Kyle Dubas talks strategy ahead of trade deadline
· Yahoo Sports
Kyle Dubas offered some comments on his podcast about the team ahead of tomorrow’s NHL trade deadline.
Pulled a few highlights from Josh's chat with Kyle, including:
– An update on Sidney Crosby
– Where things stand with Evgeni Malkin
– Some insight on the trade deadline
Read more here, and you can listen at the Spotify link in the feature: https://t.co/sMdThisASshttps://t.co/WbmlcixsuQVisit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) March 5, 2026
Dubas isn’t about to tip his hand or give out particulars, but his thoughts about the team are interesting. Unsurprisingly, he’s looking to Egor Chinakhov as the template for what he wants to do: add a forward or defenseman that is young enough to have team control and good enough to start contributing right away.
If there were an ideal person or player that was a Pittsburgh Penguins target, what kind of boxes would they have to check to come here?
Well, I think we feel good about where we’re at in goal, in the present and future.
So, in terms of acquisitions, I think where we look is both up front and on defense. I think the ideal acquisition for us will be a player that’s in their 20s, closer to their mid-20s, that has some team control. Either they’re signed, or they are a pending restricted free agent, where they’re not a rental.
That said, if we get closer to Friday and there’s a chance to add to the team with someone who is a rental, we could look at that, too.
I think everyone looks at the deadline as that’s a time that you have to act, and I think it is a great opportunity to add talent to your roster and to your team. What I would say to that is that this year, we have already added a lot of talent to the team. So, we’ve made a lot of moves throughout the year to add Stu Skinner to the team, Sam Girard to the group, Egor Chinakhov to the group, and Ilya Solovyev to the group. So, we’ve already done that through the year. I think at the deadline, it’s seen as a time where I think that (people think) you have to act. And I think we’ve already acted. But it doesn’t mean that we ever stop trying to improve the team, especially in positions that can help the group now and in the future.
So, the Chinakhov deal would sort of be the template that I would use.
A Chinakhov template presents a thin needle to thread; a player has to be good enough to where they can improve the team but also on shaky enough ground to where their current team would be looking to move on from them. The Venn diagram of players who neatly fit into that area doesn’t include very many names. Dubas didn’t dismiss bringing in a rental player as a last resort if longer-term options aren’t feasible, but given the prices for players like Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy, that might not be an appealing option either.
It’s difficult to say exactly what that might mean for the Penguins. Would a player like Cole Perfetti from Winnipeg (24 years old, impending free agent) be available? Or Mavrik Bourque from Dallas? Boston reportedly has 21-year old Matthew Poitras on the trade block, though they’re seeking an immediate NHL piece instead of the draft picks that Columbus accepted for Chinakhov. Shane Wright’s name in Seattle has been floating around the rumor mill at the national level.
All of those players are forwards, defense could be a trickier area to make a move. 24-year old Braden Schneider is reportedly on the Rangers’ list to consider moving. NJ’s Simon Nemec has been oft-mentioned but it seems the Devils would move a veteran like Dougie Hamilton or Jonathan Kovacevic to get Nemec into a bigger role rather than trade the youngster. The Pens might have to dig deeper to a place of little experience and more of a longer outlook to find players not currently NHL established, like 22-year old Tristan Luneau of Anaheim. More than likely the trade would involve a ‘bolt from the blue’ with an unexpected player not tied to Pittsburgh suddenly acquired, much like the rumors around Chinakhov to Pittsburgh were non-existent until it happened.
The good news for Dubas and the Penguins is that their hands are free to operate how they want. They have all the cap space in the world, which could be used to bring in a young player while taking in a bad contract/veteran off a cap-strapped team to further the deal. That has been on display time and again, most recently with Chicago adding Andrew Mangiapane and his $3.6 million cap hit next season to help boost their trade return from Edmonton in the Dickinson deal. Pittsburgh also has about all the second and third round picks a team could dream of in the upcoming years to throw around in order to send value out for a promising player.
The possible bad news for Dubas and the Pens is that the clock is ticking, the NHL’s trade deadline is tomorrow at noon. Outwardly, Dubas isn’t showing a ton of desperation or urgency to complete any further moves, rightly pointing to the fact that Pittsburgh has already accomplished a ton from their early season wheeling and dealing. Over the next day, we’ll see if they are able to add anything more to that list.