Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas will be holding his season-ending press conference Tuesday afternoon. There will be plenty of topics to discuss.
Will Dubas answer every question honestly, transparently and with as much detail as humanly possible?
Pfft! No! C’mon. What general manager does that?
Omar Khan was trying to get the media to believe that Will Howard was Terry Bradshaw before the draft. A week later, the Steelers picked Drew Allar.
So today at “Breakfast With Benz,” we are going to come up with six significant questions that Dubas will probably field at his press conference. We’ll predict how Dubas will answer those questions.
Then we’ll tell you what he’s probably really thinking.
Consider this a “Dubas six-pack of subtext.”
1. Is the franchise planning to retain Evgeni Malkin for a 21st NHL season?
• What I think Dubas will say: “We’ll see. The playoffs aren’t even over yet. There are lots of moving parts. Geno and his agents are in constant communication with me. There are decisions to be made about what’s right for the Penguins in 2026-27 and what’s right for us long-term.
Geno’s No. 71 will be in the rafters of PPG Paints Arena one day. We want him to play his whole career as a Penguin. We’ll give Geno time to consider his options and see if we can make something work.”
• What I think he’d like to say: “It’s 2026. He’s going to be 40. What are we doing here?!
I’d like to go younger and move away from the long-since past glory days. But Sid wants to keep him, so we’re keeping him.
The new owners probably don’t want to come in and be the bad guys to let him go, so we aren’t letting him go.
The fans will cry a fourth river if he ends up wearing another uniform, so we are going to keep him in this one for one more year.
Then again, he’ s probably going to want to play for one more year after this one, and we’ll have to do this all over again next summer, too, aren’t we?
With the cap space and the 2027 draft picks that we have, I’m sure I can find another winger that’ll give us more than 15 even-strength goals in 56 games — and at a reasonable cost, too. But not at the PR cost of letting Malkin walk.
So he stays.
(Heavy sigh) I’m thrilled.”
2. If Malkin stays, will he remain on the second line and on the top power-play unit?
• What I think Dubas will say: “It’s good to have lots of options. I think Dan Muse illustrated in his first year as head coach that he has a knack for juggling those options. Geno showed a willingness to move to the wing. We’d like to create a team that’s good enough that we really don’t need lines numbered 1-4, or a first and second power-play unit, per se.
We want a team that’s interchangeable and versatile through all 12 forward positions and both man-up units.”
•What I think he’d like to say: “Of course he is. That’s the whole problem!
The guy has had a total of eight power-play goals over the last two seasons. His shot from the right circle isn’t what it used to be. We know it. He knows it. The whole league knows it. That’s why those diagonal cross-rink passes he keeps trying end up getting picked off all the time. He’s a big reason why we are a short-handed liability.
But he’s Evgeni Malkin. He’s going to be on PP1. Egor Chinakhov is going to have stay on the second unit. And what is Dan going to do? Turn him into a checking specialist on the third line or convert him into a fourth-line grinder? You’ve seen him play for two decades. Do you think that’s possible?
Wake up, bro! Use your eyes. Here, try my glasses.”
3. Are you going to make Sergei Murashov your No. 1 goalie?
• What I think Dubas will say: “Sergei’s development has been impressive at the AHL level this season. He really did excellent work upon his return to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
When we come back in the preseason, we’ll give him every opportunity to compete for one of the two jobs in Pittsburgh. Arturs Silovs is a restricted free agent. Hopefully, we can retain his services. We’ll see who else becomes available in free agency and in the trade market. We have organizational depth there as well.
At the very least, if we can keep Artie, and Sergei has a good offseason, that has the makings of a fine young goaltending tandem.”
• What I think he’d like to say: “Eh, I mean, yeah. Probably. But I gotta make a good show of it.
I can’t just hand an AHL kid the job out of camp. Plus, after what he did against the Flyers, everybody keeps talking about Artie like he’s Patrick Roy or something.
So, we’ll make it look like a competition. But the plan is to have it be Murashov’s net for sure by the holidays unless he messes up. And if that happens, I’ll call Edmonton and see if they’ll give us Tristan Jarry back.
Ha! No, I’m just kidding. C’mon. If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.
These are the jokes, people. Loosen up. Come for the press conference. Stay for the free comedy. Nikki Glaser is up next.”
4. Are you going to give some of your many young skaters at the AHL level more of an extended runway at the NHL level next year?
• What I think Dubas will say: “Yes. If there are roster spots to be won, we’d love to fill some of them with our own young, homegrown talent. We’ve said for a long time around here that we’d like to get younger and give some of our prospects a chance to be a part of the next great wave of Pittsburgh Penguins. If they prove capable of seizing those jobs, we’ll give them every opportunity to stay up in Pittsburgh for the entirety of the season.”
• What I think he’d like to say: “Yes. That’s the plan.
But if we start 8-2-2 again, the first time any of those kids screws up, they are the first bus back to Wilkes or up in the press box. And I’ll get Ryan Shea and Noel Acciari back here so fast their heads will spin.”
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5. Any chance you keep Anthony Mantha?
• What I think Dubas will say: “Anthony had a really strong regular season for us. We were very pleased with how that signing worked out. You just can’t find 33 goals and 31 assists in unrestricted free agency for $2.5 million these days.
We’ll be in touch with Anthony’s representation. I’m sure he’ll be fielding lots of phone calls. He’s earned that after the standout season he gave us here in Pittsburgh. We’ll certainly be in touch as well to see if there is an agreement that’s beneficial for both sides.
• What I think he would like to say: “Did you see the playoff series against Philly by any chance? “
6. Do you regret the Brett Kulak for Samuel Girard trade?
• What I think Dubas will say: “As a general manager, you never look back with regret at the moves you made if you sincerely weighed the pros and cons of the deal at the moment. Every trade we make, we do so for what we feel is in the best interests of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the time. That’s not a deal we made lightly.
We’re happy for Brett and glad that things are going well for him in Denver. Sam had some trouble adjusting, but we think he played better as the season went along and he got comfortable. He did some encouraging things in the second half of that Flyers series. We think the best is ahead of him here in Pittsburgh.
We also received a second-round pick in the exchange, which we expect to put to good use. “
• What I think he would like to say: “Did somebody say something about a six-pack a little while ago?
I feel the need to drink one every time Girard does that unnecessary spin move or pushes the puck back toward the goalie.
Or maybe I can just bring it as a thank-you gift to Kulak’s Stanley Cup party. He should invite me to it since I sent him to Colorado, shouldn’t he? It’s the least he can do.
There better be a 16-year-old in Salmon Snot, Saskatchewan, who is the next Bobby Orr that I can draft with that 2028 second-rounder two years from now to make that trade worth it.”
Watch: Tim Benz and Mark Madden host “Madden-Benz: Unfiltered!”