Elliotte Friedman made an appearance on The FAN Hockey Show yesterday and had some interesting things to say about the Pittsburgh Penguins and what Kyle Dubas might be planning.
According to Friedman, we could see this roster change fairly quickly. Names like Tommy Novak, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, and Rickard Rakell are all worth watching. The biggest complication is that several veterans, including Evgeni Malkin, have some form of trade protection. Friedman also believes Dubas will do right by these players and try to send them somewhere they want to go, preferably somewhere they have a chance to win.
I think most people who follow the Penguins closely already knew a lot of this. We also knew Dubas had set a high asking price for Rust and Rakell. Friedman reiterated that Dubas isn’t backing off those demands, and I don’t think he should.
We’re getting to the point in the season where teams start looking for ways to fix their rosters. Colorado, Washington, San Jose, and Buffalo are all teams that could be looking to make changes after falling short of expectations. The longer Dubas holds firm on his asking price, the better the chance that someone eventually gets desperate enough to meet it. There’s no reason to give these guys away just because the Penguins are struggling.
Friedman also indicated that outside of Sidney Crosby and Ben Kindel, nobody is untouchable. That includes players like Egor Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin.
That’s a pretty significant statement when you consider how different this team could look by the trade deadline. I genuinely wouldn’t be shocked if 50-75% of this roster gets turned over. Dubas is reportedly looking for high draft picks and NHL-ready prospects, which should give everyone a pretty good idea of the direction he’s taking.
For the people who think Dubas is operating without a plan, I disagree completely. I’ve maintained that he needed this team to fall off before he could really start executing his vision, and luckily for him, the Penguins have done exactly that this season.
If you’ve been waiting to see more of the young guys in Pittsburgh, I don’t think you’ll have to wait much longer. Roster spots could start opening up sooner than people expect.
Who would you like to see Dubas move first?
