Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - What are some of Kyle Dubas' trade/free agency plans?

Episode Date: June 23, 2023

Hunter wraps up another week of content with Kyle Dubas speaking to the media for the first time since his introductory press conference three weeks ago. Hunter goes into his three major takeaways from the presser, starting with Dubas' talk about buyouts. Is he leaning toward using one with Mikael Granlund? If he isn't, is he looking to potentially deal him in a trade? Hunter reacts to what Dubas said and gives his opinion and analysis on what he could be thinking when it comes to this player. He also looks at how teams in general can't stand buyouts since they're paying a player to not play for them well past their contract expires. After that, Hunter discusses what Dubas said about trades/free agency and gives a few names of players that he could go after as cheap depth signings since Dubas isn't interested in the big-ticket players. He then looks at a few players on some cap-strapped teams that Dubas may go after if those teams are looking to shed salary. Does Taylor Hall from the Boston Bruins make sense? What about Conor Garland? Finally, Hunter looks at why Dubas seems very insistent on keeping the No. 14 overall pick and why it doesn't mean that the team is "rebuilding" as some fans are saying.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BirddogsGo to birddogs.com/lockedonnhl and they’ll throw in a free custom birddogs Yeti-style tumbler with every order.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase.ebay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kyle Dubus had his first media availability in three weeks on Friday going over his trade plans, free agency, the NHL draft, and I'm going to give you my three big takeaways from that media availability coming up right after this. You're Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, welcome back.

episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. I'm going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, follow the shows Twitter at L.O underscore Penguins. And of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms. Today's episode is brought you by Game Time, download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. So let's get going as I teased. Kyle Dubas had his first new availability in three weeks since he took over the Penguins as president of hockey operations. And he went into a lot of topics.

I'm going to give my three main takeaways from the press conference. If you want to watch the whole thing, it's on the Penguins YouTube, I believe. You can also go on social media and find it. It's also on their app. It's about a 19, 20 minute video. I'm not going to go over everything that he said for this episode because that would just take way too long. But to start off today's show, he was asked about buyouts. And of course, that is a tease for Mikhail Greenland because a lot of fans out there,

especially the people that listen to my show. And I'm sure it'll see a lot of other podcasts, just Penguins fans in general, want to know what the plan is with Michael Graham. He is easily the Penguins' top candidate for a buyout. And when Dubis was asked the question, kind of smile a little bit. and he said that he's not a fan of biote's. That quote was, I'm not a big buyout guy. I think it's a last resort.

There are more creative solutions to shed salary than use a buyout. And my first thought when I heard him say that, if you can find a president of hockey ops slash a GM that actually likes using buyouts, please send them my way. Teams hate them. Even though you see them happen every single year, teams hate it. You think these teams want to be paying these players way past their contract expiration date? For example, the Canucks just bought out Oliver Ekman Larson last week, right?

You think they want to pay him to not be a Canuck for the next eight years? That's how long the buyout is. You think they want to pay him almost 20 million during that time? Absolutely not. You just saw Patrick Nemet and Zach Cassian. They're going to be bought out too by the Arizona Coyotes. Do you think they want to pay him to not pay them to not play there? No.

Same with the penguins. They're still paying Jack Johnson. And it's been a couple of years. You think they still want to be paying him? No. So I understand where Dubis is coming from. It still makes sense because you get $4 million in salary cap space. But I understand the logic where he doesn't want to be paying McHale-Granlon

to not play for the team over the next four years. No team would sign up to do that in a heartbeat. So that's why I think he's definitely going to be seeing if he can get a sucker to trade for him. And I go back to this point a lot. There is always a general manager out there who is willing to help one of his buddies out with regards to taking a bad contract. I even tweeted this out today. do not underestimate other general managers when it comes to helping out one of their own

regarding taking back very mad contracts. You see it happened every single year. So I'm sure Dubus is hoping he can get a sucker to take on that contract. Maybe the Penguins will have to retain a little bit of money. But I still can't see him, Grandin, that is, on this team for next season. The only way it would even make a little bit of sense is if you surround him with pure shooters. He can just get them the puck.

They fire in the back of the net. Whatever. That's the only way I can even see it remotely working. Otherwise, just get rid of him and put him on a team that better fits his skill set because I don't think that's the penguins. So don't expect a buyout after what Dubus said. But hey, you never know. Did the penguins want to buy out Jack Johnson a few years ago?

Jim Rutherford even said to the media at the time, he said, no, I tried to trade him, but no one was taking him. So I had to make the uncomfortable decision to buy him out. And he even said he hates buyouts too. So if it happens, it happens. But it's a last resort kind of thing. They have a week to settle this. If you can get someone to take him over the next seven days, great. If not, maybe before the deadline on Friday, you say, you know what?

We can't have him on the team this upcoming season. I'm going to have no choice but to do this, and I'm going to have to buy him out. So that's where I stand on that. Either way, my friends, I don't think Granland is going to be on the team. And also just backtracking a little bit, Dubus never really did buyouts in Toronto. He just, he never did. So it makes sense that he'll have the same kind of reaction to that kind of question, even when he's on a new team.

So that was my first big reaction out of the press conference was that he's not interested in doing buyouts. If you do see Greenland off this team, I think it's going to be just a pure salary dump. I don't think the Penguins are going to be giving up top picks to get out of that contract. If they maybe trade down, I could see them attaching him to maybe move down five, six spots. And the NHL draft, maybe a team like the Blackhawks could do you a solid. Maybe a team out further west can do you a solid, something like that. But it doesn't sound like as of right now a buyout is great.

possible, but again, that can change in a week if no one is biting on him being attached to a pick or just him as a salary dump. And he's like, you know what, this sucks. We're going to have to pay him for four years on to play here. But in the end, we get $7 million in salary cap space. It still makes at least that bit of sense. But wanted to discuss that main point to open up the show today. Let me know what you think about those comments that Dubus made to the media. Down in the comments on YouTube, you can also send me a DM. on social media. Do you think he's maybe leading anyone on a little bit? Or do you actually think they're trying to fully trade him and not have to pay him for two more years past

his contract expiring? Let me know what you think about that. So that wraps up this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to get into some free agency slash trade plans that Kyle revealed on Friday, for those hoping that they're going to go on and make a big time splash on July 1st next Saturday, I think you might be a little bit disappointed. So that's coming up right after this break. But before we get to that, we do have to discuss bird dogs, some of the most comfortable shorts out there. They make you look good and they're designed to fit slimmer through the thigh and leg, giving you a truly sculpted look. They fit way better than regular shorts that are made of a stiff for striking cotton. Bird dogs fixed this issue by inventing

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All right, I'm back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hanser Hodes. We're going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the shows Twitter at L-OenSor Penguins. And of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms. If you are expecting the penguins to go out and maybe sign someone like Tyler Bertuzi or Dmitri Orlov, think again, Debus confirmed during his presser that he will not be going after big ticket deals,

like six to seven year term, a lot of money. He is instead going to be looking at cheap depth deals for players that can play on the third and fourth lines for the penguins to round out their depth. And honestly, I am all for that. The top six this past season was insanely good. They carried the load for the penguins. Would it be cool to maybe add a little bit of a splash to that unit? Yes, but the biggest need outside of finding a goalie right now is rounding out that for depth

because my God, it was awful this past season. You had players down there who were not scoring at all. For example, I liked Josh Archibald for his defensive impact. He was one of the 10 best defensive wingers analytically this past season. but if you're not surrounding him with players who can score, what's the point of really having him on the team? The Penguins just did a horrible job building out that bottom six this past season, and you saw it.

They ended up missing the playoffs because of it. Dubus now wants to bring in players who can score double-digit goals and be responsible in the defensive end on cheap contracts to help complement the core so that they don't have to do everything, every single game. and a couple of players who I thought of when he made that remark. David Kempth, who played in the bottom six in Toronto, can score your goals, can play on your penalty kill, and can play well in his own zone at five on five.

And so I'll make Pierre Engball, who had a really good year in Toronto and New York, someone who I just discussed on the show a little over a week ago, he can give you a 13 to 16 and 17 goals, can also play in your PKK, is also responsible defensively. players like that who probably won't cost you that much on the open market well at least not as much as someone like a tyler bertuzzi will but someone that can come in and fill a gaping hole right away so i am really curious and excited to see how he attacks that when free agency opens in about eight days another big thing that stood out to me that's similar to that was when

he was asked about potential trades. And what he said was he's potentially looking at trades from teams that don't have a lot of salary cap space, where they're going to maybe need to move some good players to get cap compliant so they can sign more important players. And the first team I thought of when he made that remark were the Boston Bruins. they have a lot of tough decisions to make this off season. You don't know if Patrice Burgeon's coming back. You got to figure out Jeremy Swayman's contract. You have other contracts you have to worry about as well.

And a player such as Taylor Hall could be made available. I know he has a modified no trade clause. But I'm sure he would want to come to Pittsburgh. He makes $6 million. The money would be a little bit interesting, but the Penguins have the salary cap space for it. He can come in and fill a role on the second. or the third line.

He had 16 goals this past season, a little less than 40 points, but he also missed some time. But this is a player who has been a bona fide goal score and playmaker throughout his career. He would make a lot of sense as someone who could be seen as maybe a quote-unquote salary dump, but can also help the Penguins contend not just this upcoming season,

but the season after he signed for the next two years. Another player from the Bruins who I thought of, and I've talked about on the show before as well, Matt Rizzlich, Brian Duman replacement. Kyle touched on that a little bit as well. He's thinking about P.O. Joseph and Ty Smith, if they can maybe replace what Dumlin brought, but he said if he thinks they can't,

they're going to have to go out there and replace Dumlin. And Grizzlic, really good defenseman in his own zone, can also move the puck flawlessly up the ice, can give you some offense. He makes a lot of sense as a quote-unquote salary dump as well. A couple other teams that came to my mind right away were the Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings. for the Kings, it seems like they're very much in on Pierre-Louc de Gua.

I think it's them. The Canadians may be a mystery chain or two, but the Kings, it sounds like, are definitely taking a look at it. If they're able to get him and he makes $6 million on the deal right now and sign him to an extension, they're going to be pretty close to being capped out. And I'm sure they have other business to attend to their soft season as well. And with that said, could someone like a, I don't know,

of Victor Arvinson become available. He just had a great year for the Kings, 26 goals, 59 points. They got him pretty cheap recently from the Predators. And if you can get a player like that for pennies on a dollar of bona fide 2025 goal score, you can put on your second or third line, I would do that any day of the week. And then finally for the Canucks, just someone like Connor Garland makes sense. and I'll throw a galaxy brain idea out there for you all right now. The Penguins would do this,

but would the Canucks and Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alvin do a Garland for a McIle-Granlon swap where the Penguins maybe eat a little bit of salary on that deal? I know it's a bit weird, but hey, you never know. Teams make weird moves all the time. Makes all the sense in the world for the Penguins. Garland had a really good year for the Canucks. This past year, 17 goals, 46 points.

but will the Canucks do it? It wouldn't make much sense them getting back Granlin who was a worse player than Garland but they've been trying to get out of Garland's contract for a little bit now. So maybe wishful thinking but

hey, that's just an idea I'm floating out there to you all but those are the three teams that came to my mind when Dubis made that remark of going after players on teams who don't have as much salary cap flexibility

as the Penguins do. It's so funny to me how the penguins are not in that situation right now because they usually are, right? They're the ones looking for some salary cap flexibility, and yet here they are with at least $20 million heading into free agency and trade season. So it's nice to be on the other end of that where the penguins can potentially get a really good player for pennies on a dollar. So those are some players that came to mind for me.

when I heard Dubis say that and what I think he could be looking at on the trade market. Let me know if any players come to your mind. You can send me a DM on social media. Let me go down in the YouTube comments and all of that stuff. But that wraps up the second segment. Coming up to end the show, is Kyle Dubus going to be keeping the number 14 overall pick? Or is he going to be trading it? I'm going to give you my best guess on that after the comments that he made to the media on Friday.

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Again, crane account and redeem code walked in NHL for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. And I'm back here on this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. In order to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. And of course, thank you all so much for making this your first list in slash watch of the day.

We are free and available on all platforms. So the last major takeaway I had from this presser was Dubus's comments about keeping the number 14 pick in next year's Japanese team general managers. Over the years of the Penguins, whether it's Ray Shiro, Jim Rutherford, not Riley Juan, Hexon, because he never really traded. his first-round pick, but the other two have traded their first-round picks to get immediate help. But it doesn't sound like Dubis wants to do that. It doesn't sound like he wants to trade any of his first or someone like Owen Pickering to get immediate help. He wants to keep the picks and really restock the pipeline as a whole.

And I know people are not going to be happy with that kind of stigma because the penguins are in win-now mode. But I understand where he's coming from because he wants to set up the team. for future success even after the Crosby-Malkan era comes to me. He wants them to be as good as possible in a way. They're going to be bad, but you want to ease the pain of them being bad with some good players coming up through your pipeline. And this draft is the best one we're going to see in, what, the last five to six years,

there is a lot of talent in the first round of this draft. If someone like Zach Benson slides to you, you have no choice but to take him. But you have Gabe Perrault if he doesn't. You have someone like Nate Danielson, Braden Yeager, who I took in the locked-on NHL mock draft. I love his shot. You have Quentin Mustie who's going to be potentially available to you there.

There are no shortage of options to the Penguins with the number 14 overall pick. But hey, he could also, just be not tipping his hand. Maybe the right deal comes his way. And he's like, you know what? This makes sense. I'm going to trade the pick so I can get this really young player that can help us now and in the future.

But based on what he said today, it's more likely than not that he is going to keep the pick heading into the draft on Wednesday. He did say it's also possible he trades up or down, just has to see if anything is presented to him and Jason Spence and the front office as a whole that makes sense. But it sounds like they are going to keep the pick and take the best player available. And there's going to be a lot of very good players available. I'm going to have my big board dropping next week. I am super stoked to drop that for you all and just give you all the best options for the Penguins

at the number 14 overall selection if the board goes their way. So look for that coming up next week. But I'm not surprised in the slightest that he has this kind of opinion. Ron Hickstall kind of had a similar opinion as well. And again, I understand what naysayers are going to say when it comes to, oh, well, you got to trade all those picks when you can. You got a two to three year window here. I get it.

And I am pro trading the pick if the right deal comes along. but if it doesn't take a really good player. Will he not be available for the next couple of years at least? Yes. But you'll still have a really good player to come phase out the end of the Crosby-Malkin in Let's-Hang era. And there's value to that. You can't just be trading futures for the sake of trading futures.

just because they may not trade the number 14 overall pick doesn't mean they're not going to contend this upcoming season. They are in it to win it. I've seen some people say, oh, well, you got to start the rebuild if you're not trading this pick. No, no. That's not how this goes. You don't need to start a rebuild just because you're not trading a first-round pick

and one of the best drafts we've seen in quite a long time. That's not how any of this goes, people. So I'm fine with it. If something great comes along, awesome. But if not, this team is going to get quite a player in the draft next week. So those are my three main takeaways from the Kyle Dubas press conference today. Went into a whole bunch of other stuff regarding the Tris and Jari negotiations. Jason Zucker, Brian Dumlin, reading the T-Leaves.

I don't think Dumlin's coming back. Just the way he discussed that. I don't think so. And with Zucker and Jari, I think at this point, I would be surprised if any of the three come back, to be honest with Jans. But that would do it for this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I really appreciate all of you listening slash watching this one. I'll be back with another episode for you all next Monday. This coming week is going to be crazy.

Lots of draft content. I'm going to drop my big board for you all for options for the Penguins at number 14. getting into some potential trade rumors, other free agency options, especially for the third and fourth lines after what Kyle said on Friday. It's going to be a crazy week. And next Saturday, I'll have bonus content for you all as the signings and potential trades come in. I'm not going anywhere. You'll have content Monday through Friday next week and a small bonus episode on Saturday. So again, thank you all so much for tuning in.

I very much appreciate it. Have a wonderful weekend. I'll talk with you all again. on Monday.