PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the middle of a four-game road trip that concludes next week in Toronto.
As far as Kyle Dubas goes, all roads always lead back to Toronto. Perhaps it will always be that way. The Maple Leafs are hockey’s most polarizing team, Toronto might well be the center of the hockey universe and Dubas remains a hot-button topic north of the border even 30 months after his departure.
Despite all of his success in Toronto, Dubas only presided over one playoff series victory. Thus, he failed. He’s hated by many and mocked by many others because he was young in Toronto, spoke in an eloquent manner that many hockey people didn’t and had the temerity to wear glasses.
In less than a month, Dubas — or Boy Wonder, as his detractors in Toronto love to call him — turns 40.
He appears to have learned from previous mistakes.
Yes, the rebuild in Pittsburgh is still in its early stages. This is hardly a time for a Dubas victory lap.
Suddenly, however, the Penguins are feeling fresh again. There is a sense of hope. Things are finally headed in an exciting direction. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang aren’t being shown the door in any way, receiving the royal treatment they deserve in their final seasons. Yet Dubas is simultaneously rebuilding the Penguins in his own vision. That’s no small task, but we are starting to see some really encouraging signs.
The Penguins are currently 7-2-2. They’ve faded a bit in recent games, and I suspect their current pace isn’t sustainable. Still, that start is nothing to sneeze at. You don’t go 7-2-2 by accident, and I believe the Penguins, at the very least, are better this season than people were expecting.
Let’s look at the short term first.
Dubas pulled off some seriously impressive pieces of business this past summer. Consider:
• He signed Anthony Mantha at the inexpensive price of $2.5 million for one season. Mantha has been an outstanding addition to Evgeni Malkin’s line, putting up five goals and 10 points through 11 games. This signing can benefit the Penguins in multiple ways.
If they’re able to keep winning and make a surprise run at a playoff spot in a very weak Eastern Conference, Dubas got a good player at a cheap price who paid off big.
If the Penguins fold substantially and end up closer to Gavin McKenna territory than a postseason berth, they can always use Mantha as a potentially attractive piece of trade bait. There’s nothing wrong with that.
If Mantha himself fades badly and proves to be a bust after an early-season boom, there’s no harm done. That’s the beauty of one-year contracts.
• Justin Brazeau, another summer signing, has been a remarkable revelation through 11 games. Brazeau has produced six goals and 12 points.
While I don’t think anyone saw that kind of production coming, Dubas made it very clear during the summer that this was a player he very much liked. The 6-foot-6 forward with a soft pair of hands is only 27, and his cap hit is just $1.5 million. Even better, he’s under contract for another season at that rate. Talk about a good piece of business for the Penguins.
• Speaking of bargains, how about Parker Wotherspoon? He’s playing on the top pairing with Erik Karlsson and, simply put, has been one of the Penguins’ best defensemen. He’s been steady as a rock and a perfect partner for Karlsson. He’s only making $1 million annually and is under contract for two seasons.
Sure, he’s a 28-year-old journeyman, so it probably wouldn’t be fair to expect his level of play to continue. Then again, stranger things have happened.
• Let’s not forget about goaltender Arturs Silovs. He’s been spectacular at times and has formed a nice 1-2 punch with Tristan Jarry in the early going. Silovs was available because the Vancouver Canucks boast an abundance of goaltenders, and Dubas wisely pounced on him. He’s only 24, could potentially form quite a duo with No. 1 goalie-in-waiting Sergei Murashov, and is only a restricted free agent next summer.
Goalie Arturs Silovs looks like a shrewd pick-up by Kyle Dubas. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Those moves alone have given the Penguins an immediate upgrade in 20 percent of their roster spots. Dubas has made his mistakes in free agency — July 1, 2023, will haunt him for a while — but if nothing else, he proved during the summer that he has an eye for free-agency talent and managed to be incredibly prudent financially in the process. It was a job well done.
I’m only mentioning the likes of Harrison Brunicke, Ben Kindel, Ville Koivunen and Filip Hallander now. They are all rookies Dubas brought into the organization, and it’s becoming pretty clear they could all make a significant impact in the short and long term for this organization. Kindel and Brunicke look special. Dubas and draft guru Wes Clark drew flak when they “reached” for Kindel at No. 11 during the 2025 NHL Draft. Now, they look like geniuses.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Sure, the Penguins already have rookies helping the cause, but consider the other young assets Dubas is responsible for collecting.
He had two other first-round picks in June thanks to some shrewd maneuvering. Will Horcoff, one of those picks, is lighting it up at Michigan with seven goals in eight games. The Penguins think they may have landed a steal with him late in the first round. And don’t forget about the other first-round pick, Bill Zonnon. Scouts love him and believe he will become an impactful middle-six winger.
Then there is Tristan Broz. And Avery Hayes. And Finn Harding. They’re all on the way, and they all appear to be legitimate NHL prospects.
In the next three drafts, the Penguins own three first-round picks, seven second-round picks and seven third-round picks. Given what Dubas and Clark have already done in the draft, Penguins fans should be salivating.
It should also be noted that Dan Muse has been outstanding in his early days as head coach. It was Dubas who located him and gave him the job.
There is a long way to go, of course. A championship — or even having a team reach championship-caliber level — is never a given. Dubas knows this as well as anyone. The Penguins are still a long, long way from the league’s legitimate contenders, and it will take years to get back there. That’s the reality of this job.
Still, there is a plan, and it’s being executed very nicely. Maybe Crosby will still be around when the plan comes to fruition. One way or the other, the future suddenly looks bright for the first time in a while.
The top of the mountain is indeed far away, but Penguins fans can dream about it again. There is growing evidence that the man running the team is capable of taking them there.