Kyle Dubas has a lot of work to do with the Pittsburgh Penguins, with a main order of business picking a new general manager.
Once one of the most coveted positions in the NHL, the General Manager role for the Pittsburgh Penguins now gives pause to potential candidates. Ron Hextall's disappointing end to what should have been a legendary tenure has made the Penguins job an uphill battle for next season.
With three aging Hall of Famers and goalie issues to boot, the next GM and his team will have their work cut out for them. The one clear message from ownership, as long as Crosby is playing we are trying to win. The Penguins just hired Kyle Dubas as team president. He said there is no rush to find a GM which means this is really going to be a tough job to get. Let's dig in to see who is up for the challenge.
Pittsburgh Penguins GM candidates: The Front Runner
In the past few years, we have seen a real change in the DNA of how hockey is played. You should be able to tell that when on most nights you'll find at least a couple of games which have eight, nine, or even 10 goals scored. The NHL is about offense now and the Penguins need to help their aging legends by injecting some fresh blood and youth into the team. Because of that, the first person I see as a real possibility for Pens GM is Jason Botterill.
Botterill was in charge of the Buffalo Sabres when they drafted a number of really solid players, such as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Rasmus Dahlin. He was also responsible for bringing Tage Thompson to the Sabres, and he finished the regular season with 47 goals.
In addition to having a great eye for the draft, Botterill is familiar with the Penguin's system and knows how to work a salary cap. Like I said before, the Pens need to inject some youth into their team to help out Crosby and Co. and I think Jason Botterill is capable of getting that done.
Pittsburgh Penguins GM candidates: A Strong Candidate from the North
My next candidate is a strong pick from the North (and my personal favorite) Kyle Dubas.
As GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dubas took the Moneyball approach to the NHL, depending on in-depth analytics for success. The Pens have made no secret of their plans to expand on their analytics division, which made Dubas a front-runner for a front office position. So, why not give him all the power?
He brings the necessary experience and has a stellar team around him including one of the best guys in the NHL at managing salary cap, Brandon Pridham.
Dubas has not been afraid to show that he can make tough decisions and that's going to be really important when dealing with the likes of Crosby, Malkin, and Letang. Changes are going to have to be made for the Pens to return to glory, and change is never easy.
Dubas has mentioned the need to hire a general manager to sit under him, but perhaps he'd be best off taking on the full responsibility of rebuilding this Pens team on his own.
Pittsburgh Penguins GM candidates: Breaking the glass ceiling
Like I said earlier, the DNA of the NHL is changing and I believe that reaches into front office personnel too. In the last 10 years, we have seen more female coaches, refs, trainers, and Assistant GMs than ever before. One of the last barriers to break through, though, is the role of a team's General Manager. For me, there is one logical choice to do that first, and it's 100% Emilie Castonguay.
As a former agent, she represented big names like Canadian national team captain Marie-Phillip Poulin and number one overall draft pick Alexis Lafreniere. Not to mention she was the first woman to be an NHLPA-certified player agent. In 2020, she was named one of the 25 most powerful women in hockey by Sportsnet. She's a former college hockey player, interned under Montreal Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier, and in 2021 became the Vancouver Canucks AGM.
If you put these accolades under a man's name he would have had the job already. I say let's get with the times and give this a go.
Change Is Coming
Regardless of who is selected as the next General Manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins, we know that change is coming. The Pens are still a team centered around aging stars in Crosby, Malkin, and Letang. Pittsburgh is going to need a new outlook on hockey in the NHL if they're to maintain their position as one of the league's perennial playoff teams.
The Pens shouldn't have missed the playoffs this year and their GM paid for it. The next GM to have the job needs to learn from that mistake and pull the trigger when the opportunity for potential greatness is at hand.