Kyle Dubas expected to lose key piece due to most recent power trip

The Pittsburgh Penguins failed to qualify for the post-season for the second straight season after having made a playoff run for 16 consecutive years dating back to 2006-07 to 2021-22.

With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang still in the fold for the foreseeable future, the Penguins cut loose from Ron Hextall and Brian Burke last year and brought Kyle Dubas into the fold shortly after the Toronto Maple Leafs were ousted out of the second round of the playoffs. He was brought in to retool the club and he immediately instituted several changes, most notably the Erik Karlsson trade.

That brings us to his head coach in Mike Sullivan, who has been around since the 2015-16 season and has won 2 Stanley Cups while compiling a 375-219-77 record in 671 games. Frank Seravalli reported that Sullivan was "vehemently opposed to making changes to his staff" and that might have caused some friction with upper management. Now that Dubas has relieved assistant coach Todd Reirden of his duties, could that possibly signify the end of Sullivan in Pittsburgh?

Sullivan was thrusted into the head coaching position mid-season in 2015-16 before turning thing around and leading the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup since 2009. After their second straight Stanley Cup win in 2017, the Penguins lost in the second round in 2018, were then eliminated out of the first round between 2018-19 and 2021-22, before missing the playoffs the last 2 seasons. His name has surfaced on the chopping block but the Penguins have remained loyal to their head coach.

With Reirden out of the picture, seemingly much to the chagrin of Sullivan, could that end his successful spell in Pittsburgh? Better yet, if he does indeed walk away, could that upset Sidney Crosby and his willingness to stick around despite the lack of success in recent seasons? Only time will tell but Pittsburgh will be a team to keep an eye on as Dubas has a lot more on his plate to contend with in Year 2 at the helm.