Penguins Q&A: Fan Confusion, Surprises, & Evaluating Dubas

NASHVILLE/NEWARK — Somewhere above flyover country, the Pittsburgh Hockey Now Q&A is taking shape. The volume of questions was down from our past iterations, in which we had more than 30 or 40 submissions, but that only proves a corollary of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ recent winning ways.

Fans are conflicted.

Penguins fans are almost dumbfounded, and some are disappointed by the victories. No, we’re not joking or using hyperbole. One need only look at the recent responses to that query posed on X.

As one fan commented, “I’m more concerned about the next 20 years.”

Thursday night was a sure sign the recent wins weren’t an aberration or a dead-cat bounce. This team is beginning to believe, and they have enough talent to do something about it, too.

So, I’m going to put this as politely as I can–which is to say, brusquely but with good intentions. LEARN TO ENJOY THE GAME!

Enjoy the next 60-minute contest. Enjoy the small victories and put the small losses in context. Fact: If you’re middle-aged, you’ve quite possibly seen the last Penguins’ Stanley Cup (of your lifetime).

Let that sink in. If you’re a Cup Bunny, you may want to find another team.

So, Penguins fans have become so spoiled that even wins are bad? Tomorrow isn’t promised, and whether this is a dead cat bounce or not, we’ll be happy to help with as much hockey as we can. Coach Francis Anzalone’s videos have been the gateway drug for many to really learn about the nuts and bolts of the game from the inside. Francis has done breakdowns on Ryan Graves and Erik Karlsson, as well as the recent Penguins’ system wrinkles. Here’s the latest on the Penguins’ neutral zone work.

Realize that the Philadelphia Flyers are working on a 50-year drought. Toronto is 57 years and counting. The New York Rangers had one magical run 30 years ago, but that’s ONE Cup since the Allies liberated France.

The New York Islanders Cupless run is 40 years. Edmonton, Montreal, and Calgary have been waiting over 30 years for their next chalice. Vancouver, Atlanta/Winnipeg, San Jose, Columbus, Ottawa, Buffalo, Minnesota, Winnipeg/Arizona/Utah, Nashville, …well, never.

So, if reflected glory is your thing, you’d better get comfy or get moving.

I can tell you, even the players were recently a little rubbed by the negativity or outright rooting for them to lose. They hear it, but they have no intention of giving you what you want.

Penguins Q&A

How long do you feel the Pens can keep up this type of play? Are they more lucky than good right now or are they finally finding a system that works for their personnel?

— Bill Whitfield (@bilythekid33) December 20, 2024

Do you mean the sloppy but scrappy play against Nashville, the nearly perfect systems play against LA, or perhaps the slightly angry play like the Toronto win?

The Penguins are winning in different ways, which might be both the most surprising and positive developments. They certainly have not been lucky (see also: the puck in the netting Thursday). No, they have earned every goal and every win the hard way, sometimes by making it even more difficult than it needed to be.

To the system:

Bill and Everyone Else, yes…YES…the Penguins are adopting the system. Coach Mike Sullivan’s “system,” as we discuss it publicly, is more of a playing style. The Penguins want their defensemen to be active but responsible. They want the puck down low and for their old-man strength to kick in. And coaches would like to see the Penguins be better in the neutral zone—create more layers with smarter forechecks/drop into the second level.

Teaching the Penguins to play structured and smart is pretty much like trying to retrain a Thoroughbred to play fetch, but they’re making real progress. They had to hit rock bottom before Sullivan’s message finally hit home. As you may realize, the Penguins have a few coach-killers on the roster.

Are you suprised at how mediocre the Eastern Conference is? That has really helped keep the Pens in it. And when 28 is healthy , how do you think the defense line up looks with POJ now added

— Lisa (@bppenfan) December 20, 2024

Yes. I expected a LOT more from the Rangers, Buffalo, and Detroit. Quite frankly, Buffalo has imploded under the weight of expectations and frustration with an organization that just doesn’t measure up. Bad is getting worse, and the negativity has gripped them tightly.

Detroit? They have no excuses other than GM Steve Yzerman failing to acquire enough complementary pieces. There have been too many smart acquisitions that haven’t paid off, and they have too little moxy.

The Islanders are dealing with some stale bread, too. Not even feisty coach Patrick Roy can jar that team out of its funk.

All of those teams are better than their results, but that’s how it goes. Yesterday’s fission is tomorrow’s cold water.

As for the defense, Joseph’s acquisition created some competition. The first battle is with Ryan Shea, who must continue to be solid and stable to remain in the lineup. Ryan Graves and Matt Grzelcyk have also been much…MUCH better in the last few games.

If everyone holds serve, Joseph is probably nothing more than insurance and possible waiver wire fodder when Marcus Pettersson returns. Of course, how much longer Pettersson remains a Penguin is also a question. The Penguins could easily keep Joseph around as an eighth defenseman until GM Kyle Dubas resolves the Pettersson situation with a contract or trade.

Of course, if any of Shea, Graves, or Grzelcyk falters, Joseph is more than capable of holding his own on an NHL blue line. In fact, Joseph is good enough to get a chance, regardless if anyone slips.

Thought of this last night actually. How fair of us is it to criticize the lack of moves Kyle Dubas has made to try and get “younger and hungrier”? Jiricek was linked to us. Barron. Hoglander. Kaako. All fit the mold of what he says he’s looking for. Yet nothing transpired.

— Jim Madden (@jmadden34) December 20, 2024

Easy, Tiger!

It’s quite fair to question the efficacy of many of Dubas’s moves. From signing Graves to trading for Reilly Smith and Kevin Hayes, there’s plenty of criticism to levy regarding how he’s allocated funds.

But criticism for not acquiring more young players is not yet fair. He’s already snared Philip Tomasino and Cody Glass (who is 25) and given Jesse Puljujarvi a real chance to reclaim his career. Anthony Beauvillier and Blake Lizotte are guys in their mid-20s, too.

I firmly believe the infusion of newbies who aren’t old enough to know Nirvana or Adam Sandler’s (best) movies has been a positive.

The players you’ve mentioned are available, but they aren’t (or weren’t) cheap. David Jiricek cost Minnesota a first, second, third, and fourth-round pick. For Dubas to make that trade would have been a firable offense.

Justin Barron wasn’t cutting it in Montreal, though I thought Alexandre Carrier would have been a good pickup. Nils Hoglander is making $1.1 million this season but will begin a three-year, $9 million contract next season. Hoglander has two goals in five points in 31 games–if Dubas gives up anything more than $1, it, too, would be a gross overpay. In fact, if Dubas likes Hoglander enough, he should be able to recoup a draft pick(s) to accept him, much like the Penguins did with Glass and Hayes–Still, three years and $9 million is a massive gamble, probably not worth taking.

I imagine the Rangers would have taken less to get Kaapo Kakko out of the division. They did not want to see an angry, physical winger with some offense to give and an axe to grind three or four times per season. Yes, he would have been a nice pickup.

Also, it’s still December. Let’s see what else Dubas does before March 7.

I can confirm that he and the staff are racking up frequent flyer miles by scouring the league as aggressively as I’ve ever seen any organization. It’s almost not worth reporting individual stops by Dubas because he’s going EVERYWHERE to get his eyes on talent.

That much should be praised. The staff aren’t slow-walking the legwork of the rebuild.

The bigger question for Dubas is, what will he do with a winning team in a mediocre conference? The Penguins might have a real chance to do something well beyond expectations because they’re playing as well as everyone but Toronto and Florida, and they could probably beat Toronto in a playoff series.

In fact, from what I’ve seen in the last few weeks, I’m starting to believe they could beat any team in the Metro Division, though Carolina seems to give them fits.

And we’ll get a good in-person look at New Jersey tomorrow.

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