Rather than adding another external voice to the mix, Penguins President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas “opted to take on the role of general manager last week,” confident that there are “enough checks and balances around him to put the Penguins in a position to return to contention,” according to Will Graves of the AP. Just “over a third” of NHL teams have a GM “who also runs their respective club’s hockey operations.” Dubas said that he was “going to look for an external hire shortly after taking the job.” He is “not ruling out having someone take over that role down the road, but not now.” Combining the jobs is a “different direction for the Penguins,” who had Brian Burke run hockey operations and Ron Hextall serve as GM after Jim Rutherford “resigned abruptly” in January 2021. Graves wrote Dubas “isn’t worried about feeling he has too much power” (AP, 8/7).
RIGHTING THE SHIP: In Pittsburgh, Mark Madden noted the Penguins received D Erik Karlsson from a trade with the Sharks and by the time the machinations of the deal were totaled, Dubas “saved” the Penguins $3M in cap space. Dubas “mostly undid the idiocy” of Ron Hextall’s tenure as GM “in one trade.” The new GM “pulled a blockbuster trade and added another superstar.” That is “going to sell tickets and merch” (TRIBLIVE.com., 8/6).
