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Maple Leafs rival ready to put ‘full court press’ on Kyle Dubas.

Christopher Katasarov/Canadian Press.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made an interesting decision before the start of the 2022-23 NHL regular season when they allowed general manager Kyle Dubas to enter the season in the final year of his contract with the team.

From the outside looking in the move appeared designed to put more pressure on Dubas to produce results on the ice, notably advancing beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but it may have been a move with some unintended consequences.

Since the conclusion of the regular season there have been rumblings that Dubas may be drawing interest from rival teams around the league, potentially even teams within the Eastern Conference. On Friday, Mike Stephens of The Hockey News revealed that at least one team is prepared to put the “full court press” on Dubas should he become available, with that team being none other than the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“The rumblings that I’ve heard at least are that Fenway Sports Group is ready to put the full court press on Kyle Dubas if he leaves Toronto,” wrote Stephens.

It’s not hard to see how this could cause problems for the Maple Leafs, especially if Dubas were to take his talents to another team and find success there. Even in the event that Dubas doesn’t leave the Leafs though this could still have a negative impact on the team, with this likely greatly increasing Dubas’ negotiating leverage in any contract talks.

If we’re hearing rumblings that other teams are interested in Dubas, you can bet his representatives have already heard them as well. The decision to not re-sign Dubas sooner could end up costing the Leafs significantly more money later down the line.

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Crosby on his future in Pittsburgh, Malkin and Letang.

The 2022-23 National Hockey League regular season will go down as a disappointing one for fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise, with the team missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 regular season.

This has led to the belief that there will be major changes forthcoming for the Penguins ahead of next season and we’ve already seen evidence of that with both president of hockey operations Brian Burke and general manager Ron Hextall being fired this week as a direct result of the team’s poor performance on the ice.

The big questions now though surround the group’s core players with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, star forward Evgeni Malkin and star forward Kris Letang being the most frequently discussed members of that core group. There has been some concern that a player of Crosby’s calibur might not be interested in sticking around for a rebuild, but on Saturday the Penguins captain squashed those rumors when he reiterated that he hopes to be a lifelong Penguin.

“I’d love to. That’s been the case since Day 1,” admitted Crosby when asked if he wants to remain a Penguin. “I feel really fortunate to have been drafted here. I have great memories.”

Crosby also appeared to address any such speculation regarding his top two teammates, indicating that a big part of why he has enjoyed playing in Pittsburgh so much has been due to the quality of teammates he has had along the way. Although he didn’t mention them by name, it was clear that Letang and Malkin were the men being discussed in this scenario.

“I’ve got to play with two teammates specifically for a really long time – so, I’d love that to be the case,” said Crosby.

It sounds like if the captain has any say in the matter, Crosby, Malkin and Letang won’t be going anywhere soon.

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Sidney Crosby hits 1500 career points on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were in a fight for their playoff hopes on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, and with the season on the line the organization’s most important player took center stage.

It was a milestone afternoon for Sidney Crosby, the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as he put on his captain cape and willed the Penguins to victory over the Red Wings with 4 shots on goal, 2 goals and an assist for a total of 3 points on the day for the Penguins.

Not only was it a big game performance from Crosby, but it was one that would also bring him into a truly elite group of players in National Hockey League history. Thanks to his big day, Crosby reached the 1500 point plateau, becoming only the 15th player in the history of the league to do and furthermore becoming the sixth faster player in league history to reach the impressive milestone.

Here’s the goal that earned Crosby the 1500th point of his NHL career:

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Malkin earns 28 penalty minutes and gets ejected on Sunday!

Daniel Lea/CSM/Zuma

Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin is on the receiving end of some pretty harsh criticism tonight, and considering the circumstances you can certainly see where his critics are coming from.

Malkin and the Penguins faced off against intrastate rivals the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night, and it was an absolutely must win game for the Penguins. The Flyers are already eliminated from playoff contention but the Penguins still have some hope of making it in, something that gave this rivalry game considerably more meaning.

In spite of the must win stakes for the Penguin, Malkin would rack up a staggering 28 minutes of penalties on the night, thanks in large part to his insistence on arguing with the officials on the ice, and would even get himself tossed from the game for the same reason.

Many fans and pundits were quick to slam Malkin for his behavior in such an important game, including Pittsburgh radio host Mark Madden.

It wasn’t just Madden and disgruntled fans who criticized Malkin’s behavior however, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan publicly admonished his player following the game and apparently did so privately in the locker room as well.

Malkin’s 28 penalty minutes were the most for a player in a single game this season.

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Jim Montgomery comments on the NHL’s favoritism towards Sidney Crosby.

The topic of favoritism is always a hot button issue in the world of sports and on Saturday, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery may have hit that button.

After his Boston Bruins took a hard fought win over the Pittsburgh Penguin, Montgomery shared his thoughts on some of the officiating that took place during the game. Specifically, Montgomery called out what he calls “Sid Rules,” special treatment shown to the face of the National Hockey League, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

Montgomery admitted that the favoritism shown to the NHL’s top star made him hesitant to challenge a goal during the course of the game, although Montgomery didn’t seem to mind too much.

“OK, we thought it was goalie interference because Swayman was hit in the head,” said Montgomery of a failed coach’s challenge during today’s game. “Now, you know how there used to be the Jordan Rules (in the NBA)? I’ve been here (in Pittsburgh) now five times, and something I’m almost sure that’s going to happen – didn’t happen tonight: They’re going to get a 2 on 1 in the first minute, because we’re going to make a mistake; they’re going to get a 5 on 3, and you’re going to be killing a lot of penalties. This is the third time l’ve been here where we challenge – you get it wrong sometimes. I call it the Sid Rules. He’s a great player. He’s a great player. And you know what, the league should take care of their superstars. That’s why I was kind of hesitant about challenging it.”

Montgomery has superstars of his own on the Bruins roster in the form of players like Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, so a world in which officials give superstars some leniency benefits him in the long run. When asked if he felt his team had gotten the short end of the stick in terms of the officiating on Saturday, Montgomery again indicated that he didn’t have an issue with how things were called.

“No. No, I don’t think we were on the wrong end of anything,” admitted the Bruins head coach. “But I do think the hockey gods rewarded us in the end.”

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Mario Lemieux sends Kris Letang a special message before his 1000th game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are no doubt fully focused on their fight for a spot in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs at the moment, but in spite of that the team will be recognizing a major milestone for one of their players tonight when they take on intrastate rivals the Philadelphia Flyers.

That milestone will of course be Kris Letang’s 1000th game in the National Hockey League and subsequently his 1000th game as a member of the Penguins franchise. Letang was of course drafted in the third round (62nd overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Penguins and has spent his entire career with the franchise up until this point.

Not only will Letang be recognized for his incredible achievement, but the defenseman from Montreal, Quebec also received a very special message ahead of the big game from one of his home province’s greatest icons, NHL legend Mario Lemieux.

“It’s hard to believe you are celebrating your 1,000th game in the National Hockey League. you have solidified yourself as one of the greatest defensemen in Penguins history, as well as the history of the NHL,” wrote Lemieux in a statement on Sunday. “Your strength, determination, and resilience are a testament to your success. it has been a pleasure watching each and every game – especially the three cup runs.

“I wish you many more games, my friend. merci pour les souvenirs!”

“Merci pour les souvenirs” translate to “thanks for the memories” which is pretty fitting given that Lemieux has played a prominent role with the Penguins during Letang’s tenure on the team and has likely witnessed all of his exploits over those many seasons.

A kid from Quebec probably couldn’t have asked for a better endorsement ahead of his 1000th NHL game.