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Kyle Dubas is making Leafs fans painfully aware of what Toronto lost
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Kyle Dubas has the Pittsburgh Penguins rolling, and the Toronto Maple Leafs crowd is suddenly quiet about it.
Pittsburgh sits at 25-14-11 as of Saturday, and that record tells you the "heater" is real.
This team looks like it has a plan, not just a pulse.
Dubas pushed hard for cleaner fits, then let the coach actually use them.
Sidney Crosby remains the heartbeat at 27-30-57, and he's still dragging the standard upward every night.
But the real story is the new layers underneath him.
"Kyle Dubas is on quite a heater at the moment. His impact on the Penguins' dramatic rise this season can't be ignored. Leafs fans are unusually quiet in the comment section so far."
- Josh Yohe
- Josh Yohe
Dubas took a real swing on Egor Chinakhov, 24, a 2020 first-rounder drafted 21st overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Chinakhov already has five even-strength goals in 12 games with Pittsburgh, and it's the rush chances that jump off the screen.
Kyle Dubas has Pittsburgh Penguins fans believing again
Leafs fans know this feeling, because Dubas used to win these margin moves in Toronto.
He also turned Michael Bunting into Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn, a straight "roles first" trade that helped stabilize the lineup, although Schenn was later flipped.
That's how you climb in the standings without pretending the core is done.
Toronto's comment sections are quiet because it's tough to mock a GM who keeps fixing problems in real time.
If Pittsburgh keeps stacking wins into February, this stops being a debate and becomes the league's loudest "told you so."
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
The real reason Egor Chinakhov looks more dangerous in Pittsburgh than he ever did in Columbus
The real reason Egor Chinakhov looks more dangerous in Pittsburgh than he ever did in Columbus
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 24|138 ANSWERS Kyle Dubas is making Leafs fans painfully aware of what Toronto lost Is Kyle Dubas the main reason the Pittsburgh Penguins are winning this season? | ||
| Yes | 75 | 54.3 % |
| No | 63 | 45.7 % |
| List of polls | ||