Three Takeaways From Penguins’ End Of Season Press Conference

Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas held an end-of-season press conference Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Dubas feels the club is “closer” to where it needs to be to contend, despite missing the playoffs for the third straight season.

“Maybe we had less points than we had last year, but I feel like we’re slightly better positioned as we move ahead because of the younger players here,” Dubas told reporters, per team-provided video. “We have our own younger players that have come up, performed well, and I’m more optimistic going into next year than I was organizationally. The results are going to be what they’re going to be, but I feel we’re closer to where we want to get back to now than last year.”

Here are three clear takeaways from Dubas’ media availability to wrap up the 2024-25 season:

The Penguins Are Mike Sullivan’s Team
Sullivan already expressed his desire to stay in Pittsburgh and help lead the franchise back to another Stanley Cup championship, and it appears Dubas has no plans to move on from the bench boss who led the Penguins to back-to-back titles in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.

“I think with a coach like Sully, he’s an elite-level coach as he’s shown through his time here and as well as for Team USA,” Dubas said. “There’s always the point that very few coaches who are in that realm often want to see a team through this, but he’s been very open about this is what he wants to do. So, we’ll just continue to reaffirm that, and as long as he’s on that side of it, then we’ll roll with that.”

Goaltending Will Be A Battle
Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic finished the season strong for Pittsburgh, and Dubas expects both to be back next season, citing that the overall performance between the pipes needs to improve. Dubas also stated that he anticipates Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov will battle Jarry and Nedeljkovic for spots on the NHL roster during training camp.

Pressure Is On Erik Karlsson
The three-time Norris Memorial Trophy winner is without a doubt one of the most polarizing defensemen in the league. However, Dubas’s high expectations for Karlsson are geared toward Pittsburgh, not individual accolades.

“My view would be that we expect him to be one of the people that pulls us from where we’re at and into contention,” Dubas said. “… My push to him would be that his actions have to match his ambitions. That’s in consistency, preparation, training like every other player on the team.

“There were moments of great play with too many inconsistent. We have to push him to get there. That’s the expectation that’s dictated by his talent level and the impact he can make. It’s a joint venture. So, yes, some of it is on the team. Part of it is on Erik. We have to find our way through.”

Along with the takeaways, Dubas also touched base on whether or not the club can bring back defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.

“He’s an awesome, zero-maintenance person for us. Just comes, works, does his job, quietly and effectively,” Dubas said. “… We’ll look and see what’s available and how it fits our overall needs, and determine whether we can offer him that same opportunity again.”

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