Kyle Dubas 4/21/25 Press Conference Summary

[FLPensFan]

I'll post some details and highlights here as they become available...

[FLPensFan]

Summary of Dubas talking points and questions from reporters (if I can tell who asked the question, I'll list it)

--Starts with we fell short of our goal of being in the playoffs. We don't want to just sneak in, we want to arrive there and be in contention.

--Team responded better after the trade deadline, and even back further, we responded better after trade of MP and DOC, compared to last year with Guentzel. Don't want those results to distract from fact that we were 11 points out of playoffs.

--Talked about younger guys helping this year and in the future, strong potential of forward and goaltending group. Competition in net with Tristan and Ned, plus Blomqvist, Murashov, Gauthier, plus Larsson (who is injured again) will be a big competition. Have told Ned and Tristan they are in competition for the net in training camp.

--Defense group is an area of major concern. Pickering and St. Ivany came up and played well. Harding and Pietila coming in, but others are ways away. Major area of concern going into this summer.

--Summer plan is to use assets and cap space if there are opportunities to bring in players who can return team to contention and play at a high level throughout the life of their contract.

[FLPensFan]

Questions:

-(Taylor) - do you have a timeline of when you can get this team to be a contender, can you do it as soon as next season?
--->Try not to put a timeline. Just getting into the playoffs next year would be a major accomplishment, but again is it just sneaking into the playoffs, or truly contending year after year. I'm more focused on the latter, and I think that's what the fans want too.

-(SethR) - Do you expect Alex and Tristan to be in camp competing for a goaltending spot.
----> As of this moment they are both under contract, so yes.

-(SethR) - Asks about the weak defensive play and goaltending as a whole.
----> We conceded a lot more defensively and exceeded (badly) a lot of metrics defensively, so it wasn't good. Tristan played well near the end, but he needs to stack that into next year, plus double the pressure because he has 2 young guys coming

-(Rob) - Of prospects we have, ones we saw plus others still at AHL, who might come to camp and compete, and who might be a fit to play with Malkin, who had a roving collection of wingers throughout the season.
-----> You are being kind with "roving," it was a rotating cast of characters for Geno, and I think that is hard for him. He's different than Sid, where he gets locked in. Geno has had different guys come and go and he's made it work, but as he ages we need to support him more consistently. Will be a coaching decision at the end. Talked about St. Ivany needing bigger minutes, talked about Brunicke, talked about Broz. (

-unknown - What can be learned about Washington's season and how that applies here.
-----> There are a number of teams in the league, you can go into mass teardown rebuild and hope you get lucky with lottery....hope in one hand and **** in the other and see which one fills up first. Washington drafted well while they were contending. Ovi, Wilson, Carlson there, but their middle range is better. They have Fehervary and McMichael, we don't have those....yet. We are trying to use our assets to get us there and push us there (alludes to adding RMG and Koivunen along the last year).

[KG]

Thanks FLP. Any questions about Sullivan/Rangers speculation??

[Puck-Lurker]

Thanks FLP. Any questions about Sullivan/Rangers speculation??

Started the stream from the top.

He hasnt talked to Sully and coaching staff yet because of the holidays. Sullivan is an elite level coach and he wants to stay.

Make of that what you will

[FLPensFan]

More questions:

-(unknown) - Karlsson on Friday said last 15 games frustrated, wants to be competing for playoff spot, wants to win Cup, but also how much he loves it here in Pittsburgh
-----> In all exit meetings, everyone says how much they enjoy it here, which is a testament to the city, the people, the organization. Erik will always be a polarizing figure, don't know his exact comments, we expect him to be one of those people to pull us into the next phase. His actions need to match his ambitions. He has another level to him that we need to see. Moments of great play but inconsistent (and not just him).

-(Molinari) - Do you expect any changes to the coaching staff, and does public sentiment have any impact?
-----> Public sentiment, no. Public wants to win, but they might not always agree with the ways we get there. I don't think the public sentiment wanted to see Guentzel moved, but that is what the organization felt was best. We need to do what we believe is best for the organization. Dubas mentions not sure on all the coaches (nothing to see there) more as in, he is speaking to Sullivan tomorrow (so I think if Sullivan wanted to change out an assistant Dubas would find out then).

-(MattVensel) - 2 questions, first is a follow up, will Mike Sullivan definitely be back, or is that still TBD since you have to meet with him?
-----> I haven't met with Sully post season yet. He's under contract, he's made his intentions known. He's an elite level coach, both here and Team USA. He's been open this is what he wants to do, and as long that is the case we'll continue moving forward.

-(MattVensel) - defensive issues, how much is personnel and how much is coaching?
-------> Combination of both and everything. Organizational matter that needs to be addressed. Improve personnel, but it's forecheck, backcheck, the defensive system. We'll talk to Sully and see if the personnel match what he wants to do.

-(Kingerski) - Rakell and Rust expressed desire to stay
-------> I go back to what I said about everyone wanting to stay....both on and off the ice, both excellent, Rusty been here whole career, bridges the gap of guys you can look to besides a Sid, etc. All of that said, we value them very highly, but if there are moves that make our team better and the short and long run, we'll look at moving anybody. That's just where we are at.

-(Jason?) - Asked about depth
------> LD is a problem, especially after moving Pettersson. Pickering is there, but is he ready to step into one of those roles, not sure. Shea, Kolyachonok, Graves, etc here. Gravy, well document, knows he has to be a lot better. This is an area externally

-(Justin) - Grzelcyk, could you potentially bring back?
-----> Yeah forgot to add him in previous question. I know what his intentions are. Zero maintenance guy. He wanted to use this year to get himself back on track after falling off with Boston. (basically, sounds like Grzelcyk came here to hopefully get back to level he played at with Boston previously, and he may price himself out of Pittsburgh this summer).

-(unknown) - Not wanting to put a timeline on contending. What's your level of confidence of where "rock bottom" is?
------> Can't really answer that, IMO, until you are years past it. We didn't play well this year, but I also felt we were in a worse spot last year after trading Jake, because we didn't play well after that. And I know when I took this job that after years of contending, that I have to deliver the message of going a different direction from what we were used to. In my mind, last year was more of rock bottom. More optimistic going into next year.

-(Kelsey) - Salary cap going up, how will that effect the approach
-------> With the cap, we may spend more in acquisition by trade, and then signing players other teams may not be able to fit. I expect a spike in spending, and then some players in the 25-30 Trade for players that are RFAs that other teams can't afford, that would be the more likely route. Owners have been excellent, no limitation on player spending or any type of budge. Teams will be better positioned for offer sheets, to defend against them, because of the rising cap.

-(unknown) - Any additional injury updates?
------> Nothing else really here. We know Kris's situation. No other limitations heading into training camp. No big surgeries. Emil Bemstrom will be out for WBS and need surgery.

-(Taylor) - Common sentiment from fans that Sully doesn't trust young players and isn't the guy to lead this team through the rebuild/rephase. What are your comments on that?
--------> (Dubas stumbled badly on this in the beginning). What young players have left here and had success elsewhere? I don't really recall any. The young players falls more on me and management to fix. And at the end of this season, we had 2 guys come up and make a major impact. I know people are going to have their angst, but we'll get there.

-(MattVensel) - Sid made mention that players getting traded away, playoff misses, takes a toll. Do you expect him to continue to be on board w/rebuild?
-------> Sid is going to win everything he does every single day. He was on the ice today doing something, and he made it into a competition. Until we get back to being successful, I expect Sid to be grumpy. He wants to win at everything, all the time.

[FLPensFan]

Here's the stream for anyone that wants to re-watch:

[FLPensFan]

Thanks FLP. Any questions about Sullivan/Rangers speculation??

Nobody asked about Sullivan to Rangers stuff, but there were 3 questions on Sullivan as coach:

--One from Molinari asking if he expects any changes to the staff, and does public sentiment have any impact.

--A follow up to Molinari from Matt Vensel, asking if Sullivan is definitely back or to be determined.

--Taylor asking about fans perception that Sullivan doesn't play young guys and isn't right guy for the rebuild.

[Puck-Lurker]

Thanks FLP. Any questions about Sullivan/Rangers speculation??

Nobody asked about Sullivan to Rangers stuff, but there were 3 questions on Sullivan as coach:

--One from Molinari asking if he expects any changes to the staff, and does public sentiment have any impact.

--A follow up to Molinari from Matt Vensel, asking if Sullivan is definitely back or to be determined.

--Taylor asking about fans perception that Sullivan doesn't play young guys and isn't right guy for the rebuild.

Dubas stepped in front of the bullets and deflected with he's under contract and it's all my fault, pretty much. Most he criticised Sully was agreeing it was likely a combination of coaching and personnel as the cause for our bad D this season. But then, that only would criticise all coaches together, or Quinn specifically.

Interestingly, he didn't think Pickering would be one of the players taking one of 'those' positions. I forget the exact context, might have been as related to a top 4 role.

[FLPensFan]

Thanks FLP. Any questions about Sullivan/Rangers speculation??

Nobody asked about Sullivan to Rangers stuff, but there were 3 questions on Sullivan as coach:

--One from Molinari asking if he expects any changes to the staff, and does public sentiment have any impact.

--A follow up to Molinari from Matt Vensel, asking if Sullivan is definitely back or to be determined.

--Taylor asking about fans perception that Sullivan doesn't play young guys and isn't right guy for the rebuild.

Dubas stepped in front of the bullets and deflected with he's under contract and it's all my fault, pretty much. Most he criticised Sully was agreeing it was likely a combination of coaching and personnel as the cause for our bad D this season. But then, that only would criticise all coaches together, or Quinn specifically.

Interestingly, he didn't think Pickering would be one of the players taking one of 'those' positions. I forget the exact context, might have been as related to a top 4 role.

No, I think you were right. It sounded like they think Pickering could still use some more development time. Not sure what specifically they don't like. Again, it might also be (haven't checked) them missing the bigger picture that, X player alongside Letang sees their metrics plummet.

He talked up Ryan Shea and how he is getting better, and they are challenging him to continue to grow his game.

[Daniel]

Thanks FLP. Any questions about Sullivan/Rangers speculation??

Nobody asked about Sullivan to Rangers stuff, but there were 3 questions on Sullivan as coach:

--One from Molinari asking if he expects any changes to the staff, and does public sentiment have any impact.

--A follow up to Molinari from Matt Vensel, asking if Sullivan is definitely back or to be determined.

--Taylor asking about fans perception that Sullivan doesn't play young guys and isn't right guy for the rebuild.

Dubas stepped in front of the bullets and deflected with he's under contract and it's all my fault, pretty much. Most he criticised Sully was agreeing it was likely a combination of coaching and personnel as the cause for our bad D this season. But then, that only would criticise all coaches together, or Quinn specifically.

Interestingly, he didn't think Pickering would be one of the players taking one of 'those' positions. I forget the exact context, might have been as related to a top 4 role.

I can see that for two reasons. First, he's pretty young and needs to earn a spot, second, today he's not top 4 but we'll see what happens next September. He pushes the onus on Pickering to come into camp ready to earn a top 4 spot.

[FLPensFan]

Thanks FLP. Any questions about Sullivan/Rangers speculation??

Nobody asked about Sullivan to Rangers stuff, but there were 3 questions on Sullivan as coach:

--One from Molinari asking if he expects any changes to the staff, and does public sentiment have any impact.

--A follow up to Molinari from Matt Vensel, asking if Sullivan is definitely back or to be determined.

--Taylor asking about fans perception that Sullivan doesn't play young guys and isn't right guy for the rebuild.

Dubas stepped in front of the bullets and deflected with he's under contract and it's all my fault, pretty much. Most he criticised Sully was agreeing it was likely a combination of coaching and personnel as the cause for our bad D this season. But then, that only would criticise all coaches together, or Quinn specifically.

Interestingly, he didn't think Pickering would be one of the players taking one of 'those' positions. I forget the exact context, might have been as related to a top 4 role.

I can see that for two reasons. First, he's pretty young and needs to earn a spot, second, today he's not top 4 but we'll see what happens next September. He pushes the onus on Pickering to come into camp ready to earn a top 4 spot.

What I would really like to see is Pickering and Brunicke as the 3rd pairing next year. They are our 2 best defensive prospects right now. I think Brunicke may have a higher ceiling, but, let those 2 play together and see if they can develop some chemistry, then move up the depth chart together as they progress.

[Daniel]

Thanks FLP. Any questions about Sullivan/Rangers speculation??

Nobody asked about Sullivan to Rangers stuff, but there were 3 questions on Sullivan as coach:

--One from Molinari asking if he expects any changes to the staff, and does public sentiment have any impact.

--A follow up to Molinari from Matt Vensel, asking if Sullivan is definitely back or to be determined.

--Taylor asking about fans perception that Sullivan doesn't play young guys and isn't right guy for the rebuild.

Dubas stepped in front of the bullets and deflected with he's under contract and it's all my fault, pretty much. Most he criticised Sully was agreeing it was likely a combination of coaching and personnel as the cause for our bad D this season. But then, that only would criticise all coaches together, or Quinn specifically.

Interestingly, he didn't think Pickering would be one of the players taking one of 'those' positions. I forget the exact context, might have been as related to a top 4 role.

I can see that for two reasons. First, he's pretty young and needs to earn a spot, second, today he's not top 4 but we'll see what happens next September. He pushes the onus on Pickering to come into camp ready to earn a top 4 spot.

What I would really like to see is Pickering and Brunicke as the 3rd pairing next year. They are our 2 best defensive prospects right now. I think Brunicke may have a higher ceiling, but, let those 2 play together and see if they can develop some chemistry, then move up the depth chart together as they progress.

They look to be the next Letang and Dumoulin to be honest with you in the sense that if they can play well together and get to their potential that we might see a long term top pairing.

[Puck-Lurker]

Dubas did single out that he wasn't going to be looking for players in the 30+ age bracket.

Grzelcyk is 31. Nieto is 32.

[FLPensFan]

Dubas did single out that he wasn't going to be looking for players in the 30+ age bracket.

Grzelcyk is 31. Nieto is 32.

I think Nieto's NHL is done. Nothing left there. If he signs somewhere, it will likely be at the AHL level as a 14th type forward callup.

Grzelcyk, it seemed like came here on a one year deal to prove that the prior season in Boston was a fluke, and that he wasn't that bad. Sounds like Dubas expects Grzelcyk asking price to be out of the range they want to spend. Me personally, you can't have Letang, Karlsson, Graves, and Grzelcyk all back and expect the defense to improve next season. 2 of them likely need to go.

[KG]

KD did say he is meeting with Sullivan tomorrow so we will see if anything comes from that meeting. Basically, Sully is under contract, KD isn't going to fire him but wouldn't get in the way if Sully wanted the Rangers gig. That's my take anyway.

I also liked how KD responded when he was told that EK, Rust, Rakell all want to stay. He basically said that's great everyone wants to stay but we haven't been in the playoffs for 3 years. He doesn't want to promote a culture of complacency. To may that's all on the coaching staff. No accountability.

[KG]

[Skatingpen]

So, Sullivan only goes if he chooses to go. Not a bad situation…….. good lord

[Puck-Lurker]

I did hate that deflection about Sullivan and young players; he kind of asked in return what young players there have been that 'skyrocketed' elsewhere, shifting the goalposts.

We're talking about a coach that kept Nieto in the lineup consistently. That elite level coach that puts a younger winger in a top 6 role for a game or two, then demote them for.. no discernible reason. He then bumps them further down when they don't produce, usually on their off-wing, then to the box. Then they're back in Wilkes. All the while we're playing Hayes, Nieto, Acciari no matter how bad they might look.

Graves with a longer leash than the great wall of China. Jarry with the same. Let's pretend there weren't young players that could've gained significant ice time.

Only at the end of the season did we suddenly discover "hey, some of these kids can play hockey". That could've been a lot sooner. Rotate one or two in and out, get them to learn to adapt as they have in the past weeks.

[BigMcK]

Like any other GM in the same situation, KD didn't address core problems within his control, and danced around the elephant in the organization. He lets the coach dictate who remains behind the bench, "he said he is still interested in staying here". Accountability starts from the top. The coach says he still wants to stay here... That's not good enough, and that's not leadership.

Fire Sullivan.

[FLPensFan]

Like any other GM in the same situation, KD didn't address core problems within his control, and danced around the elephant in the organization. He lets the coach dictate who remains behind the bench, "he said he is still interested in staying here". Accountability starts from the top. The coach says he still wants to stay here... That's not good enough, and that's not leadership.

Fire Sullivan.

A couple more playoff misses when Dubas expects this team to be competing might finally get Sullivan fired.....might.

[Pens4Life]

Yeah might.. then FSG will fire Dubas and appoint Sully as new GM lol

[Puck-Lurker]

Yeah might.. then FSG will fire Dubas and appoint Sully as new GM lol

Oh I hate that. Even as a joke... uuugh.

There's a remote chance Dubas can force Sully's hand by just not hiring random filler players that aren't in our prospect pool.

[Daniel]

Yeah might.. then FSG will fire Dubas and appoint Sully as new GM lol

Oh I hate that. Even as a joke... uuugh.

There's a remote chance Dubas can force Sully's hand by just not hiring random filler players that aren't in our prospect pool.

Maybe just get a roster with 18 no waiver contracts and make him pick 5 ELC players to fill it.

[100565]

I was hoping for announement today. KD was speaking to Sully today. Guess Sully is fine sticking with Pens. Guess he will be the coach next year.