Since becoming the Penguins general manager, Kyle Dubas has faced heavy criticism for moves that he has made. Pittsburgh sports fans are just babies that want to cry about everything. Dubas had one goal at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline which was to acquire assets to get the rebuild underway and he did that.
Dubas was busy on Wednesday night when he made two trades. The first one sent newly acquired Vincent Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks in return for a 2028 fifth-round pick. Desharnais spent ten games in Pittsburgh, coming to town as part of the trade that sent Marcus Petterson and Drew O’ Conner to the Canucks. Desharnais didn’t record a single point in those ten games.
Pittsburgh also parted ways with Michael Bunting on Wednesday night, sending him and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Predators in exchange for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn. Bunting was acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade last season and spent 79 games in Pittsburgh. He scored 20 goals, had 28 assists in the Steel City, and now heads for Nashville.
Novak is a 27-year-old center in the NHL for four seasons. He is two seasons removed from having 43 points in 51 games, and has 22 points in 52 games this season. Pittsburgh flipped the 35-year-old Schenn to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick. The NHL’s all-time hits leader spent just two days as a Penguin before being flipped for assets.
The Penguins made an in-division trade, sending Anthony Beauvillier to the Capitals for a 2025 second-round pick. Pittsburgh signed Beauvillier last offseason and he played 63 games and posted 17 goals and nine assists in black and yellow. Washington got a solid winger to make a playoff push and Pittsburgh got draft capital.
Dubas traded Cody Glass and Jonathan Gruden to the Devils in exchange for Chase Stillman, Max Graham, and a 2027 third-round pick. Glass played 51 games in Pittsburgh, scoring four goals. Gruden played 16 games at the NHL level and scored one goal. Neither player that Pittsburgh acquired in the deal has appeared in the NHL.
In the least exciting trade of the deadline, the Penguins sent a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Maple Leafs for defenseman Conor Timmins and forward Connor Dewar. Timmins is a 26-year-old right-handed defenseman who has blocked 77 shots this season. Dewar is 26 years old and has zero goals and three assists in 31 games this season.
Dubas has to balance rebuilding the Pittsburgh Penguins while keeping a partially viable roster around Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Even though they are in rebuild mode, Dubas and the front office want to get it over with and hope to get another playoff run for Crosby and Malkin.
It won’t be easy, but Dubas has hit it out of the park so far. The Penguins now have 30 draft picks over the next three drafts with 18 of them in the first three rounds. Now they must hit on those picks or trade them for the right players. If they can do that, the rebuild will end in no time. It’s best to rip the band-aid off now instead of letting it drag out.
There is still work for Dubas in Pittsburgh. The Penguins held on to Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson through the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, but they can still get moved this summer for more assets. With Rakell having a career season, Pittsburgh could get a haul for him in a few months. A contender could see Karlsson as the piece that takes them over the top and will be willing to move draft capital for him.
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