Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has reportedly left the door open for a risky move this summer that few NHL teams have pulled off in the last several years.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have now missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the last 3 consecutive years, marking the longest drought the franchise has experienced in 20 years and also the longest of captain and team icon Sidney Crosby's career.
General manager Kyle Dubas, who is also overseeing the Canadian squad in the 2025 IIHF World Championship (featuring Crosby and beloved former Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury), has reportedly left the door open to a high-risk move for his club during the summer that few teams pull off.
Per Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Dubas has entertained the idea of extending an offer sheet to a pending restricted free agent player.
Much like moving way up the draft, some people have suggested the Penguins will use offer sheets to their advantage this summer. Dubas has acknowledged it's a possibility.
Yes, it's conceivable, but it's not likely. Giving a player an offer sheet comes at a price, and I don't know that the Penguins deem anyone out there to be worth the price it would take.
The most obvious name on the list of potential offer sheet recipients happens to currently play for Dubas' former club, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Forward Matthew Knies has emerged as one of Toronto's best players and has helped his team reach Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Final.
Offer sheets are a rarity in today's NHL, and eyebrows everywhere were raised last summer when the St. Louis Blues offered a pair of them to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway of the Edmonton Oilers.
Both players accepted them and the Oilers chose not to match the offers, making them members of the Blues.
Only 9 players have been extended offer sheets since 2005.