Insider Jeff Marek hints at a key addition in Kyle Dubas' Penguins deadline plans

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Daniel Lucente
January 28, 2026 (10:37)

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Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Jeff Marek says Kyle Dubas may chase a Penguins blue line add, and the trade deadline pressure is real.

The quote making the rounds comes from Daily Faceoff Live, and it lines up with where Pittsburgh's roster is sore right now.

The Penguins are sitting at 26-14-11, and they look like a team that can't waste points in the Metro.

Erik Karlsson is back in the mix, but the blue line still feels like it's one hard week away from chaos.

Ryan Graves landing on injured reserve only sharpens that feeling.

Then Jack St. Ivany goes down, has hand surgery, and the depth chart suddenly looks thin.

The reported timeline is about eight weeks, which bleeds straight into the stretch run.

Re Penguins: "I think it'll be a deadline for Kyle Dubas where he may add something on the blueline specifically."

- Jeff Marek

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Pens fans can feel it, this season has been fun again, but nobody trusts the hockey gods to stop testing this roster.

If Dubas adds, I'm not even thinking splash, I'm thinking "stabilizer," someone who wins a board battle and gets the puck out clean.

That kind of defender matters more when your forwards want to attack off the rush instead of defending for 45 seconds.

March 6 is the trade deadline, so the clock is already loud.

Daily Faceoff has also framed this as a "one more run" type moment, and Crosby's production gives it oxygen at the top.

If the Penguins keep banking points, Dubas is going to get tempted, and the next two weeks will tell us how serious it gets.

Previously on HockeyUnplugged

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JANVIER 28\|160 ANSWERS Insider Jeff Marek hints at a key addition in Kyle Dubas' Penguins deadline plans Should Kyle Dubas add a defenseman to the Pittsburgh Penguins blue line by the trade deadline?
Yes	122	76.3 %
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