General Manager Kyle Dubas wheeled and dealed all day long on Friday right before the 3 p.m. Trade Deadline. He made a flurry of moves and the moves started all the way back in January when he realized that there was no real path to the playoffs for his team. But the moves that Dubas made should get him a high grade of an A and massive approval from Penguins fans.
It started with the Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor trade to Vancouver
Dubas in January decided to see what assets he could get for Pettersson and O'Connor since Pettersson was not going to resign with the club and O'Connor was having a down year.
He found a taker as the Vancouver Canucks sent the Penguins a conditional 2025 first-round pick, forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and prospect Melvin Fernstrom from the Canucks in exchange for the two players.
Dubas maximized the return for the two players and now sits with two first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft as it was originally the New York Rangers pick and the condition is if the pick is in the top-13, the Rangers keep it and send the Penguins their 2026 first-round pick, if it is outside the top-13, the Penguins get the Rangers 2025 first-round pick.
He got 2 2nd-round picks, a 3rd-round pick, and a 4th-round pick for players that did not do much
On Friday, Dubas dealt Anthony Beauvillier to the Washington Capitals, Luke Schenn to the Winnipeg Jets, and Cody Glass to the New Jersey Devils.
Dubas got a 2025 2nd round pick for Beauvillier from the Capitals, he got a 2026 2nd round pick and a 2027 4th round pick for Schenn from the Jets, and got a 2027 3rd round pick for Glass from the Devils.
Those are really good returns for players that did not do much and the fact that Schenn did not even play a game for the Penguins and got them that good of a return.
The only thing Dubas missed out on was not dealing Grzelcyk but otherwise he did well
Fans will never know what the market was for defenseman Matt Grzelcyk but the fact that Dubas did not deal him is all that fans need to know about that question. It seems like the Penguins could have cashed in on his value as he is up to 30 points this year which is a career high.
Grzelcyk is on an expiring UFA contract but plenty of contending teams could have used his services. But other than that, Dubas did extremely well with this Trade Deadline and now Penguins fans shift their focus to the NHL Draft in June and see what he does from there.
Love Dubas or hate Dubas, he did a phenomenal job maximizing values at the Trade Deadline and got what he could in a massive sellers market. Penguins fans should trust him and his plan and let it play its course. Dubas knows what he is doing and should have the full trust of the team and the fans.