The first few months on the job were not the stuff of highlights or legend for Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas.
Indeed, the public split from the Toronto Maple Leafs surely surprised the GM, who was terminated after spending a few days deciding to fully commit to the organization via new contract negotiations, but was broomed nonetheless. After losing his dream job, Dubas landed with the Penguins a few weeks later, but his tenure did not get off to a great start.
On July 1, 2023, Dubas signed a couple of contracts he came to regret. The Penguins signed Ryan Graves to a six-year, $27 million deal. And signed Tristan Jarry to a five-year deal, though he was able to escape that albatross in a shockingly good trade with the Edmonton Oilers last December.
His trade on Aug. 6 of that summer for Erik Karlsson also looked like a swing and a miss until last season, when new coach Dan Muse connected with Erik Karlsson in philosophy and scheme, unleashing the former Norris Trophy winner.
However, in Dubas’s three-year tenure, he has made quite a few moves. According to Puckpedia.com, Dubas has signed 71 contracts and 20 more entry-level deals. Of those deals, 74 have been for less than $2 million. There have also been 50 Penguins trades, with 46 players incoming over the last three-plus years.
The tale of the tape as Dubas has begun rebuilding the Penguins’ pipeline is 35 picks acquired and 26 traded away.
Amongst the players traded for and dealt away, Dubas has swung a few masterstrokes that have significantly improved the Penguins’ trajectory, especially over the last 14 months.
Top 5 Dubas Moves
5. Trade: Conor Timmins & Connor Dewar from Toronto for a 2025 fifth-rounder
The Toronto Maple Leafs and now-former GM Brad Treliving needed to shed cap space near the 2025 NHL trade deadline, and the Penguins were the happy recipients of the role player dump.
For merely a fifth-rounder, the Penguins acquired Timmins, who was a solid third-pair defenseman, whom they traded to the Buffalo Sabres for a second-rounder and Connor Clifton at the 2025 Draft.
Not only did Dubas use that second-rounder to trade up in the 2025 Draft to select Will Horcoff with the 24th overall pick, but Dewar has been more than a diamond in the rough. Last season, Dewar set career highs with 14 goals and 30 points while combining with Blake Lizotte to create the team’s best fourth line in a decade.
Late last season, the Penguins signed Dewar to an affordable two-year, $4.5 million extension.
4. Ben Kindel
As the Penguins were tantalizingly close to a top-10 pick and the quality of prospect that typically arrives from it, Dubas and vice president of hockey operations Wes Clark snagged Kindel with the No. 11 pick.
Kindel, 19, played the second most NHL games of anyone in the ’25 draft class and was one of only three to achieve full-time NHL work. In 77 games, Kindel scored 17 goals with 35 points and enthusiastically established himself as part of the Penguins’ long-term future.
The get was everything, and it was the move that launched the Penguins’ rebuild. The Penguins traded O’Connor, who was unable to reach his full potential with the Penguins, and their steadiest defenseman to Vancouver in exchange for the New York Rangers’ first-round pick held by Vancouver by virtue of the previous J.T. Miller trade.
The teams made the swap on Jan. 31, 2025, as the Rangers were falling out of playoff contention, though the Rangers held the right to give up either their 2025 or ’26 pick.
New York chose to forfeit the 2025 pick, which became the 12th overall. Dubas used that pick to wheel and deal, eventually spinning it into the 22nd and 24th overall picks, which became Bill Zonnon and Horcoff.
Not a bad haul for Marcus Pettersson.
2. Egor Chinakhov Trade
A former first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets (2021) was relegated to fourth-line duty and residence in coach Dean Evason’s doghouse.
According to Columbus GM Don Waddell, Dubas and he intensely discussed the trade for months before they settled on the Penguins giving up the St. Louis Blues’ 2026 second-round pick (which became 43rd overall) and the Washington Capitals’ 2027 third-rounder.
Chinakhov, 25, furthered the Penguins’ youth movement and filled the net. He scored 18 goals with 18 assists in just 43 games and appears to be a long-term part of the Penguins’ future as their next high-scoring winger.
1. Tristan Jarry Trade
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. Indeed, Dubas knew when to walk away. Despite Jarry’s impressive rebound to begin the 2025-26 season, Dubas traded the goalie to the desperate Edmonton Oilers in exchange for steady defenseman Brett Kulak, out-of-favor goalie Stuart Skinner, and a second-round pick.
The Penguins also included their 2019 first-round pick Sam Poulin, giving him another shot at the NHL, which he wasn’t going to get in Pittsburgh.
The trade freed the Penguins from the final two-and-a-half years of Jarry’s onerous contract that carried a cap hit of $5.375 million. While some, including PHN, questioned the trade because of Jarry’s swift uptick, it was a brilliant move. The trade improved the Penguins through Kulak’s chemistry with Kris Letang, Skinner’s improved play, and the team escaped the predictable and steep Jarry crash in the second half of the season.
Tags:ben kindel Egor Chinakhov kyle dubas Penguins Trade Tristan Jarry
Categorized:Penguins Trade Talk