Kyle Dubas implies he knows Penguins are upset with him

It was the end of an era for the Pittsburgh Penguins, as popular forward Jake Guentzel was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. It was a move that certainly didn't appear to sit well with longtime captain and franchise cornerstone Sidney Crosby, and according to GM Kyle Dubas, the discontent isn't limited to just him. 

"Words wouldn’t be enough," Dubas said of Guentzel. "His contributions have been immense.” 

Dubas then went on to essentially confirm that there are several members of the organization who weren't exactly pleased with the move, and specifically named head coach Mike Sullivan among them.

“Mike’s been here a long time, he’s like the players,” Dubas said, “and when you make the decision to remove someone from the group that’s hugely popular and contributes in such a great way, nobody’s happy about it.

“And I wouldn’t want it any other way. I wouldn’t want anybody to be happy about those things. That’s part of this job, and it’s part of their job to be upset when those things happen.”

Trading Guentzel wasn't the only move made by the Penguins, as they also traded defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to the New York Rangers for a 2027 fourth-round pick. 

Dubas then said that there was an attempt on his end to get a contract extension done with Guentzel, but to no avail.

“From my view of it, we made an attempt prior to the season,” Dubas said. “From that point on, it was just my decision to always keep our positioning open, to keep our options open.”

“We’re lucky to have a group of players in there that are fiercely competitive,” he continued. “So if that means they’re not happy with me on a day like (Thursday), when you lose somebody from the group — it’s my duty to improve the team on a day-in and day-out.”

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