Kyle Dubas continues to chart a path toward the future

Perhaps a new era is already upon us?

Day one of the 2024 Free Agent Frenzy is in the books, and as previously mentioned, general manager Kyle Dubas did not swing for a big fish. Instead, he decided to fill out his roster with what little cap space he had to sign several veteran players to one or two-year deals.

I’ve seen takes running the gamut, saying the Pittsburgh Penguins have well and truly entered a rebuild to the team essentially “punting” on this season in favor of one more crack at the cookie next season with even more salary cap flexibility on the horizon.

“It’s hard to put a timeframe on it, but this is not a strip-it-down-to-the-studs situation here,” Dubas said during a media briefing on Monday afternoon.

Whatever the case, Dubas has laid out his plans for retooling or rebuilding these Penguins while still sharing his admiration for and recognition of this core group of players that have been here for nearly 20 years.

“The people in the room are too good for that. It’s trying to use every method we can to acquire future assets that we can, then bring into the organization through the draft or younger guys through free agency, or via trade or via waivers that can come in and support the core group that’s here.

“What we’re not going to do is get into the free agent quick fixes like some of the longer-range things that we’ve seen today. If we had been in a situation where we had been a playoff team and close to being a contender, we would do that. But I think the appetite here is to try to get the team back into contention for the great players who have been here for so long of a time.”

“(Today’s) been very different than the last number of years,” Dubas said. “But it’s exciting all the same because Andy Saucier and the pro scouting staff and our group have done so much work. We’re excited about the guys that we brought in, all for different reasons, and think they all have a chance to have a big impact on the Penguins.”

Where will Kevin Hayes play?

Kevin Hayes, acquired from the St. Louis Blues, has long been deployed as a center. Will he assume the role of third-line centerman? What about Lars Eller or Noel Acciari?

“I just think it gives us another option there,” Dubas said. “(Hayes) can start in the defensive zone and drive play up the ice, which gives us another option for a reprieve to Sid and Geno. You have them, Hayes, Lars (Eller), [and] Blake Lizotte. We have a number of guys in that realm, (including) Vasily Ponomarev and Sam Poulin coming. It’s exciting for us to have that competition, especially with some of those guys I named being on the older side.”

Dubas also mentioned the possibility of moving center Noel Acciari to the wing.

Bounce back for the bouncing Beauvillier?

Forward Anthony Beauvillier has bounced to a few different teams since beginning his career with a multi-season stint as a New York Islander. Now, he is a Pittsburgh Penguin, and Dubas believes Beauvillier can rekindle some of that lost magic.

“But, when you watch the film and you start to dig into it, that player that was so effective for the Islanders and going back to his draft year, and just continuing to get better and better is still there,” Dubas said of Beauvillier. “We just have to provide the environment for him to show that again. I think he was willing to bet on himself with a very low-money deal for one year in exchange for the opportunity to come in here and try to earn a spot in the lineup.”

Leaving the door open for a P.O Joseph return

Defenseman P.O Joseph was not tendered a qualifying offer on Sunday, allowing him to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent. The defenseman, who showed continuous signs of growth down the stretch last season, still has a path that could lead him back to Pittsburgh.

“The situation is fairly complex, in that when you have an arbitration-eligible player, the other players who don’t get Q-O’d impact the arbitration case. If a number of players that are in that grouping don’t get qualified, you put yourself at more risk. As that information came to us as we went into yesterday, we had Vukie Mpofu in constant discussion with his representative. We said, ‘This is what we would do.’ Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t be qualifying. They elected to take it. They could test the market out. Initially, with the number of similar players, I thought it would be a slam dunk to qualify. But as the situation changes, you always have to be cognizant of that. We had to change course and use some of that money on Grzelcyk this afternoon.”

Bon voyage, Reilly Smith

For whatever reason, the Reilly Smith experiment did not work out for the Penguins, who thought they would get a point-producing, goal-scoring replacement for the departed Jason Zucker. After an impressive start, Smith quickly faded and was dropped down the lineup as the season progressed.

Why was Smith traded to a division rival for two draft picks?

“It was for the second, and then the fifth was essentially the toll for the retention,” Dubas said, with Pittsburgh paying 25% of Smith’s $3.75 million cap hit. “You get to the trade deadline and look at it, if you’re going to move them then, you’re just going to get the pick, and the retention is expected unless you’re a third-party broker. So, that was the decision there to move it across the line. We have the space, and to get the two assets back after giving up the third was just an asset management thing.”

A reset for Rickard Rakell

It’s no secret that forward Rickard Rickell struggled last year. He was signed to put the puck in the net, but he did so only 15 times in 70 games last season. Dubas is excited to see Rakell shake out of this slump.

“I’m confident that he will. I look forward to that happening,” Dubas said. “I can only take the reports from Marty Lauzon and the performance staff that he’s had a great summer so far, which we challenged him to do when he left. He’s a great pro.”

Seeking Sidney Crosby’s approval

For his role as captain for nearly 20 years now, Sidney Crosby’s approval is still widely sought, even by decision-makers like Dubas, who has shown immense respect for the future Hockey Hall of Famer.

“He obviously holds an extremely special place here, so it would be foolish for me not to keep in constant contact with him and let him know what we’re thinking,” Dubas said. “As soon as we bring somebody in, we let him know. He reaches right out to the draft picks. He reached out to the guys here today. For me, it’s important for him especially… when we’re going through something a little different than what everyone has been used to since he arrived in 2005, the key is going to be clear communication and being very open about it and transparent. It would be foolish for me not to. That’s what we do. So far, so good.”

Kyle Dubas covered a lot of ground after being thrust into the yearly whirlwind that is the NHL off-season.

One statement that sticks out is the part where Dubas says, “I think the appetite here is to try to get the team back into contention.”

How much longer can you wait to make this team a contender again when your superstars are over 35?

Perhaps the plan is for one more “all in” year in 2025-26 before properly accelerating any rebuild.

We’ll see how much gas is left in the tank a year from now before gearing up for one last hurrah or one decently high draft pick.