The Kyle Dubas press conference everyone’s been waiting for finally happened. Outside of signing Connor Dewar and Ilya Solovyov, all has been quiet on the Penguins front since losing game 6 in overtime. Wilkes Barre and Wheeling have both been blazing through their respective playoff series which has generated some buzz for potential prospects eventually making the big club. Murashov, Ilyin, and Brunicke have all made a big impact in Wilkes, and we are about to get our first look at Zonnon. All of those players are currently hypothetical additions to the Penguins. In mere moments we will hear from Dubas, he will likely provide insights into which of those players could/should be in contention for the Pens next season and update us on the contract situations of Malkin/Chinakhov. I’m writing this live. But will provide Key Takeaways below.
Takeaways:
- They’d love Geno back.
- Murashov and Silovs will be the tandem next year (unless Blomqvist beats Murashov out in camp).
- Seems like McGroarty, Pickering, and Brunicke will all be pushing for NHL roster spots.
- They were happier with Koviunen’s season than the fanbase was
- Don’t expect the Penguins to spend big money in the offseason on (unrestricted) free agents.
- The team needs to add dynamic young players to the team by whatever means necessary
- Mantha, not Skinner, seem to be returning
- The trade philosophy going forward will still be to acquire players like Chinakhov
- Dubas was not happy with this season, mainly because he will never be happy unless it ends with a cup. Said he believes the team is still far off from becoming a contender.
- The team is thrilled with Zonnon and Horcoff. Also obviously thrilled, on a whole different level, with Kindel.
Live Updates:
Dubas started by reviewing the season. He calls the season a success in some respects, but there are areas they need to grow. Extremely complimentary of Dan Muse, and his staff. He believes the organization accomplished it goals at becoming a destination for players who wanted a career revival.
First inkling about his feelings towards Geno, he mentioned a suspension disrupting the power-play’s momentum (along with injuries). Shortly after he talked about the team’s ability to be resilient, again mentioning suspensions.
Dubas gives credit to Philly, which is fair, but in my opinion, it was just the Penguins laying an egg Philly sucks.
No mention of Stu yet but he did pour praise onto Silovs, makes sense since Arty will likely be coming back.
“We are well short of being a contender”
Speaking about Montreal/Tampa and Colorado/Minnesota series. He doesn’t believe the Penguins could compete defensively with Montreal/Tampa nor could they compete offensively with Colorado/Minnesota, not a raving review of the squad. Wants to utilize assets and cap space to get to those aforementioned team’s level.
He said the team is lacking a bridge tier of players between the veterans and the young guys. Also spoke on needing to get a true difference maker.
“Pittsburgh for all that it is, a sports city, is a great place to come play. It should one of, if not the most, appealing place for players to come play.”
Jumped to talking about Wilkes and Wheeling playoff runs, only prospect he noted by name was Sergei Murashov. Said the playoffs will help dictate who gets a look next year, but they will still need perform in camp.
Doesn’t believe the Penguins are even close, despite making progress.
Time for questions!
First question is about Geno… Dubas’ response “we had a great exit interview, and subsequent conversations with both players and agent. He doesn’t believe that Geno is blocking anyone and that he would LOVE to have him back.” Well, that clears out the elephant in the room.
Next question about goalies… Dubas again heaps praise onto Arty. He spoke about Murashov next, doesn’t discredit the job Blomqvist has done. He says that Murashov and Blomqvist will compete for the open roster spot on the big team. Seems like Stu officially a goner. Also noted that Taylor Gauthier will occupy the spot in Wilkes that is left voided by whoever wins the net in Pittsburgh.
Anthony Mantha question follows that up. He called the fit great and the season great. Trying to the dance between providing room for the young guys and if an older player can become a part of the team when they return to contention. No discussion with Mantha’s agent, seems like they will be rightfully letting him walk.
Immediately back to Geno. Calls Geno a special player, the key thing (in Dubas’ mind) was Geno’s start and how he responded to injuries/suspensions. He briefly touched on Letang during this answer. Stated that guys of their ilk, Letang and Malkin, are built differently. I agree with half of that statement Kyle. “He (Malkin) is one of the greatest players of all time.”
Ville Koivunen and Owen Pickering question by that rat Dejan. Dubas says that Ville had a great opportunity but didn’t do enough with it. He did say that Koivunen improved after returning to the minors, they were happy with all of his metrics in terms of speed/strength. He still believes Ville has an extremely bright future and he is not discouraged by what happened at the NHL level. The team is happy with how Ville responded to the adversity, some of which he created, dealt to him this year. Surprisingly, Dubas is also happy with how Pickering has progressed throughout the year. Seems like they are attempting to mold him into a shutdown D. Not every prospect can jump in like Kindel, per Dubas.
Karlsson and Crosby contract statuses came up. Sid is in a different category, seems like he will give Sid a contract as long as he wants one. The team is very happy with Karlsson, but they aren’t worried about either Karlsson’s or Sid’s contracts at this time.
To improve the team Dubas states that the team needs to improve from within, with the young group, and they also need to acquire talent via trade or free agency. He spoke about continuing to acquire players of Chinakhov’s profile. He said they need to begin getting “higher end” talent in their prospect pool. Rightfully knows all of the prospects won’t hit. Mid 20’s players were brought up, Robertson and Matthews fit the bill.
When speaking about cap space, he noted that a lot of teams have cap space (they do). He appropriately notes that the free agent pool is weak and that it would be fool’s gold spending the space in free agency. Wants to get the timing right for when they use that space. He doesn’t want to burn the cap space on overpaid deals, preaches patience with what they do in free agency.
Dubas says he has to do what’s best for the Pittsburgh Penguins, this was in response to a question about if he feels the need to keep the Big 3 together for as long as they want to be together.
Rutger McGroarty’s skating continues to improve, his game without the puck is good, and they’re happy with his development. Seems like skating, despite improving, is still an issue. He says that Rutger has played very well in the AHL playoffs and he will be competing for a spot on the NHL team next season.
Dubas claps back at Mark Madden disparaging Harrison Brunicke. Say’s they were really happy with Harrison’s season. Despite not playing at the NHL level much, getting to work with the staff to improve in his power was very important. He is extremely pleased with his development and playing on Wilkes-Barre’s top pair, in the playoffs, at only 19 years of age. Spoke about how development for defensemen is more difficult because they cannot be shielded in the same way a forward can.
Dubas says he will never be happy until he’s won. Still said that team were a lot of fun to watch this season. Spoke to the team comradery was extremely enjoyable to be around this season, credit was given to both the players and the staff. Happiness was derived from parts of the season, but Dubas is in no way shape or form happy with just getting to the playoffs and losing in the first round. Again, preached he wants to reach the level that Carolina/Colorado are at but won’t be happy just reaching that level unless they win.
Finn Harding and Chase Pietila mentioned that was somewhat shocking. Harding, to his credit, has had a great season in Wilkes Barre. When speaking on Will Horcoff “we are thrilled with him.” When speaking about Zonnon, “He can play wing, or center. Zonnon’s habits are the thing they are the most excited about. Bill spent time on his own watching film before he was even directed to do so.”
Solovyov and Dewar question arises. He liked that Solovyov can make stops defensively, and they need to work on his rush defense. Soloyvov is staying in Pittsburgh all summer to work with the staff on different elements of his game. Dewar was said to represent exactly what they are looking for in guys that are playing lower in the lineup, spoke of his versatility and low maintenance attitude.
That concluded the press conference. To watch the full thing back, here is the tweet that includes the link
