Dubas doesn't want to strip the Penguins to the studs because he's seen what has happened in places like Chicago and San Jose and isn't interested in plummeting to those depths. Sure, he'd like to get the No. 1 pick in June's draft, and he'd really like it next year, when generational prospect Gavin McKenna almost certainly will be the top pick.
But Dubas isn't going to tank. If the ping-pong balls bounce the right way, fantastic. He believes in rebuilding more along the lines of the Capitals, not the Blackhawks.