Kingerski: Penguins Core, Needed Dubas Correction
The Pittsburgh Penguins are turning toward the bitter reality of playing out the remaining string of games with nothing to play for but pride, personal accomplishments, and jobs for next season. If there was any doubt about the shortcomings of the 2023-24 Penguins team, they were confirmed en masse as the team took a commanding 4-0 lead over the Colorado Avalanche only to choke it away in the biggest squandered lead of the season.
The disappointment was different Sunday. It was no longer about the widening gap of the playoff race but the disgust of continuing failure and the inability to stop it despite earning a 4-0 lead.
Through the course of travels and a few hundred thousand words of reporting and analysis, we’ve tried to analyze the team as critically and objectively as possible without favor to the team or the fist-shaking of social media.
However, there are a few things to which I’ve alluded or left unstated, and two specifically go to Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas’s coming decisions and past philosophy.
Penguins Opinions
1)Â The Penguins’ core, including Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, isn’t enough anymore, not on the ice and not in the room.
How did management not see the Penguins were broken?
Hidden in the context of the multiple first-half questions about jelling and adjustment was the implication that things were not well. Beyond Ryan Graves’s subpar season or Erik Karlsson’s somewhat muted campaign was the idea the Penguins lacked the internal gumption necessary to rise to their challenge.
There is less character and less leadership in the room.
Lars Eller is perhaps the conscience of the room, and Bryan Rust is a blood-and-guts leader, but the team needs more still. There is a lack of leadership, a lack of fire, and a lack of heart in the collective.
Too many look to Sidney Crosby to do everything, from leadership to scoring.
Did Karlsson throw off the dynamic that much? No, because the Penguins’ bread lacked yeast going back to the second half of last season. They’ve failed to seize opportunities, gifted or earned,
Dubas papered over the shortcomings with Karlsson, but the improved analytics didn’t change the underlying realities.
For Dubas to effect serious change for next season, two of the three core members must become complementary players. Finding core pieces isn’t cheap or easy, so the team may need an abundance of complementary players to fill the void. Or Dubas will need to clear more salary and throw it at another potentially core player.
2) Dubas’s Construction: Too Many Numbers, Too Little Guts
In addition to the players able to carry the responsibility of the Penguins with Sidney Crosby, role players willing to play in the dirty areas and capable of scoring are essential.
The Penguins are soft. This chart says it all.
I discard many advanced stat arguments. You know, like the ones that show the Penguins should be a top-five team in the NHL. Anyone who watched more than two Penguins games this season would find that laughable. I like empirical on-ice arguments, and so Micah Blake McCurdy of HockeyViz dropped the bomb on the Penguins Friday.
They’re losing both net-front battles. Coach Mike Sullivan has admitted his team doesn’t get there in the offensive zone, and they need more net-front contact in the defensive zone. Players talk about it, too.
That part is no secret. Again, we go back to roster construction.
Exactly who did the Penguins expect to win these battles? Did the Penguins expect Marcus Pettersson and P.O Joseph to suddenly morph into grisly defenders with permanent cuts on the bridge of their noses and smiles without teeth?
Did they expect Rickard Rakell to eschew his skilled game to throw mitts near the crease? Were they expecting Drew O’Connor to become a bulldozing power forward who seeks the wars?
Penguins goalies are too uncomfortable and seemingly pay for every mistake while opposing goalies are allowed to be far too comfortable and get away with too much. How many bad goalies have looked like Marty Brodeur against the Penguins this season?
Michael Bunting is a step in the right direction. I’ll stand by my Dubas criticism that delaying the Jake Guentzel trade was harmful for the emotional toll it took on the team at a crucial moment and for trapping Dubas in a sellers role until the situation was resolved.
The Penguins have talent, but they showed up to the job site without all of the necessary tools.
Building teams that liked pretty over pain was a constant criticism of Dubas in Toronto. The more hockey changes, the more the bedrock fundamentals must be honored.
The Penguins need more players inside the dots, and it is up to the GM to get a few who will go there. The advanced stats on that should be clear, too.
Categorized:Penguins Penguins Analysis
First, the restrictions on Dubas need to be removed (whatever they are). Coaches, players, etc. IMO, 59 wasn’t traded in the summer because of how it could have affected 87 for the entire season. Maybe GMKD could have moved him earlier during the two weeks leading up to the deadline, but I still think that would have bothered 87. Now that they’re toast, get busy in the summer. And hope for as high of a pick in the first round this year. Send SJ next year’s and use that as motivation for next year. I like Dave’s idea of signing… Read more »
100% agree with this article. But truthfully, there are numerous posters here who have made these same arguments since the very beginning of the season. We were mocked for not understanding that rough and tumble DUDES are almost an extinct species. Well, just look at the all-for-one, one-for-all philosophy of the Panthers to understand that the demise of the physical DUDE is greatly exaggerated. The Pens roster needs about 5 or 6 DUDES next year so that Sid doesn’t have to fight his own battles and the battles of his teammates…that one of those DUDES will have his back the… Read more »
While Ron Francis was the big “get” in the 1991 John Cullen trade, I always felt Ulf Samuelsson was the secret sauce that brought the protection for the stars, especially Mario. I hated him when we had to play against him, but loved him when he was a Penguin. You have to have a skilled enforcer.
Ulf made every guy in 91 a foot taller and 20 lbs heavier.
I’ve been hoping for some mean sons of bitches for this team for years! I realize some may be offended but some tougher guys can play hockey too. It doesn’t appear that many teams respect the Penguins anymore. The make em pay on the powerplay hasn’t really worked out too well lately.
Yep! Sully is still living in 2017.
Exactly. The Cats have that pack mentality which I love to see. Youre not gonna battle one guy, you’re gonna battle the whole team.
Thank God, a Pittsburgh Sports Media Personality with the guts to finally address the issues that are destroying this organization. A team thats old, soft, small, no character or leadership. Horrible Coaching Staff and in serious trouble. Dan, thanks for having the guts to address how bad this situation has become. A Sports Media Personality that actually cares about a team and honest enough to address the problems. Thanks Dan.
I don’t think pens need reaves or gudbranson. They need rugged defensive defensemen to keep people away from our net, like younger orpik, skuderi, Hal gill, or Ian Cole. And some scrappy wingers with a little bit of finishing skill to go to front of net and raise hell in ozone. Like hornqvist, Kunitz, guerin, dupuis
First of all, Dubas put together a roster that everyone loved on October 1st. It seems this page thinks a GM can wave a magic wand and make everything better. Who’s to say that Dubas didn’t try for weeks to make a move to help this underachieving roster. (I honestly don’t remember a member of the media asking him until the deadline) . He inherited a shit show from Hextall and the puck bunnies and fan boys that wanna see 71 and 58 receive their AARP cards while still pulling a check from the organization. The 3 amigos have way… Read more »
100%
Dubas took to much risk on October 1st with not a lot of chance for reward. It looked ok on paper to some(not me) but never was properly thought through. Dubas gives me very little c
Have you watched smith skating around waving his stick vs taking the body, being soft on pucks, turning it over, etc.? He looks like he is playing preseason and trying to not get hurt. I agree on accairi. I can’t figure out what happened with rakell…I really liked that signing. He just seems like he got his big new contract, then spent the summer drinking beer and sleeping in rafts in the pool like my lazy a@$…rather than working out. Something is wrong with Malkin.. I don’t think it is just age. And, a lot of us had raised eyebrows… Read more »
Roster construction – Dubas had amongst the worst hands in all of the NHL you can’t possibly fix that in 1 year. Why didn’t GM RH fix net front presence? Just what was he going to do without trading Jarry or a number 1 draft pick? Sure there were a few Grit players out there but gosh how do you know he wasn’t in on them or what the price was given the many many holes that developed this year. Gosh we were all pretty happy with the Roster Construction at the beginning of the season (again given what went… Read more »
Doing nothing would have been better than what we have now. Less flexibility, less cap room, fewer draft picks ugh!!
I was cautiously optimistic at beginning of season, but apprehensive about Karlsson addition. I hope it would work, and trusted that there was some genius behind it. And that move clearly has not worked. I keep waiting for some reporter to finally come out with a truthbomb, like Crosby and/or Malkin can’t stand Karlsson, do not want to play with him anymore, etc. There is just a bad vibe. And I could swear I saw Karlsson try to say something to Sid after that pathetic attempt to clear a puck himself on back hand, despite two teammates open for pass… Read more »
Is there a softer player than EK? I think Dubas had one chance to preserve the legacy years of Malkin, Crosby and Letang. He blew it with all the signings this summer especially EK and Ryan Graves. There is no flexibility under the cap to undo these terrible deals. It will probably involve more salary retention and draft picks.
I didn’t believe + was enough credit for Woytowich post. Imo his post is spot on!!!
Phil kessel even threw hits and got pissed off and flipped out on people in big games. I was really not sure what to think with ek, worried about fit with Letang, etc. But, clearly a team with such offensively focused forwards is not a good fit for a defenseman who doesn’t like to play defense, and shows no guts or passion or strength in front of his own net
Dubas said…when I got here I had a long talk with Sullivan and we’re both on the same page. So how is it now all of Dubas fault and once again none of poor Sullys. I keep seeing on this site if someone says it’s Sullys fault fans get mad and say it’s the players. Now the writers seem to be saying it’s all on Dubas…….is it ever Sullivans fault??
Well said, Sully’s “tough don’t matter anymore” philosophy is officially proven wrong. The core has too much power and I kind of wonder if 87 will someday tell us he’s a little bitter over the lack of protection in the last decade. Rutherford recognized it and Sully wouldn’t play him. Ever think it’s kind of odd that average players on the other team make McDavid like skill plays against the Pens? It’s because they are comfortable/relaxed, conversely we see awesome scoring chances by the Pens and no conversion because they aren’t relaxed. I can’t believe this has gone on so… Read more »
Pretty much nailed it, Dan. Great article. Dubas really has his hands tied as we know. There’s only so much cap space and asking 71 and 58 to be $6 million complementary pieces is a bit rich for their cap, but they have no alternative. Even if they would waive their NMC, no team will want either one at this point. Or 65 for that matter. On the plus side, 77’s contract is finally up and hopefully Dubas can trade Smith, Rakell, Graves and Acciari and make better sandpaper (not statistical) signings this offseason.
Accairi is gritty, good on pk. We need more like him…hopefully with a little skill, tho. I’d like to see them move O’Connor to 3rd line center and accairi to wing. Maybe put Malkin in ellers wing again? Eller would be willing to call him out when he starts just skating around, trying to cherry pick pick and leaving people wide open in middle of ice…I love Geno, but he needs to get checked, it seems
Totally agree with the article but the writer forgot one important item, the coach. Sullivan does not what to coach that type of team and I don’t think he knows how. I don’t want to sound too harsh but alot of coaches could have won Stanley Cups with that talent. Until Sullivan moves on we will not challenge for a Stanley Cup again.
Agree 100 % with both points. Malkin isn’t right, one of lowest ppg in career. Not enough for 2nd center. Need more gritty skill, like Kunitz, hornqvist, dupuis, guerin, heck even Talbot, guentzel
I remember so many times when pens seemed stunned, unable to get going back during their 2016-17 cup runs, then Hornqvist would come out for a couple shift in a row just absolutely flying around hitting everything that moved, like madman, slamming stuff around on bench. Same with Kunitz. Suddenly, team would wake up, join the fight, draw a penalty, etc. This team doesn’t have that player.
Sorry, last one. In 2016, pens had 7 players over 100 hits, kuny and horny over 220 each. In 2017, 5 over 100, kuny with 260. This year, 2 guys with about 120, Peterson with 99, rakell at 93. That’s it. Our eyes ain’t lying…Team is objectively soft.
Accairi 123, Letang 120, Petersson 99, rakell 93, CROSBY 84.
And on other end, Smith 47. Karlsson33, Malkin 23….yep.
For comparison, top 3 teams in Eastern Conf:
Rangers have 7 players over 100, and 9 over 84.
Florida has 7 over 100, 11 over 86, and 14 over 76.
Boston 6 over 100, 10 over 90.
Again, we have basically 3 guys over 100. And smith with 47, Karlsson, 33 and Malkin 23.
Team is too soft. Lacks grit.
Yup, but it was the GMs job to recognize that. It’s not that you needed big goons, just people willing to join the fight. But those who might have wanted that were traded.
Yeah, blaming someone else for your own wrongdoing was always a good tactics. The core was never enough. There were other players. I’m laughing pretty hard at people saying how Bunting is a step in the right direction. Dubas could have brought grit and kept Guentzel, but he just went for everything that was available and thought it would somehow work. The delusiomal fans that don’t see where this is going and still think about some sort of a retool, please wake up. You won’t see the playoffs for a decade, and not because of the core. But hey, feel… Read more »
I’ve said this before on here, but as a Pens fan living in Toronto, I saw first hand the roster construction that Dubas did with Toronto the years he was here. I have no confidence he can build a team to win. Blame Sullivan, blame malkin or Letang, even blame Sid if you like I won’t argue those things. But I haven’t seen moves made by Dubas since he got here that have been any better than a lot of Hextall’s moves or even late stage Rutherford. Look at the moves he has made, and point to one that has… Read more »
The whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The team has holes and fans have seen this since last year. But since that trade everyone’s plays has dropped with maybe the exception of bunting…even goalies…it impacts the team….the team was missing elements and I don’t think any of it was addressed in moves dubas made prior to bunting. To off load contracts were great but to have EK take the dollars of those contracts for a type of player we didn’t need didn’t have me be excited to be honest.
Spot on