Penguins Update: In Kyle We Trust?

Back when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009 and went to consecutive Finals, we had a saying. “In Ray we trust,” spoke volumes about the quality performance of then-Pens GM Ray Shero and his penchant for making all the right moves.

Could the same be said for current black-and-gold honcho Kyle Dubas?

If you had asked me that question at the beginning of the summer, my answer would have been an unqualified and resounding “YES.”

At the time, Dubas was fresh off a sensational year-long run of nearly flawless GMsmanship, starting with the pilfering of Connor Dewar and Conor Timmins from Toronto for a fifth-round pick at the ’25 trade deadline and reaching the very pinnacle of brilliance in December with his shedding of albatross netminder Tristan Jarry and the Egor Chinakhov heist.

To say nothing of replacing a stale Mike Sullivan behind the bench with bright, young Dan Muse and signing bargain-basement free-agents Justin Brazeau, Anthony Mantha and Parker Wotherspoon, all of whom flourished.

A run of extended front-office excellence that rivals if not surpasses Jim Rutherford’s Midas-like work during the back-to-back Cup seasons.

Since then?

I’d rate Dubas’ performance checkered at best. Perhaps heavily influenced, in no small part, by his failed pursuit of Stars RFA sniper Jason Robertson. A trade that, had it occurred, may have opened up a prime roster spot or two and made his corresponding moves such as loading up on forwards make a little more sense.

Don’t get me wrong, some of his moves I like. I think plucking Nicholas Robertson from the Leafs for a fourth-round pick has the potential to be another Chinakhov-type steal. Although it cost us Wotherspoon, I like the addition of solid stay-at-homer Kaedan Korczak and the under-the-radar signing of fellow defender Declan Carlile.

However, other transactions have left me scratching my head…and second-guessing. Even though Hendrix Lapierre came cheaply, I see absolutely no fit for him, especially in the wake of the surprising Tommy Novak extension. Too, we already have a glut of young forward prospects, in my eyes nearly all more promising and intriguing than the ex-Cap.

Speaking of surprises (or “surprise, surprise, surprise” as Gomer Pyle was fond of saying), the bolt-from-the-blue Ville Koivunen extension made—and still makes—absolutely no sense to me. I mean, I can’t for one moment imagine the kid and his agent approaching the bargaining table and insisting on an eight-year, $32 million deal. Unless Ville’s agent happened to be brandishing a gun, this was all Dubas’ doing.

There’s an old saying. If something quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. At least at this nascent stage of his career, Koivunen is quacking an awful lot like former black-and-gold lightning rod Dominik Simon, a complimentary player who helped support and drive offense but couldn’t finish to save his soul. (For the record, Ville has a Simon-ish two goals in 45 NHL games.)

I won’t even get into this summer’s draft and the fact that the Rucks didn’t exactly wow ‘em at their first development camp. Skilled though they may be, the twins are slight of build and slow, kind of like…well…Koivunen.

I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t exactly wowed by Dubas’ moves the previous summer at the time he made them, and look how well they turned out. Despite my current negative vibe, it’s possible the same thing could happen again. If so, no one will be more pleased than I.

However, for now, I can’t honestly say, “In Kyle we trust.”