After falling to the Utah hockey club, the Pittsburgh Penguins, currently 7-12-4, sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. Despite all the moves they’ve made, the team has only $2 million in cap space to work with until the offseason. Team President Kyle Dubas says everyone but Sidney Crosby is available. With very few prospects or draft picks, fans are left wondering who is responsible for the team’s current state. From what I’ve gathered, four men can be attributed to the Penguins’ downfall. Today, I will examine the case against—and for—three of them, clearing their names where applicable.
Kyle Dubas
Dubas joined the team last season after being let go as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. If you look on Twitter, especially in Ontario, many want to place all the blame on him.
His free agency performance in 2023 was, admittedly, poor. Ryan Graves signed a six-year, $27 million contract. While he has 14 points in two seasons with the club, he often looks lost on the ice. And, of course, the Tristan Jarry contract has been a disaster, as has the Erik Karlsson trade.
That said, I’ll cut Dubas some slack. He’s only been here a year, has managed to snag a few prospects, and has been handcuffed by a coaching situation that ownership will not allow him to address. In my opinion, he is cleared.
Jim Rutherford
Rutherford won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins, and his tenure only really became problematic near the end. While that did hurt the team, the championships in 2016 and 2017 should absolve him of blame. He’s also not been with the organization since 2021. I consider him in the clear, although it’s worth noting that the Jack Johnson signing was a massive flop.
Mike Sullivan
Sullivan was the mastermind behind two Stanley Cup victories, building his teams on speed and skill. He took over in 2016 when the team was in a bad spot and led them to glory.
That said, his voice seems to have gone stale. The team plays joyless hockey and lacks passion. Furthermore, he rarely plays young prospects. While Sullivan likely needs to be fired, not everything is his fault.
Ron Hextall and Fenway Sports Group
In December 2021, the Penguins were sold to Fenway Sports Group (FSG). One of their first major moves was hiring Ron Hextall as general manager. Hextall took a division-winning team and dismantled it.
Here are some of his “greatest” hits:
- He gutted the defensive core, trading young stud John Marino and trying to replace him with Ty Smith, who has yet to make an NHL impact.
- He brought in Brock McGinn when better options were available.
- He let Evan Rodrigues walk and signed Jan Rutta instead.
- He protected Jeff Carter, not Brandon Tanev, in the Seattle expansion draft, then extended Carter’s contract.
- He traded Jared McCann to the Maple Leafs.
These moves made the team older, slower, and devoid of youth. Truth be told, I think Hextall was a double agent sent by the Flyers to sabotage Pittsburgh. However, Fenway Sports Group also shoulders blame for enabling these decisions.
So, who killed the Penguins?
Fenway Sports Group and Ron Hextall.
