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Penguins Defenseman's Contract Becoming a Major Headache for Kyle Dubas
Photo credit: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Pittsburgh Penguins are not getting the kind of impact that they need from defenseman Ryan Graves, who is under contract for another 4 years.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have now missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 3rd straight year, the longest drought of captain Sidney Crosby's career.
The pressure is mounting on Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas to up the ante and make moves that will not only put Pittsburgh back into contention but to maximize the remaining years in the respective careers of franchise icons Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kristopher Letang.
One player who has not maximized the potential that the Penguins expected of him when they signed him to a 6-year, $27 million deal in 2023 from the Colorado Avalanche.
With only 6 points (1G, 5A) in 61 games this season, he was among Pittsburgh's most disappointing players..
What are the chances that he moves on from the team if they're able to either buy him out or find a taker for him via trade?
Per Seth Rorabaugh of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, simply hoping that Graves improves his performance under whomever Pittsburgh's new head coach will be is overly optimistic.
A trade would likely require some form of salary retention as well as a future asset to convince another team to take on Graves' contract. And a buyout would keep Graves on the books until 2033.
Just simply keeping Graves and hoping he plays better might be a tad more viable given last week's departure of coach Mike Sullivan who never seemed to be particularly fond of Graves, at least this past season.
Just simply keeping Graves and hoping he plays better might be a tad more viable given last week's departure of coach Mike Sullivan who never seemed to be particularly fond of Graves, at least this past season.
Under contract for 4 more years, Graves has an AAV (average annual value) of $4.5 million. So far, his stats haven't come close to matching that compensation.
| POLL | ||
MAI 5 | 146 ANSWERS Penguins Defenseman's Contract Becoming a Major Headache for Kyle Dubas Do the Penguins need to move on from Ryan Graves if they can find a taker? | ||
| Yes | 133 | 91.1 % |
| No | 13 | 8.9 % |
| List of polls | ||