November 12, 2024 | 11:44am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

ARE CHANGES NEEDED IN PITTSBURGH?

Penguins GM Kyle Dubas

The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off an ugly 7-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Monday at home in front of a frustrated fanbase.

After giving up six goals in the first period, league-wide reaction grew louder over changes that may need to happen in Pittsburgh. The question, though, is what direction is GM Kyle Dubas supposed to take?

Dubas has been faced with plenty of criticism since jumping on as the club’s President of Hockey Operations almost 18 months ago. But with the message from ownership believed to focus on staying in the playoff hunt, Dubas has been faced with the difficult task of trying to complete while also attempting to restock the prospects cupboard.

The Penguins have eight players eligible to become unrestricted free agents next summer, including forwards Lars Eller and Anthony Beauvillier and defencemen Marcus Pettersson and Matt Grzelcyk.

If the team cannot put together a string of wins and keep themselves in the playoff race later in the season – and while the Penguins are just one point back of a playoff spot, each of the teams ahead of them have games in hand – Dubas may look to sell off these pieces.

Management may also contemplate a coaching change. Mike Sullivan has been behind Pittsburgh’s bench since December 2015 and even though nobody is doubting his abilities as he is considered one of the best coaches in the NHL, he may be a casualty of the team’s disappointing season, to date.

Sullivan isn’t focusing on his own tenure, however, as he explained after Monday’s loss he is focused on trying to get his team back on track.

“I’m not going to sit here and say I’m frustrated,” Sullivan said. “I’m not. I’m determined to move this team forward. I know we’re a way better hockey team than what we displayed today. And I know we have a group of guys who care. None of us feel good about this.”

As Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote following Monday’s loss, it might be time to give the team’s young players an opportunity to play regular minutes over veterans like Kevin Hayes, Noel Acciari and Ryan Graves.

Yohe believes Eller and Pettersson, at this point, will be moved by the trade deadline in March, but Dubas could also try to dangle other pieces with term, like Graves, and gain some younger assets and draft picks.

The Penguins host the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday before back-to-back games in Columbus on Friday and back at home Saturday against San Jose. All three upcoming opponents are below Pittsburgh in the standings, and it could be an opportunity to shift the team back in the right direction. If the Penguins falter, however, the cries for change will be that much louder come Sunday.