Pittsburgh Penguins Prove That Whole "Kyle Dubas Won't Work Anywhere But Toronto Next Year" Thing Was Just A Massive Load Of Bullshit
Bruce Bennett. Getty Images.Honor. Integrity. Character.
All of those things are crucial when it comes to choosing the man in charge of constructing your roster in the NHL. Arguably those things are even more important than his ability to scout and assess talent.
Because a lack of honor and integrity and character? Well that's a disease. And it can plague the entire organization from the top down. From the President of Hockey Operations to the coaching staff to the players to the equipment manager to the folks checking tickets on the way into the barn. It all starts at the top.
So I want all of you to read something for me real quick. This was Kyle Dubas' statement after the Leafs season ended in the 2nd round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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Now to be fair, it did sound like Dubas made it pretty clear that he specifically wouldn't be taking another General Manager job with another team. So maybe there's a loophole here. But it sure as shit sounded like he said he'll either stay in Toronto, or he won't go anywhere. That was just a couple short weeks ago.
And now today?
Technically not a GM. But also technically full of shit.
Which is music to my ears as a Flyers fan. Literally took this guy 17 days to break his word about working for another organization next season. If he can flip-flop that easily on a major decision like picking his family up and moving them to a new city to work for a new team, then I can only imagine how easily he'll flip flop on minor shit like whether or not to spend 75% of Pittsburgh's salary on 4 players.
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So congrats to Kyle Dubas on the new gig. 1 more years with Guentzel under contract, 2 more years of Crosby and 3 more years of Evgeni Malkin. That should give him just enough time to make sure the Penguins never develop an identity to really solidify a rebuild.
P.S. -- Bring back Hextall. I think he did great.