Mathieu Darche waits to see if Kyle Dubas will accept the Penguins GM job

The case of Kyle Dubas is complex. After all, the man who didn’t want to be a GM anywhere but Toronto found himself, by force of circumstance, forced to review his priorities. And why? Because he’s since been fired.

As we know, the Pittsburgh Penguins are very aggressive in this matter. The club would obviously like to make him their GM, and the chances of them succeeding are good.

But it’s not official yet.

According to Elliotte Friedman on his podcast, the Penguins and Dubas may take a few more days to think it over before shaking hands.

Why is this happening? Because the owners are in Monaco for the Grand Prix, and the long weekend in the U.S. could pay off. That way, everyone would have a little more time.

Since the last few days have been crazy, why not?

But that’s not all. In fact, there’s a part of Dubas that’s still waiting to see what happens with the Ottawa Senators in the next few days.

The sale of the club is a process that takes time, but it should be remembered that the former Leafs GM was at the heart of rumours that he was interested in a potential opening in Ottawa.

With the changing of the guard, who knows if Pierre Dorion will keep his job?

Having said that, it’s safe to assume that Dubas is focusing his energies on the Penguins at the moment, given the way things are going in Ottawa (which is progressing slowly and awfully well) and the fact that time is running out in Pittsburgh.

And that brings us to Mathieu Darche.

As you can see, the Dubas case in Pittsburgh is not an easy one. That said, even if he signs on to take the job in Pittsburgh, the Penguins must have a plan B, just in case.

Could that plan B be Darche? Elliotte Friedman seems to think so.

A few days ago, he talked about the Penguins’ interest in Darche, and this morning, he’s the only name mentioned among the candidates who aren’t Kyle Dubas.

So it’s logical to think that if Dubas doesn’t take the job, Mathieu Darche could inherit it. At the moment, he seems to be well regarded by the Fenway Group.

If Dubas hadn’t been fired, Darche might already be with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Who knows?

I wonder if Dubas would like to be president of field hockey operations and hire a Mathieu Darche-like candidate as GM – on the advice of the Fenway Group, which obviously holds the Quebecer in high esteem.

And if so, I wonder if Darche would accept or if he’d choose to stay with Julien BriseBois in Tampa, where he has good responsibilities.

It would be interesting to see Darche appointed to Pittsburgh. After Daniel Brière in Philadelphia, this would mean that the two finalists for the Canadiens’ GM position (won by Kent Hughes) would be in Pennsylvania.

And if he is appointed, it would bring to five the total number of French-speaking GMs in the NHL, along with Hughes, BriseBois and Dorion.

In bursts

– Logical.

– That would be crazy.

– What a player.

– Dominic Paquet has an expensive field hockey card. [HF]

– To be continued.