~Newsworthy Tidbits from Kyle Dubas Weekly GM Show with the Penguins~

Dubas had high premium on getting an impact roster player back for Jake Guentzel

Prior to completing deal with the Carolina Hurricanes last Thursday, the Penguins during the early part of that day made one last play to shop the Hurricanes offer around, most notably to Vegas, Vancouver, Colorado and the New York Rangers.

A team or two believes they put a better prospect on the table than Koivunen who the Penguins love but one thing that got overlooked by so many others is the Penguins trying to play this window of competing next season put a higher premium on getting a top-9 roster player with a little bit cost/term in return. Michael Bunting was the vital piece in what led them going with the Carolina offer.

“It was try to find the return that brought us the best that could help our roster the most, but also not sacrificing what was what was going to be the long-term return of the group. So, you have Bunting on the team now. He’s not a replacement for Jake. You can look historically, and that’s the one thing that I think you want to avoid. Is he going to come in and has he gotten a good opportunity off the off the hop? Sure. He’s played fine, and he needs to continue to take those steps and take advantage of that opportunity,” Dubas said on the GM show.

Who were some other names that were believed to have been offered from other teams?

Vegas had the futures package to land Guentzel but To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Vancouver is said to have offered To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Things are said to have gotten closer with Colorado than most believed. Pittsburgh was strongly pushing for center To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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More Buzz

— A really nice gesture from Dubas in confirming a report by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that he drove to Jake Guentzel’s house and told him in person that he was traded to Carolina. Dubas said on the show he learned from the Nazem Kadri trade to take more of a priority to inform key players on a personal level when traded than by phone.

— I’ve wrote multiple times the league and the Penguins see Jeff Carter in a different light than the fans do. As many as three teams called the Penguins or through back channels checked in with the [hide] agent Rich Curran on Carter’s desire to move at the deadline and Carter made it known to the Penguins, he wants to finish his career with the team and hasn’t ruled out playing next season. This quote from Dubas is not shocking at all in that he left the door open to bring Carter back at the league minimum. On impending free agents Dubas said “We’ve got Jeff (Carter), who I think that’s a ‘we’ll see where he is at,’ and I think he’s contributed a lot for us this year on and off the ice. He’s not scoring like he was when he was in his early twenties and into his early thirties. But penalty-killing, competitiveness, and what he’s brought to the locker room has been tremendous for us.” [/hide]

[hide] — When it rains it pours…… The entire shipment of Jaromir Jagr Bobbleheads has been stolen and the team will be unable to distribute the Bobbleheads to fans tonight for Penguins – Sharks. [/hide]