The previous two chapters of Penguins hockey ended with the team being eliminated from playoff contention in the penultimate game of the year.
President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas sees the 2024.25 campaign as a chance to change that story, if they can channel what he’s viewed as the three foundational principles of the Penguins even before arriving in Pittsburgh:
- Tremendous competitive spirit every night, regardless of who is in or out of the lineup
- Elite development of not only players, but coaches and management as well
- Controlling their emotions and responding the right way no matter what happens in games
“If we can (do that), I think we’ll have an extremely successful season, and we’ll meet all the goals that we’ve set for ourselves this year,” Dubas said in his season-opening media availability on Monday (Oct. 7).
There’s been a lot of internal discussion about standards throughout the offseason and into Training Camp presented by UPMC, which are extremely high, as set by the championship core which includes the Big Three of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, along with players like Bryan Rust.
As Dubas put it, combining those standards with opportunity should “allow us the chance to have an exciting and fun year, and a group of players that the fans can really get behind.”
Dubas said the main goal is to build a team representing the city it calls home each season. After a year in Pittsburgh, Dubas views that as, “very simply, equal parts grit and equal parts innovation. There’s people who have lived here for their whole lives perhaps that might have a much deeper feeling of what it means to be from Pittsburgh or representing Pittsburgh. But to me, with regards to the Penguins, it means a team that’s built on grit and innovation in equal parts.”
The Penguins focused specifically this summer on short-term contracts with players they felt either needed a greater opportunity or had something to prove after difficult or challenging seasons.
They wanted to allow for those types of players, but also give the younger guys a chance to push for roster spots at training camp. Dubas was “extremely encouraged” with how prospects like Rutger McGroarty and Harrison Brunicke performed, and the condition players were in upon their return to Pittsburgh.
The Penguins will continue to try to get the most out of every single individual involved with the team—“every player, every coach, every staff member”—to provide the environment that can help bring them into the next era of championship hockey in Pittsburgh. They all understand the task ahead is difficult.
“We aren’t favored by anybody to accomplish anything. And that’s not to build a narrative, that’s just simple fact. We’ve missed the playoffs the last two seasons here. As a result, I think that sets the external expectation for the season,” Dubas said.
“But I think that everyone in the building knows the season knows the season is going to be hard. We don’t come in with any preconceived notions anymore that we’re going to walk in and be a favorite or we’re going to walk in and strike fear into anybody. We’re going to have to earn that. We’re going to have to build that competitive spirit with this iteration of the team throughout every single day in practice and the gym and each and every game that we play.
“What we’re going to try to accomplish this season and what our goal is, is to be playing very meaningful hockey in March, April and beyond.”
Watch Dubas’ full media availability here:
