With the Pittsburgh Penguins season set to begin, their general manager Kyle Dubas held a press conference to address the state of the team. He believes this club has the makings to push for playoff contention once again, but he wasn't super optimistic.
Dubas provided a realism element to the conversation, which should brace fans in case he needs to trade away pieces if the club struggles.
An aging core of players has been plaguing Pittsburgh for nearly a decade now, and it's put their team into a state of limbo. Many thought Evgeni Malkin was playing his last season in 2025, but he found a way to bounce back and re-signed with the club on a new one-year contract. All signs point to this being his last season with the Penguins, and Dubas' recent comments point to that conclusion.
“I’m not going to this day-to-day, year-by-year thing with Geno this year,” Dubas said in a stern voice.
Although his comments weren't directed at Malkin directly, there seems to be some sort of annoyance behind the scenes brewing from Dubas and the icon.
It's clear that the Penguins were set to move on from Geno, but their star player forced them to bring him back after the stellar campaign he had last time around. Dubas doesn't want to talk about Malkin's future with the team, and the constant questions surrounding the circumstances appear to be annouying Pittsburgh's general manager.
Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas is already tired of talking about Evgeni Malkin's future
No one knows how this upcoming season will go as it could go either way. The Penguins could compete once again, or they could fall off a cliff. Either way seems to be a pathway to success in the mind of Kyle Dubas. It's unknown how it would affect the long-term aspect of their current franchise icons. Any sort of disaster this season could see some headlining names get shipped out.
Evgeni Malkin seems to be taking things year by year, and that is the smart approach from him and the team.
After a couple of down seasons, he found a way back to relevancy by switching from the center position to right wing. He has performed well in that role, and he isn't standing in the way of any young forwards at the moment. Malkin produced 61 points through 56 games last time around. He's 40 years old, but if he helps them win, the Penguins could consider bringing him back.
With all of that being said, it's clear that Dubas is waiting for the aging core players to fall off a cliff so he can finally force a stricter rebuild to bring some young cornerstones into the building. They have a solid group of prospects in their system, but none that will become the next icons of the franchise. Malkin's storied tenure will always be held in high regard, but he might not end his career here.
It will be interesting to see what Kyle Dubas does if the Penguins are in a world of hurt in the standings when the trade deadline comes.
There are a handful of big-time names on expiring deals who could get traded. Malkin is someone who could play elsewhere and might fetch a reasonable return if he produces good numbers. This is a pivotal year for which direction the franchise's goes.
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