Where Has the Kyle Dubas Magic Gone (and Will it Ever Return)?

It wasn’t all that long ago I was singing praises to Kyle Dubas.

Starting with his acquisition of Tommy Novak shortly before the 2025 trade deadline and on up through his addition of hulking Elmer Soderblom at last season’s deadline, I thought Dubas did some uniformly brilliant work. Arguably the best since Jim Rutherford put the finishing touches on our back-to-back Cup champions a decade earlier.

Here’s a quick review of his major transactions during that time frame:

• Acquired forward Tommy Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn from Nashville for forward Michael Bunting and a 2026 4^th-round draft pick, March 5, 2025.
• Traded Schenn to Winnipeg for a 2026 2^nd-round draft pick and a 2027 4^th-round draft pick, March 7, 2025.
• Acquired forward Connor Dewar and defenseman Connor Timmins from Toronto for a 2025 5^th-round pick, March 7, 2025.
• Acquired defenseman Connor Clifton and a 2025 2^nd-round pick from Buffalo for defensemen Isaac Belliveau and Conor Timmons, June 28, 2025.
• Signed defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to a 2-year, $2 million contact, July 1, 2025.
• Signed forward Justin Brazeau to a 2-year, $3 million contract, July 1, 2025.
• Signed forward Anthony Mantha to a 1-year, $2.5 million contract, July 2, 2025.
• Acquired defenseman Matt Dumba and a 2028 2^nd-round pick from Dallas for defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok, July 10, 2025.
• Acquired defenseman Brett Kulak, goalie Stuart Skinner and a 2029 2^nd-round pick for goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin, December 12, 2025.
• Acquired forward Egor Chinakhov from Columbus for forward Danton Heinen, a 2026 2^nd-round pick and a 2027 3^rd-round pick, December 29, 2025.
• Acquired defenseman Egor Zamula from Philadelphia for forward Philip Tomasino, December 31, 2025.
• Acquired defenseman Ilya Solovyov from Colorado for forward Valtteri Puustinen and a 2026 7^th-round pick, January 20, 2026.
• Acquired defenseman Sam Girard and a 2028 2^nd-round pick from Colorado for defenseman Brett Kulak, February 24, 2026.
• Acquired forward Elmer Soderblom from Detroit for a 2026 3^rd-round pick, March 6, 2026.
• Signed defenseman Jake Livanavage to a two-year, entry-level contract, April 10, 2026.

Although I wasn’t a fan of the Girard-Kulak trade, pretty much every move was a win in one form or another, especially when you consider the haul of draft picks Dubas was able to secure. In particular, the Jarry and Chinakhov deals, not to mention the signings of Wotherspoon, Mantha and, to a lesser extent, Brazeau, were rousing successes.

Indeed, Dubas seemed to have perfected the art of getting something for nothing.

Since then?

I’d say his moves have been a mixed bag at best and trending south at worst.

• Acquired forward Hendrix Lapierre from Washington for a 2027 3^rd-round pick and a 2028 5^th-round pick, June 25, 2026.
• Acquired forward David Gustafsson from Winnipeg for defenseman Jack St. Ivany, June 29, 2026.
• Acquired defenseman Kaedan Korczak from Vegas for defenseman Parker Wotherspoon, June 30, 2026.
• Acquired forward Nick Robertson from Toronto for a 2028 4^th-round pick, July 1, 2026.
• Signed defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to a 2-year, $8 million contract, July 1, 2026.
• Signed defenseman Declan Carlile to a 2-year, $3 million contract, July 1, 2026.
• Signed forward Andrei Kuzmenko to a 1-year, $5 million contract, July 1, 2026.
• Acquired defenseman Spencer Stastney from Edmonton for forward Filip Hallander, October 7, 2026.

Upon review, I sorta kinda see what Dubas was going for. The Lapierre and Robertson trades were attempts to secure undervalued young talent a la Chinakhov. Korczak was intended to solidify and deepen the right side of our defense. Carlile and van Riemsdyk were to fill the roles handled (quite capably) by Wotherspoon and Kulak.

Oddly, the best deal of the bunch may be the one I liked the least. The unheralded Stastney’s been a solid addition to the blue line corps. I’d rate the Korczak and Robertson additions as modest successes. The jury’s still out on Lapierre.

As for the rest? So far, not so good.

If I’m honest, a great deal of my disappointment in Dubas’ recent performance is rooted in my hope that he might have continued to build on last season’s surprising success. Hope that has proven to be as forlorn as it was misplaced.

Back to that Rutherford comparison. In JR’s second season in Vancouver, the Canucks improved by a whopping 26 points to register a 50-win, 109-point season. Shades of our 18-point jump last season.

Since then? The Canucks have gradually devolved into arguably the worst team in the league, causing the Hall-of-Fame exec to step down from his role as president of hockey operations.

Does a similar fate await the Pens under Dubas?

I shudder to think what the team will look like when our big three of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang retire and Erik Karlsson most surely moves on to greener pastures.

Things could get real ugly, and I’m talkin’ 16-win, 1983-84 “Boys of Winter” ugly.