Kyle Dubas Gets Rejected in Toronto

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Kyle Dubas Gets Rejected in Toronto
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

I don't know if everyone has heard the news, but the Penguins decided to offer Ville Koivunen a very lucrative contract in the last few days.

Basically, the young player, who has two goals and 14 points in 47 NHL games (spanning two seasons), has signed an eight-year contract with the Penguins.

He'll earn $4 million per season.

He's a 23-year-old player with talent who hasn't proven himself in the NHL yet. Even though he's produced in Europe and the AHL, he hasn't produced in the NHL.

So this is a huge gamble.

(Credit: Hockey DB)

Kyle Dubas, who has been controversial since his arrival as an NHL executive, took a chance that the young player would break out over the next few years.

And he's also betting that, should it fail, $4 million over eight years won't be a burden for a player who was never the National Hockey League's top prospect.

But because Dubas is a controversial figure in Toronto, this contract has brought to the surface all the blunders Dubas has made as GM in Toronto and Pittsburgh.

Sid Seixeiro, known as a vocal critic in the City of Queen, even went on a rant asking: Why does Dubas still have a job? He doesn't think Dubas is qualified, and he makes no secret of it.

Seixeiro believes Dubas shouldn't have been put on a pedestal and doesn't deserve such a big role (or such a big contract) in Toronto. He doesn't see how Dubas has made the Penguins better since his arrival… after being controversial in Toronto.

The decision regarding Koivunen is clearly the icing on the cake.

In an era where executives prefer to pay young players over veterans—and in an era where salaries are skyrocketing—I can't wait to see how Koivunen is viewed in four, five, or seven years.

But there's a very real chance the Penguins let him slip through their fingers.


Behind the Scenes

– News from CF Montréal.

– Sad news.

– Wow.

– He's back on his feet.

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