P.K. Subban Passionate Rant Rips Penguins; ‘They’re Set Up to Fail’

After the Washington Capitals scored five second-period goals Saturday to blow open a game that ended with them walloping the Pittsburgh Penguins 8-3, former NHL player P.K. Subban unloaded on the Penguins.

In a passionate rant, Subban, who was part of the intermission studio panel on ABC, blasted the makeup of the Penguins roster and president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas. He noted that superstar center and team captain Sidney Crosby deserved to have a better team built around him, and coach Mike Sullivan deserved to have a better roster.

Here are Subban’s comments:

“Struggling is an understatement. It’s not a slight at the players. There’s a lot of great, talented players in there. But this is a poorly built team, to me. They’re undersized, undermanned. They’re soft in every area. In the (defensive) zone. They’re soft in the corners, the front of the net.

“It’s not about structure. Mike Sullivan and Sidney Crosby are at a huge disadvantage. You can throw (Evgeni) Malkin and (Kris) Letang in there as well. They’ve got a lot of great players that deserve more talent to have to work with here. There’s no excuse for this team to be this bad.

“The difference between Washington and Pittsburgh is that Washington defensemen join through the structure. So they have confidence joining the rush because they’re confident in their structure and the way that they’re playing. (Erik) Karlsson and Letang are being put in position to force plays. I don’t care how good you are; you can’t force offense in the league. You’ve got to let the game come to you.

“So they’re set up to fail. And to me, the way this team is built, it’s inexcusable. Against the biggest team in the league, they’re getting outmanned in front of the net. Two small defensemen trying to battle Tom Wilson. It’s not been any good.

“So for me, Crosby deserves way more than this. At the level he’s playing at, where he’s at right now in his game, his career … I don’t want to pick on guys individually. What I’m saying is, this is not enough for Sidney Crosby. He needs a better team around him. Mike Sullivan needs better players to coach. And if it’s not going to be better players, it’s got to be put together the right way for these guys to be able to have a chance to make the playoffs. And I don’t see it.

“For me, it’s on Kyle Dubas. You get paid 7 million bucks, that’s what I expect. If it’s a rebuild, then rebuild. If it’s not, then we’ve got to see better results on the ice. This is inexcusable for me.”

Sidney Crosby deserves better😤#NHL #ESPN #ABC #Penguins #Crosby pic.twitter.com/QHGGXtnD3C

— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) February 22, 2025