penguins realistically fit in another contract for a player coming off a season in which he scored 20 goals and 28 assists in 82 games?

In most off-seasons, the answer to that question would be an emphatic no. But the summer of 2023 has been unlike any other offseason. Players like Blake Wheeler have signed for less than $1MM annually. Matt Duchene took a one-year contract for $3MM despite being a year removed from topping 80 points, and Tatar remains unsigned despite providing consistent secondary scoring.

But all of this doesn’t necessarily mean the answer is a resounding yes, the Penguins would need to do some cap gymnastics to fit Tatar into the sliver of room they have under the salary cap ceiling. Currently, the Penguins have just north of $220K, which is obviously well below the NHL minimum.

Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has said previously that he would use waivers as a means of becoming cap compliant, and the Penguins have plenty of players who could be placed on waivers to open up room for Tatar. Alexander Nylander and Rem Pitlick are two players that could be exposed and sent to the AHL to open up the room, but would that be enough to sign Tatar? The answer is a giant unknown at this time, but as we inch closer to training camp it becomes more and more possible.

Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now explored another idea in an article as he wondered if a potential Jeff Carter trade would be possible. The 38-year-old London, Ontario native is in the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $3.125MM and is coming off a season in which he scored just 13 goals and 16 assists in 79 games and looked lost at times both offensively and defensively. Kingerski provides options in the article, the most interesting of which would have the Penguins retain 50% of Carter’s contract and staple a second-round pick to him to facilitate a move. While this scenario seems possible, the biggest caveat to a potential deal would be Carter’s full no-movement clause. Given all these moving parts, it seems unlikely any contending team would have room to take on even half of Carter’s cap hit and even less likely that Carter would waive his no-move to make it happen. Kyle Dubas has worked one miracle this summer in moving out Jeff Petry and Mikael Granlund for Erik Karlsson, but can he make another one happen?

Much like the Karlsson situation it feels like the longer this drags out the likelier it becomes the player ends up with the Penguins. But to make it happen Tatar is going to have to take a massive pay cut and perhaps accept just a one-year contract. A far cry from the $3.3MM annually that Daily Faceoff projected he would get on a three-year deal when free agency opened.

Penguins Notes: Guentzel, Additional Moves, Cap Flexibility

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It appears the Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be getting any long-term injured reserve relief from Jake Guentzel at the beginning of the season after all. Speaking with reporters today in the wake of yesterday’s Erik Karlsson trade, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said Guentzel is only expected to miss around the first five games of the season after undergoing ankle surgery last week, which wouldn’t qualify him to start the year on LTIR. LTIR requires players to miss ten games or 24 days with an injury.

After clearing $3.1MM in cap space via yesterday’s massive trade, Pittsburgh wouldn’t have needed Guentzel’s $6MM cap hit on LTIR to start the season to become cap-compliant anyways. It’s good news for Pittsburgh, who now won’t be without their top-line goal-scoring winger as long as previously thought. As they learned the hard way last season, every game will matter for the Penguins to avoid missing the postseason for a second straight campaign.

More from Dubas on the state of the Penguins today:

  • The Penguins are likely done with any major moves, Dubas confirmed, saying, “I think this will be the group,” with training camp six weeks away. It’s been quite an eventful first offseason in Pittsburgh for Dubas, whose forward corps projects to have at least six new faces on opening night – Reilly Smith, Matthew Nieto, Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, Vinnie Hinostroza, and Rem Pitlick, making it a 50% turnover from last season. With virtually no financial flexibility left to exhaust, this isn’t a surprising comment.
  • Dubas also gave some insight into how he’ll manage the salary cap in-season, saying he won’t be afraid to place players on waivers, something he did with frequency during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also confirmed Pittsburgh is on track to carry one player short of the maximum 23-man roster and will just have one extra forward and one extra defenseman on the roster for opening night. Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Travis Boyd, Michael Amadio, and Adam Brooks are some notable players Dubas lost on waivers recently with Toronto.

Pittsburgh Penguins Remove Interim GM Tag From Kyle Dubas

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Thursday that they’ve removed the interim tag from Kyle Dubas’ role as general manager, signifying they’ll continue with him serving as GM and president of hockey operations for the foreseeable future.

Pittsburgh also announced four other promotions, naming Andy Saucier their director of professional personnel, Erik Heasley their director of minor league and amateur scouting operations, and confirming the promotions of Amanda Kessel and Trevor Daley as special assistants to Dubas.

“At this time, I feel it is best for continuity that I formally continue in both roles as President and General Manager in the hockey operations department,” Dubas said, justifying removing the interim tag from his role. Pittsburgh brought Dubas in solely as the president of hockey operations when they hired him in June and initially aimed to name a separate general manager to work under Dubas later this summer. Dubas left the door open in his statement today on bringing a different general manager in down the line, but no such move will be made before next summer.

Saucier’s promotion is well-deserved, to say the least. He’s been in the Penguins organization for more than a decade, initially joining the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as a video coach in 2010. After two seasons in the minors, he was promoted to Pittsburgh to serve in the same role, which he held until 2022. Last offseason, Pittsburgh promoted Saucier to hockey operations analyst. He’s now been promoted yet again to a new role under Dubas, which did not previously exist in the organization.

Heasley has also spent the entirety of his management career in the Penguins organization and had served as the GM of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for parts of the last three seasons. Now, he’ll oversee the entire scouting department as it relates to AHL, ECHL, and junior-league talents.

Daley had spent the past three seasons in a senior advisor role for Pittsburgh, but he and Kessel (whose promotion was previously reported) will now work directly with Dubas in roles similar to what Jason Spezza had previously held when the two worked together last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Update On Erik Karlsson To Pittsburgh Rumblings

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Rob Rossi of The Athletic wrote a column today with regard to the Erik Karlsson trade saga. While many of the updates offered were hardly surprising, there were a few pieces of information that gave some insights into how the Pittsburgh Penguins became involved in the trade talks. Pittsburgh always seemed like a team that couldn’t squeeze a player with Karlsson’s cap number into their lineup, but based on the recent reporting it appears that they are the front-runner.

Rossi begins the article by dropping the news that Kyle Dubas reportedly identified Erik Karlsson as a trade target while he was in the interview process with Penguins ownership. Now, aside from the Tristan Jarry extension to this point much of Dubas’ work has been to tinker around the edges of the Penguins lineup. But it does appear that he’s built up the club’s depth in the bottom six and their defense core for the possibility that some players could be shipped out very soon.

Another newer piece of information that Rossi mentions is that Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have reportedly endorsed the potential Karlsson acquisition and in Letang’s case, he’s even agreed to make changes to his own role within the Penguins lineup. If a potential trade were to go through, Letang would remain as Pittsburgh’s number one defenseman, however, Letang would change his powerplay role to allow Karlsson to quarterback the Penguin’s powerplay.

San Jose was also reportedly interested in defenseman Marcus Pettersson being part of a potential blockbuster, however, Dubas has squashed that notion thus far as head coach Mike Sullivan sees Pettersson and newly acquired defender Ryan Graves as the top two options for the left side of Pittsburgh’s defensive group. Pettersson was terrific for Pittsburgh last season after seeing his name all over trade rumors boards for much of the summer of 2022.

Lastly, Dubas apparently wants to put top-5 protection on any first-round pick he trades in a Karlsson deal and has reportedly floated the idea of putting other conditions such as home-ice advantage on lower-round draft picks that could be involved in the deal.

While it appears that the Penguins are still the front-runner to land the reigning Norris Trophy winner, it doesn’t appear that a trade is imminent anytime soon. Pittsburgh would have to navigate an awful lot of moving parts to push the trade through, however, as we’ve seen in the past these trades can come together quickly when teams are motivated to make the move happen. Regardless of the outcome, it does look like Dubas has plans to continue his makeover of the Penguins roster before the start of the 2023-24 season.

Penguins Notes: Karlsson, Guentzel, O’Connor

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes that all is quiet on the Erik Karlsson trade talks, but the Pittsburgh Penguins remain very interested in the reigning Norris Trophy winner. Yohe doesn’t know whether a deal will materialize quickly or if it could drag out all summer, but Mark Madden has one theory on the matter that Tim Benz writes about in the Pittsburgh Tribute-Review. Madden says that his sources have told him that the San Jose Sharks have the Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes’ best offers and everyone is in a holding pattern to see if the Sharks will crack and take one of the deals.

Kyle Dubas and the Penguins would clearly love to complete a deal, but they do have a reasonably good top-4 defensive group should they miss out on landing Karlsson. While trading for Karlsson would dramatically improve the Penguins offense, they do have a good fallback option should he end up elsewhere. At the moment, Pittsburgh has Jeff Petry penciled in on the right side of their second pairing, and while he didn’t play up to his $6.25MM cap hit last year, his pairing with Marcus Pettersson was quite good.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Yohe writes in The Athletic that the Penguins and pending unrestricted free agent forward Jake Guentzel have had no talks on a contract extension for the two-time 40-goal scorer. Yohe doesn’t find this surprising given that acting Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has been busy taking care of other business and adds that he and Guentzel’s agent have a good working relationship. Yohe’s sense is that the Penguins’ veteran players want Guentzel in the fold long-term, and he figures that the two sides will come to an agreement on an extension in the not-too-distant future. Guentzel has scored 76 goals in the past two seasons and has been the most productive winger that Sidney Crosby has played with, however, he is small in stature and will be 30 years old by the time his next contract kicks in. He will also be looking to cash in on what is likely to be the last lucrative long-term deal he will sign.
  • Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now wonders if the outcome of restricted free agent Drew O’Connor’s contract negotiations is tied to the Penguins’ desire to facilitate a trade for a defenseman. O’Connor filed for arbitration a few weeks ago meaning that once his case is settled or he re-signs it will open a second buyout window for the Penguins. Pittsburgh currently sits over the salary cap even with O’Connor unsigned but could buyout one of their undesirable contracts to create space once O’Connor puts pen to paper. The 25-year-old isn’t expected to demand much of a cap hit as he posted just five goals and six assists in 46 games last season and spent a good chunk of the year in the AHL, however, the days after he signs his next deal could send shockwaves through the NHL.

Latest On Erik Karlsson Trade Talks

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported today on the NHL Network that the San Jose Sharks remain steadfast in their efforts to trade reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. Friedman goes on to say that the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are the two teams that the Sharks are talking to and adds that Carolina may need to work out of a move for defenseman Brett Pesce to acquire some assets to complete a Karlsson deal.

On the Pittsburgh side of things, Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote an article today that outlined why Erik Karlsson is the type of player that general manager Kyle Dubas needs to acquire. Yohe highlights exactly why Karlsson is the right player for the team and the situation the Penguins are currently in. While most of Yohe’s article is in defense of the Penguins acquiring the defenseman, he also adds a couple of pieces of information regarding a potential move. Yohe says that any move Pittsburgh makes for Karlsson would be complex and would involve a third team, which is no surprise given that Karlsson is owed $11.5MM annually for the next four seasons.

Friedman reported Tuesday on his 32 Thoughts Podcast that one hold-up to the potential deal was that teams wanted the Sharks to retain more of Karlsson’s cap hit. He went on to add that at the trade deadline in March San Jose was willing to retain between 18-20% of Karlsson’s cap hit to facilitate a deal. Friedman believes the Sharks will need to retain closer to 30% of the deal which would turn Karlsson into an $8MM player for the acquiring team, and should net the Sharks a better return. Something they are open to. Friedman also reported today on the NHL Network that he believes the Sharks have pursued unrestricted free-agent defenseman Matt Dumba as a possible replacement for Karlsson.

At this point, it almost feels as though the Penguins must acquire Karlsson. Not only would they block Carolina from adding Karlsson to their already stacked defensive unit, but it would help to jump-start their offence which became stale last year for long stretches. Pittsburgh feels like a team that needs a jolt as they have been unable to get out of the first round of the playoffs since 2018 and didn’t even qualify for the postseason last year. Adding a 101-point defenseman would also alleviate some of the offensive pressure off Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the rest of the Penguins’ top-6 forward group who almost single-handily carried the team last season. And while Dubas has been busy overhauling the black hole that was the Penguins’ bottom six, he still hasn’t added much in the way of offensive firepower.

Penguins Notes: First Round Pick, Buyouts, Free Agency

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Pittsburgh Penguins interim general manager Kyle Dubas held a brief media availability today, touching on many of the choices he’ll have to make as he guides the team through his first offseason at the helm. With the team in a tough situation, unable to truly rebuild after missing the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades, Dubas has a thin line to walk to prepare the right roster for 2023-24 while not impeding the team’s long-term outlook.

One of those matters is that of Pittsburgh’s first-round pick, slated for 14th overall on Wednesday. It’s their highest selection since drafting defenseman Derrick Pouliot eighth overall in 2012, and Dubas says the team will likely keep the pick. Pittsburgh has some (but not a lot) of salary maneuverability, and Dubas says that any big trade will likely come with another team looking to shed a mid-tier salaried contract.

Other Penguins notes:

  • One avenue Dubas likely won’t take to clear additional cap space is a buyout. He told reporters today he doesn’t prefer to use them, citing more “creative solutions” to opening up a team’s financial picture. Forward Mikael Granlund, who had just five points in 21 games after a midseason trade and is under contract for two more seasons at $5MM per year, was a highly speculated buyout candidate this offseason. If the team can’t find a way to move him in a deal, he’ll likely be sticking around for the time being.
  • Dubas also says the team won’t be going after any high-profile free agents, instead aiming to hit on some value bets – something he had a great deal of success doing during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He mentioned the door isn’t closed on contract extensions with Jason Zucker and Tristan Jarry, the latter of which is crucial for the team’s clarity without a ton of other goalie options on the open market. He alluded to defenseman Brian Dumoulin heading to the open market, and they’ll look to replace his spot with a more cost-effective UFA.

Pittsburgh Penguins Hire Jason Spezza

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The Pittsburgh Penguins named longtime NHLer and former Toronto Maple Leafs executive Jason Spezza an assistant general manager today, the team said in a release. Spezza joins former boss Kyle Dubas in the Pittsburgh front office.

Spezza served as a special assistant to Dubas for Toronto last season after retiring in 2022 but resigned from his post after Toronto announced they wouldn’t renew Dubas’ contract as general manager. Dubas then joined the Penguins as president of hockey operations earlier this month.

With Toronto, Spezza was involved with all aspects of hockey operations, including player personnel and development, minor league operations, and hockey research and development. Per the Penguins, his role there will be the same, reporting directly to Dubas and “[assisting] club management in all hockey operations departments.”

Dubas gave a statement on the hire of his colleague and friend:

After a decorated playing career, Jason fully immersed himself on the management side of the game learning all facets of hockey operations this past season while with Toronto. He showed tremendous work ethic, curiosity, and ability to build relationships throughout all departments at the team facility. His move from the roster to the front office staff also helped make the hockey operations department, coaching staff and playing roster a more cohesive and collaborative unit. We are thrilled to have Jason join the Pittsburgh Penguins today as he will add a great perspective to our Club, and we are excited to watch him reach his potential in management.

It’s worth noting Dubas isn’t Spezza’s only connection to the Penguins’ front office. He played one season each with player development staff member Matt Cullen in Ottawa and hockey operations advisor Trevor Daley in Dallas.

The Penguins are building their new front office in an unusual way, hiring associate members before solidifying a longer-term general manager. Dubas said during his initial media availability in Pittsburgh that he plans to serve as interim general manager through the offseason before making a permanent hire closer to the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

Based on the club’s verbiage, it seems that Spezza will still report directly to Dubas even after a GM hire is made.

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