Free washer | Are the Penguins in good hands?

If the trend continues, the Pittsburgh Penguins will miss the playoffs for the third season in a row, despite the presence of the legendary Sidney Crosby.

It will also be a second exclusion since the entry into office of president and general manager Kyle Dubas, whose role was precisely to give Crosby the chance to experience success at the end of his career.

With a record of 18-20-8, the Penguins find themselves four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and the final playoff spot, with two games less to play. They also have three fewer games to play than the Ottawa Senators and the Canadiens, who are also ahead of the Penguins in the standings, by three and two points respectively.

We can hardly accuse Dubas of having given up on rebuilding this team upon his arrival since he would never have gotten the job with such a plan. The owners were desperate to make one last attempt to win the Cup with Crosby.

We must first judge Dubas on his work to improve the team in the short term starting in June 2023. The Penguins had just missed the playoffs by a measly point, behind the Florida Panthers, that spring.

Pittsburgh finished 16^e ranks in the NHL in goals scored, averaging 3.18 goals per game, and 14th^e rank on the power play with a success rate of 21.7%. It was slightly less stellar on defense, with a goals against average of 3.21, for the 19^e rank, and the 16^e rank outnumbered with a rate of 81%.

Dubas bet almost everything on Erik Karlsson, 32, just crowned with glory with a third career Norris Trophy after a season of 101 points, including 25 goals, with the poor San Jose Sharks. Pittsburgh, however, counted on a defender with a similar size and style, Kristopher Letang.

Karlsson’s arrival came at a price: a first-round pick in 2024 which, due to Pittsburgh’s failures the following year, allowed the Sharks to draft promising defenseman Sam Dickinson at 11^e rank. The Penguins also received a 2026 third-round pick from San Jose.

It was also necessary to let go of players to accommodate Karlsson and his 11.5 million in annual salary within the team’s payroll. Dubas gave up a second-round pick in 2025 to the Canadiens to get rid of Jeff Petry and goaltender Casey DeSmith.

Nobody in Pittsburgh mourned the departure of Mikael Granlund, then 30 years old, disappointing during his 21 games in Pittsburgh at the end of the season, sent to San Jose with his contract still valid for three years at 5 million per season. As in the case of Petry and DeSmith, salary was freed up to accommodate Karlsson without exceeding the cap.

However, Granlund experienced a rebirth with the Sharks. He had 60 points in 69 games last year at the center of the first line and, with 37 points in 44 games this winter, he is on his way to a 69-point season.

Karlsson hasn’t played badly in Pittsburgh over the past two years, although he’s far from his 2022-23 peak. But his arrival helped relegate Letang to a more modest role, and he was never able to fill a gap within the team.

With the loss of Jason Zucker upon his arrival in June 2023, Dubas acquired Reilly Smith from the Vegas Golden Knights for a third-round pick in 2024. Smith was coming off a 56-point season, including 26 goals. He amassed 40 with the Penguins, but with only 13 goals. Smith was traded to the New York Rangers last summer for a 2027 second-round pick. Dubas missed out on Smith, but at least he got a good pick back.

Among his other first decisions, he granted 27 million for six years to defender Ryan Graves, an annual salary average of 4.5 million. An insane amount for a fifth defenseman used 19:57 per game in New Jersey, without much offensive potential, nor among the elite in terms of defense.

Graves, shut out in 31 games this season, was relegated to the role of seventh defenseman with the promotion of youngster Owen Pickering. He has been removed from training 15 times since November…

Finally there is goalkeeper Tristan Jarry. At the age of 28, he would become an unrestricted free agent from 1^is July 2023. His signing for five years, for 5.375 million per season, still raised some controversy in Pittsburgh despite a decent season in 2022-2023, with his record of 24-13-7, his average of 2 .90 and his save percentage of .909.

Jarry was average among NHL goaltenders in terms of goals against average and save rate, but his lack of consistency and his injuries worried many. The Penguins goalie was just placed on waivers this week in order to be demoted to the American League for a second time this winter. He has a 3.26 GAA and a .886 save percentage, with 8 wins in 20 games. He still has three years of contract left, with 6.5 million in guaranteed bonuses and a partial no-trade clause…

And the future?

Despite everything, Kyle Dubas tries to make everyone believe that he has his sights set on the future. In that regard, he traded his top winger, 29-year-old Jake Guentzel, at the trade deadline last year for three second-tier prospects, Michael Bunting and a 2024 second-round pick.

Dubas had a professional romantic attachment to Bunting since the junior ranks, and then in Toronto, and believed him capable of somehow replacing Guentzel. Bunting, 29, has 25 points, including 13 goals, in 44 games. This is too little for a player paid 4.5 million this season and next. He ranks eighth on the Penguins in average usage per game.

Not getting at least a first-round pick and a top prospect for a scorer averaging 39 goals over the last three seasons (over 82 games) is beyond belief. Guentzel signed a seven-year contract for $63 million in Tampa last summer (average of $9 million per year) and is on his way to an 84-point season.

Last summer, Dubas traded his 2023 first-round pick to the 14^e rank, Brayden Yager, for another mid-first round pick in 2022, Rutger McGroarty, in order to bet on an attacker in principle capable of integrating the formation earlier. After a difficult training camp, McGroarty, 21 years old in March, was sent back to the American League in October where he remains, with 18 points to his record, including 5 goals, in 31 games.

Would you trust this manager moving forward? The owners won’t really be able to do otherwise, since Dubas, under a seven-year agreement, for 40 million, is under contract until 2030…