DID DUBAS MAKE A HUGE MISTAKE IN FIRST YEAR AS PENGUINS GM? 

Does it suck, yes. But does it change the fact Crosby is and always will be one of the all time greats, no.

No different than what Dubas did to the Leafs by signing Tavares when the Leafs were the 3rd highest scoring team in the NHL. It was his Splash as the new GM. Exactly the same thing he’s done with Pitt signing Karlsson.

the fact that we are still talking about Sid like this shows how blessed we are as fans

The entire media is acting as if Crosby hasn’t already won 3 cups. You need to get over it. Yes it’s annoying that Crosby is having a potential career year and they’re nowhere close to playoffs, but he’s won 3 fucking cups! Most good players don’t even win 1. He’s done everything he needs, they’re not going to win another cup. It’s not going to happen unless he leaves

Dubas should have started dismantling the team rather than adding someone like Karlsson. It has been obvious for 2-3 seasons that the Penguins championship window is closed.

Sid looks pissed. I'd go mental if I were him.

From a reddit thread: So Dubas has a problem: - Can't fire his coach. - Can't trade Crosby, Malkin, and Letang. - Can't trade Guentzel because Crosby likes him. - Probably can't trade Rust or Rakell because their contracts aren't the kind that get moved. - Has no real depth. - Has no draft picks.

Happy not to have you in Toronto anymore 😊~ every leafs fan

What are you talking about? Dubas overturned half the roster. The problem is Sullivan, who's still coaching like it's 2016. That's Dubas's biggest failure: adopting the blind loyalty in Sullivan (that was already in place when he got there). Funny how Karlsson, Acciari, Smith, and Graves all forgot how to play hockey this year.

ovechkin and crosby both got screwed team wise at the end of their carreers. sad

Isn't trading away draft capital and being in constant "go for it" mode how the Pens got here in the first place?

Dubas acquired Karlsson in an attempt to keep the Penguins competitive with Crosby. Dubas gave up a #1 pick in the trade.

His Trophy case is full. The poor Pens and all those Cups. Sid and all his accomplishments as a definitive generational talent. Why not lead a kid like Mario did for him? Each team has its era. Detroit had theirs. Now its the Pens turn. *Karlsson just came off another huge season, and... he's not exactly lighting the world on fire in Pittsburgh.

The pens hired Dubas to lead the penguins, not Crosby

Changing the coach in February helped the Oilers both times they slid infamously. Penguins need the same now.

Bringing in Karlsson was a huge mistake. Hasn't done much for the Penguins nor for my fantasy teams. Still a very good player but ??

Too late …not surprised as he blew it in Toronto too

Dubas is a flawed GM.....look at the cap mess he left in Toronto.

what a horrendous take

Free agency is a fools erand these days. Keep the picks and have crosby mentor the future instead of selling it off for preverbial magical beans. Theres no one thats gonna come in available in 4 days that'll make this team a cup contender above others. Its done.

I am a Flyers fan, so I despise the Pens. I believed it was a huge mistake when they acquired Karlsson. and a could not believe that so many claimed that move made them a contender. Making the oldest team older still was foolish. Trading away draft pics for good, younger players would help, but I doubt it would make them a contender.

This is the double edged sword of the mindset it takes to be great. Acknowledging reality can occasionally be helpful

If ownership won’t let Dubas change the coach or the core, bringing in EK to try to squeeze what he could out of the core was probably the best call, even though it hasn’t worked. You could get a boatload for the core players if you traded and retained $$

Crosby won 3 Cups. How haven't the Pens been fair to him? NHL teams can't stay competitive forever. They're an aging team and it's time for a rebuild. If Sid doesn't want to be part of it, Dubas can get a boatload for him and the rebuild will happen quicker. Same with Malkin and Letang. If they don't want to be part of the rebuild, they can be traded to a contender real easily.

Pittsburgh is going through a slow decline leading to a complete rebuild. What do people expect from a team that won championships and gave up assets to get said championships? Happened to Detroit and is going on in Pittsburgh and Chicago. It’s not add water and everything is gravy.

Crosby has been amazing all year (as usual)-it’s been a pleasure to watch him play so well, even 19 years into his career. It’s sad to see how how little help he’s getting, but the Pens have too many problems to fix for a quick turnaround… I blame Hextall way more than Dubas.

lol Crosby looked mad AF

Of course, who could have guessed that bringing EK in on a bad contract would be any good, if you already have Letang. And who could have guessed that aging Malkin and Letang are not good on 6,1m contracts? Really? Coach is a topic too, but the Pens are like the Caps in a situation where other teams did take over. They won`t beat the Canes, Rangers and the Devils. Remind me a lot on the Red Wings after their last team did slowly retire, they were bubble in for a while, then bubble out but GM Holland refused to really pull of a full rebuild by signing veterans way to expensive.

Full autonomy to do everything but trade any of the core for young players, or fire the coach? Ownership marching orders were to keep the gang together and run it back for some reason. Dubas has made mistakes like Karlsson and extending Jarry, but not being able to maximize value for players with diminishing returns has handcuffed him.

Trade draft picks for guys that contribute to a team that can make the playoffs and bow out in round one. Sorry Sid

By the way to all of you blaming Dubas, it wasnt him that resigned Malkin, Letang. I would have made that trade for Karlsson 100 times because of who they shipped out. At some point the players have to step up.

Everyone knew getting karlsson was a mistake. Karlsson struggled in SJ for years because he and burns were playing the same role on the same team. After burns left, karlsson lit up offensively. So why would Dubas go out and overpay for karlsson’s massive contract when they already had Letang. Even a cheap bottom pairing defensmen would have made more sense than bringing in karlsson

I don’t see why it’s so hard for Pitts to realize their window to win is firmly shut. Look at Chicago. Great in the 2010s but realized a few years ago, it’s over. I know, Chicago is a bit different cuz Toews is still there but injured. But they traded away Kane. How’s the Pittsburgh situation any different? Chicago did it the right way. Sucked for a year and now they have Bedard

When the Pens did not pick up Corry Perry I knew it was over. The Pens played like a bunch of wimps . Why could the management not see our players pushed around ,punched in the face ! Nobody ever cleared out the other players in front of our net , Crossing the Pens blueline was like visiting your gramma . The rarest thing in hockey this year a real body checks in our end zone !

Sid gave 3 teams he was willing to go to at the trade deadline or in the offseason so not sure why your saying he is stuck in this mess. Sid is open for a trade to the Avs, Leafs, and Canucks. Don't be surprised is he's moved at the drafts, either of those three teams can give him the best winger he's ever played with up to this point. In Toronto, Sid could have Willie or Mitch. Sid would hit 100 points again and if he went to the Avs, that is just too scary to even think about.

Where's the support? Seriously? Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson are all legit elite players. Crosby has been very lucky to have that kind of a supporting cast for so long. That said, I knew when they re-signed Malkin and Letang that the Pens were screwing themselves. They needed to move those guys for some young prospects and do a 2-3 year 'rebuild on the fly'. And trading for Karlsson was typical Dubas 'put all your eggs in one basket' stupidity. But it's not fair to say Crosby has no support. It's just the wrong support.

What did Dubas do in Toronto? The Tavares signing was his splash but that screwed up salary structure. Those Leafs needed leadership but not at that cost. Traded away majority of draft choices at deadlines that have never worked once. Remember they won only one playoff series only to get completely manhandled in the next series. Hired Keefe that has been out coached more often than not during the playoffs. Lost more trades than he has won. Look back at his trades, not good. I feel for the Pittsburgh fans and Sydney, with his track record this could get uglier.

As a Penguin fan, I entirely disagree with this take on Dubas. Yes, he was brought in to put the best team around Crosby and, for that matter Malkin, with the belief that they could both still play at a high level. Unfortunately, and again as a Pittsburgh Penguin fan, Malkin has fallen off of a cliff. Rikard Rakell and Reilly Smith haven't performed up to snuff. Our bottom six can't score a goal to save their lives (although Noel Acciari was one heck of a find). On paper, with a team that has: Crosby, Malkin, Guenztel, Rust, Rakell, Smith, Letang, Karlsson and Peterson, there would be little doubt that they should be in the playoffs SO, in that regards, Dubas definitely did his job. What Dubas didn't take into account is just how slow, with a much younger NHL, the Penguins have become less Crosby, Rust and Guentzel on the top 6 and Karlsson and Letang on the back end. So, no, this isn't Dubas' fault and, the reality of the situation is that the Pittsburgh Penguins have been the gold standard in the NHL for 17 seasons and, eventually, the music stops due to age and a loss of speed, which is what we are going thru now. As such, and as is the nature of the beast in any professional sports league, the team will have to be disassembled (via trades), where picks and prospects can be accumulated for the future. Lastly, given that Crosby is the leader of all leaders, if he came to management and asked for a trade, say to the Avalanche, to play with his friend and fellow superstar, the Penguins would most certainly oblige. (Crosby, Guentzel, Malkin and Letang, at the end of the day --- just like Jagr --- are / is and always will be Pittsburgh Penguins, no matter who else they play for). I get it, sour grapes from Toronto because the Penguins have one of the best GM's in the league. Rip on him all you want. The penguins future looks promising with Dubas where he is!

I can’t name a good move from Dubas. I see Alex Nylander blooming in Columbus, Hyman having the time of his life in Edmonton and Tavares and Karlsson quickly decaying… Not a good move to hire him for the fragile market of Pittsburg.

Gino dressed like me with the Costco Bench sweater whike working from home.

Shanny is grinning from earlobe to earlobe about Kyle Dubas’s dilemma.

I thought the Pens situation was pretty hopeless coming into the season. Then Dubas picked up Karlsson, but it doesn't change the fact that this is a very old talent thin team. It is a waste having Crosby on the team. I think they should have persuaded him and Malkin to accept a trade and pile up prospects as well as some cheaper veterans to help move the team forward. As much as I hate Corey Perry and given what happened in Chicago he might have been able to work with younger players--I do hear he's a good teammate. If they keep Crosby and Malkin next year they will continue to be a terrible team with one of the greatest of all time pushing a rock up a hill for them.

Dubas is the definition of a mid gm, but there was no fixing this team. They were too old and broken before Dubas came in and he unfortunately made it worse. At this point all you can do is initiate a rebuild and hope the your contracted players without no move clauses agree to go to contenders...

Burke and Hexstall started the demise of the Pens. Dufus putting on the finishing touch.

What a stupid take. The mistake that dubas made was not sitting by and assessing and instead going out and giving assets and money to karlsson, graves, eller, and smith. He did this for the exact reason you’re criticizing him. Genius, Gino.

Top ten in scoring? Wake up Gino

Blame Fenway Sports Group. The fact that isn’t considered a compromising relationship is crazy

Dubas has already made alot of mistakes but trading guentzal is the biggest one because other than Crosby he has been the most consistent player on the team for years

Do people actually think Dubas is a good GM?

I mean he didn't correct the problems the team had going into this season, his "big" solution was an aging, injury prone D man coming off the back of ONE good year. They wanted to give the core one last go and I get that but it's over , trade away everything and rebuild, try and talk Crosby into a move and get something for him while he still has value.

We have to face the facts as they are, the Pens need a rebuild and its unfortunate that Crosby may not be part of it! Hes been great throughout his career and still is does some amazing things! But most of the players on the team are coming to end of their careers and fresh blood is needed. Dare I say it, a trade to a contender would not be outta the question? A place where his talents could be used to help another team win a cup. Many players have done this so that team they played for all their career have a chance to rebuild and not try a short term fixed to make playoffs and hope to win a cup!

Get use to it! From Leafs fan

There comes a point when every team needs to walk away from its ageing stars and rebuild anew. That time is now for the pens. Dubas made his shot with acquiring Karlsson, it hasn’t worked out. Trade Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Karlsson along with pretty much every other player not part of a potential new core. You could grab enough picks and prospects to have the rebuild done in 3/4 years at the most. Sure it sucks to end an era like this with a whimper but better to rip the bandaid off quick then suffer for the next 6-7!

Crosby is not going to fall for any BS reporter questions.

Dubas didn’t create the problem, he’s just there to sink the ship.

You act like the team was SO GOOD before Dubas. He hasn't even been on the job a year, and Hextall left a MESS. He can't work miracles over the course of one season.

Did they really think they were going to go for another cup? What superstar past 35 achieves that, unless your a rental. But franchise players have their time.

Like Washington they are older. At some point the party ends. They’d be best to do a rebuild, but I wouldn’t want to be the GM that moved Crosby or Malkin out of Pittsburgh

Duffas was a mastermind and greatest GM in history....when he managed the Leafs. How quickly the TO media changes their tone.

I have to disagree with Reda here, as have some of the commentators below....Of course, the superstars in any league want to have a storybook career, playing for one team, but it is very difficult for any team in any sport to remain competitive for 20 years....Gretzky, the greatest ever, was not an Oiler forever....Patrick Kane is playing in Detroit, and in football, iconic Players like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, both won Super Bowls with teams other than the ones for which they had Hall of Fame careers. Crosby is one of the greats - everyone loves him - but the Penguins should trade him. Let him win a Cup somewhere else.

Crosby is gonna drop off. Ovechkin had 50 goals and 90 points at the age of 36 and hes been known to display more longevity than crosby.

It is kind of funny though watching Malkin struggle to breathe. Crosby is using the IPAD to check his retirement account during the game.

Dubas was brought in to not rebuild the team. that was never going to work. they should have started rebuilding like 5 years ago

There is nothing any GM could do that would have made the Penguins cup-contenders this season. They should have begun a mini rebuild 2 or 3 years ago, then they may have been able to provide Crosby with a contending team for the last couple years of his contract. At this point, I would trade everything away for youth, prospects and picks. Let Sid go, if he wants to try and still compete for another cup. I doubt it is possible to even do a mini-rebuild that would be successful in time where he is still able to play at his current level. The Pens are just too old and handcuffed by too many large contracts. Trading for Karlsson was flashy, but didn't address half of the issues that the team needed. Just like that dumb trade for Jeff Petry. Why are we trying to get older, when we should've been focusing on getting younger, faster and rebuilding?

Toronto is an entirely different situation. He was handed millions to use superstars and had 15mill more cap space to work with. Didnt have as many guys that are underperforming wrapped up in high salary like Malkin or Rust. Dubas was handed a pile of crap with the Penguins and now hes trying to shine a pile of crap into a diamond. Not his fault at all.

Who does Crosby and Malkin get traded to off season

Malkin stole my darts

Dubas is the man🥶😂

Holy cow, I'm amazed at how sad you are for Crosby. The dude was won everything and has had an amazing career. So what if it ends on a shitty Penguins team. It's his decision to not be traded to a contender. So what exactly are we feeling sorry for TSN?!?! Cheers

Wherever Dubas is taking the Penguins .. It ain't a cup. Wonder boy's days are numbered already.

Help us out for VGK team to get rid of those trade deadline without Pittsburgh is stinks, again!

Dubas trading for Erik Karlsson is equivalent to signing free agent John Tavares at $11 M for seven seasons.

Surprised that Dubas traded off Guenztel who performs famously with Crosby. It would have been wiser to keep them together. Trading pics for high prtforming players leads to a winning playoff Penguins Team. Vegas is doing it. Dubas is a dupa.

I said it before, and I'll say it again. Dubas is terrible at his job. If he was anywhere except Toronto, he'd be jobless now. He can't build a great team

Dubas leaves a mess wherever he goes. Look at the financial situation he left in Toronto.

The Penguins have a hopeless situation. They will be bad for the foreseeable future.

Dubas inherited this team the graves signing didn't workout which is a brutal one but this mess started during the Seattle expansion draft.

Yes, Dubas gets rid of most of the deadwood from the previous Management, and brings in Karlsson - but this is his fault

The GM is an absolute wizzard, he "managed" to convince the right people he's a brilliant hockey man. What, exactly, did he accomplish in Toronto? Was genius to select Marner and company because was rewarded for failure with great draft positions? What was The "Fancy Stat" expert expecting from Karlsson this year? IF I look at the the top 4 scorers on the Team the problem is clear. One is 37 years old, another 36 and the others are 35 and 33. Two of them are Defencemen? There are 3 points separating Letang from Karlie...what did the Fancy Stat want? Karlsson is immensely talented but like Mathews in Toronto, he doesn't mind losing. He's NOT a winner. Whereas Letang will bleed for his Team, Karlie won't break a sweat. We have these expectations fir GMs and some are great but many are over rated. Dorion was in Ottawa for a long time and they'll miss the post season for the 9th time in 11 years. Treliving, after destroying Calgary, was made GM in Toronto by another incompetent, ShanaPLAN Shanahan. I'm not sure it would be the most prudent move to sell the future to surround Crosby with good players when he's 36 years old. I would be asking Crosby where he would like to finish his career...he has mentioned Montreal. I wonder, what do the "experts" expect from Fancy Stats? As a Sens fan, we've been living through one constant or multiple "rebuilds" since Murray dismantled the '07 Team that went to the finals. The strategy these Hockey PsyOpps Execs rely on is never committing to anything. They NEVER publicly state goals and objectives..afterall, they can be measured and quantified and determine success and failure. Players, Assistants, Coaches, some A/GMs and GMs will fall but for people like ShanaPLAN they never face the music. How long has much celebrated YzerPLAN Yzerman bern at it in Detroit...they'll miss the Playoffs AGAIN. Is it brilluance to build bad teams then secure great positions in the draft...even a dumbass like ne could do that.

Kyle is a guppy amongst Sharks in the NHL! Great Ahl gm, in the NHL he is in way over his head.

Oh man i can't stop smiling knowing that we don't have Dubas signing long-term, over valued, no-trade contracts anymore... I'm sure he's a good guy, but he REALLY sucks as a GM and doesn't take any accountability for ruining teams.

Would you please send Sidney Crosby tans they would be wonderful to to get the Stanley cup for the Toronto maple leaf ‘s

By the way guentzel was never sids best linemate that trophy goes to Chris Kunitz also the Penguins are soft no grit at all amd thats heen going on for years, we dont have matt cooke, craig adams,max talbot, hal gill, tyler kennedy, aaron asham, brooks orpik, ryan malone, ruslan fedotanko or any players like that

Who hired Dubas??? Whoever it was, hasn't got a freakin' clue.

Karlsson huge flop, would have been better off taking Liljegren with him or signing Erik Gustafsson, 1/10 of the cost and do the same thing

Dubas made his move to help Crosby and the Pens.... unfortunately it was the wrong move.....Karlsson...meantime Pittsburgh have a Power play that is 28th in the league...not good enough ...try again.

Hey Gino were you as critical of Dubas in Toronto? I dont remember you being so. If you weren't, you should have been.

Pittsburgh made a huge mistake in hiring DuMbass, as he single handily once proved in Toronto, how to destroy a franchise‼️Didn’t the Penguins witness what DuMbass accomplished in Toronto during his tenure? Nothing more than overpay players, trade away assets, and cap-out the team going forward‼️Now DuMbass leaves Crosby with nothing to succeed with in Pittsburgh and play out his time and career…Kyle DuMbass is a disgrace to the NHL‼️👎👎

if crosby was half as smart as he is loyal then he should want to move for another chance at a cup. Pens are going through a rebuilt and wasting crosbys last chance to win when he could be playing along side mackinnon chasing possibly several legit chances for another cup, maybe a couple more actual cups.

The more time that goes by without Croz in a Knux jersey is a waste of time really....

Dubas has never won anything, but must be one hell of a smooth talker

ALl these Toronto media people stayed silent while Dubas ruined the Leafs

They are in the playoffs as of yesterday.

Add another mess to Dubas' resume.

Bring back Kessel to the Burgh

Dubas îs the Jack Campbell of GM's!

His mistake was getting karlsson.

anyone who knows anything about hockey can see that Malkin has been a liability for years. Funny that no one can play with him and his unforced errors leads the NHL.

They're the oldest team in the league, who would've thought that old men can't skate with young kids? Time for the Pens to phone it in. Or are their scouts seeking the next generational talent before fully committing to doing that?

No, he didn’t make a mistake. He’s doing anything he possibly can, with what he has, to fix whatever the hell this is that Hextall got us into