Tim Benz: If Kyle Dubas is sincere about his intentions, he may be saving himself — and the Penguins — a headache
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If Kyle Dubas is sure that he doesn’t want to be an NHL general manager in another city besides Toronto, then the Penguins shouldn’t try to tempt him to Pittsburgh.
I’ve heard some fans and media types speculate that Dubas is just negotiating, that he is downplaying any desire to leave Toronto, and that Fenway Sports Group should try to buy him into being interested.
I think that would be a mistake for him — and the Penguins.
Dubas, who is on an expiring contract as the Maple Leafs GM, seemed pretty sincere this week when he said he didn’t want to work in that capacity in any other place besides Toronto.
At least in the immediate future.
“I definitely don’t have it in me to go anywhere else,” Dubas
In fact, Dubas isn’t even sure if he wants to keep working in Toronto or if the organization wants him back in the first place.
“I think it requires me to have a full family discussion. My family is a hugely important part of what I do, so for me to commit to anything without having a fuller understanding of what this year took on them is probably unfair for me to answer where I’m at. I wish I could give you more. It was a very hard year on them,” Dubas said.
A married man and father of two, it’d certainly be understandable if the stress of running the Maple Leafs in a hockey-mad (and Stanley Cup-starved) city such as Toronto resulted in strains on his family members as well. It’s a tough grind. For him, and for them.
Many of us have made moves that we think make sense for ourselves professionally until they stop making sense at home.
I’ll pause for a minute if anyone else in the back of the room wants to raise their hand with me. I can type lefty. It’s OK. I’ll wait.
Clearly, the stress of that gig was getting to Dubas by the season’s end. He was frequently seen yelling at officials in the press box during games while throwing water bottles. He even got into it with some fans in Tampa Bay.
Super classy #TorontoMapleLeafs GM yelling at #GoBolts fans after O’Reilly hits Point. #TORvsTBL pic.twitter.com/lQbhpvWl86
— The Kirkentobers (@thekirkentobers) April 23, 2023
Bad night to be a water bottle. ???? pic.twitter.com/scomVmatay
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 5, 2023
Can you blame him? In that gig, in that town, I probably would’ve thrown more than a water bottle. And I probably would’ve been drinking something stronger than water in the first place.
I know the inclination is to say that, in Pittsburgh, it won’t quite be the pressure cooker that Toronto is.
That’s true. It won’t be.
But it sure as heck won’t be easy, either. The Penguins are an aging team that has already faded fast from its Stanley Cup glory days of 2016-17. The roster is old, overpriced, overrated and contractually restricted.
The fanbase is growing impatient. The new ownership group is out of touch and has yet to change its reputation from that of a bunch of faceless, corporate muckety-mucks.
The goaltending is a mess. The farm system is bereft of talent. The coach is stubborn and caked with power, and the veterans on the team probably have more influence than they should.
Aside from that, boy, is it a wonderful job for a general manager to consider!
Especially for a 37-year-old who may be a bit frayed and on the edge of premature burnout.
Dubas is a bit of a polarizing option as GM. On the one hand, he entered the business as a forward-thinking analytics whiz kid. As of now, he’s built editions of the Leafs that have enjoyed good regular-season success, and he is the first GM to engineer an iteration of that franchise to get a first-round playoff series win since 2004.
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Then again, he’s also working with a franchise that has all the resources and appeal in the world, and minimal strides have been made.
Ron Hextall only lasted two-and-a-half years in the GM job here. He was also seen as an outsider from a team that Penguins fans don’t particularly like. I felt like Pens fans gave Hextall a shot for a short time. But the “Fi-re Hex-tall” chants started echoing through PPG Paints Arena awfully fast.
“Fi-re Du-bas” is pretty easy to chant as well. And getting this team out of the state that it is in could be a tougher task than getting the Leafs over the hump in Toronto.
The available GM talent pool for Fenway Sports Group to choose from isn’t exactly confidence inspiring. It’s a lot of retreads or guys looking for their first shot in the big chair. I suppose that’s usually the case, but this year more than most, the options leave me wanting.
Assistant GM Mathieu Darche from Tampa Bay comes to mind. But Dubas may be the best bet.
If he wants it. I don’t know why he would.
If the strain of managing the franchise he wants to manage, in the place he wants to be, is too much for him and his family now, imagine how much more of a grind his life is going to be if he hauls his wife and two kids across the border in a moving van — or has to travel back and forth.
In his gut, Dubas may end up wanting the Pittsburgh job if Toronto tells him they don’t want him back. Similarly, FSG may really want him.
But I’d suggest both parties listen to words that came out of Dubas’ mouth at his press conference. If he was sincere, and he seemed to be, Dubas should take his own advice.
And the Penguins should take heed and search elsewhere. It may be best for everyone involved.