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Kyle Dubas' Shocking Trade Might Have Just Saved the Penguins' Future
A trade that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas made last season may have very well just saved the future of the organization, and quite possibly even his job.
Back in 2024, Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins initiated their first big step toward rebuilding by trading their top winger, Jake Guentzel, to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The move was panned by everybody at the time, and there was angry blowback as soon as the parameters of the deal were made public. But a year later, maybe everything is not as terrible as it seemed.
So let's step back to the trade, and see whether the Penguins actually will emerge, or already have emerged, on top of it.
Michael Bunting was dealt to the Nashville Predators on the 2025 trade deadline for defensemen Luke Schenn and forward Tommy Novak. Schenn was then dealt to the Winnipeg Jets for a second-round draft pick.
The conditions were not met on the fifth-round pick of 2024. More than a year later, it is interesting to see how this trade unfolded.
Guentzel did not end up remaining with the Hurricanes, as he was a UFA and ended up signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning, inking a seven-year, $63 million deal.
Let's not lose sight of it, Guentzel is still an elite winger of the game
The 30-year-old right winger netted 41 goals and 80 points in 80 games this season for the Lightning.
Koivunen, 21, was one of the AHL's top rookies of the season with 21 goals and 56 points in 63 games. Koivunen was the top-scoring rookie and tied for second in goal scoring at the time of his recall to the NHL Penguins.
Up to this point, Brunicke was also impressive with the Penguins in training camp, which nearly earned him a nine-game trial as an 18-year-old.
He shattered his hand in his junior year with the Kamloops Blazers and missed two months of action, but managed to contribute five goals and 30 points in 41 games.
The fact that Koivunen was nearly at a point-per-game in his first exposure to the NHL and that Brunicke has already well exceeded expectations, it's fair to believe the Penguins might actually end up winning this trade in the long run.
"I think he's done outstanding work during the past 18 months. Many didn't like the Jake Guentzel trade, but it wasn't a bad move for Dubas. Quite to the contrary. In return, the Penguins got Ville Koivunen and the draft pick that turned into Harrison Brunicke. Then, there's Vasily Ponomorov, who might emerge as a solid bottom-six guy. And don't forget, they flipped Michael Bunting into the far more talented Thomas Novak.
That's a good trade. Dubas has done a marvelous job of acquiring draft picks and early indications are that he is very good when it comes to the draft." - Josh Yohe
That's a good trade. Dubas has done a marvelous job of acquiring draft picks and early indications are that he is very good when it comes to the draft." - Josh Yohe
Guentzel was one of the best wingers in Penguins history, and he was probably Crosby's best winger. There's nothing that can replace it. But the trade could just be so much better for the Penguins when looking at the years that lie ahead.
Time will tell how this overall trade will pan out. But, at least for the moment, the future is a whole lot brighter than it was just one year ago, after all of the uncertainty that initially surrounded the Guentzel trade.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 23 | 159 ANSWERS Kyle Dubas' Shocking Trade Might Have Just Saved the Penguins' Future Do you believe that this was one of the best trades Kyle Dubas ever made? | ||
| Yes | 73 | 45.9 % |
| No | 86 | 54.1 % |
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