Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas didn’t mince words when he addressed the media on Monday.
As part of Dubas’ post-season press conference, he talked about defenseman Erik Karlsson’s future with the Penguins and his view of a rebuild in Pittsburgh after a third straight season of missing the playoffs. He was direct throughout the questions and answers, including when he shared his expectations for Karlsson.
"Erik is and will forever be a polarizing figure,” Dubas said. “My view would be we expect him to be one of the people who pulls us from where we're at into contention.”
After the Penguins' season ended, the Swedish defenseman was vague about his future with the Penguins and said he “did not enjoy the last 15 games of the season.”
He further explained that he does not look forward to missing many more playoff campaigns as he turns 35 in less than seven weeks. Karlsson made it clear he wants to play important games and make the playoffs.
“His actions have to match his ambitions,” Dubas said on Monday. He said Karlsson must be more reliable in terms of consistency.
"He had moments of great play with too many inconsistencies,” Dubas said. “We have to push him to get here.”
However, Dubas believes in the defenseman, saying he has the tools to help this team get back to the playoff hunt.
“He showed throughout the year that he has another level to him,” the GM said.
He recalled Karlsson’s great performances for Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off and said he could help any team contend and win. Karlsson finished the tournament with a goal and three points in as many contests. Karlsson said the 4 Nations was as close to playoff hockey as he’s had in a while.
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Dubas also talked about where the Penguins stand in their “rebuild” phase. He provided a perspective of two different ways to rebuild in the NHL.
One way is to completely tear down a roster and build it back up through the draft. A little bit of luck in the draft lottery helps as well. But Dubas doesn’t plan to go down that route.
"You can hope in one hand and s--- in the other and see which one fills up first," he said.
He compared his team to the Washington Capitals, which turned around over last off-season to become one of the best in the NHL. The Pittsburgh GM highlighted what has worked for the Caps and the mix of young and old players.
“They’ve got obviously Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, John Carlson… and others that have been there. We have that here with our own high-end guys,” Dubas said. “The difference that I see between the teams is in that middle range. We don’t have Martin Fehervary and Connor McMichael, yet. We’re trying to rapidly get to that point.”
Dubas name-dropped a handful of players with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who could make a push in training camp next season to help fill in these middle-range roles.
He highlighted Jack St. Ivany, Owen Pickering, and Harrison Brunicke as blueliners who could emerge as potential NHL players next season.
As for the forwards, he said most of those youngsters have already made appearances this season due to injuries. Those players include Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen.
Tristan Broz could make his NHL debut next season for the Penguins. The team would’ve liked for him to play for Pittsburgh earlier, but Dubas said they didn’t want his first taste of the NHL to be in meaningless games or “playing a team that’s dressing 14 forwards and four D.” Broz finished his AHL campaign with 19 goals and 37 points in 59 games.
Dubas’ Penguins have two first-round picks in the 2025 NHL draft, a second-rounder, three third-rounders and five more picks in deeper rounds. They also have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Karlsson and Kris Letang as some veterans signed through next season.
The Penguins had a 16-year post-season streak from 2007 to 2022. Before that, they missed the playoffs for four straight years but drafted Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury during that time. During this current three-year drought, their highest draft pick was Brayden Yager at 14th overall, and they traded him to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for McGroarty.
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