![\"Pittsburgh](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Kyle-Dubas-Pittsburgh-Penguins-Smiling.jpg\")
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations\/general manager Kyle Dubas, who has stocked his club with players who apparently just needed a fresh start or a new challenge, said Wednesday that his latest trade fit the same mold.<\/p>\n
The Penguins on Tuesday acquired defenseman Ilya Solovyov<\/a> in a trade with Colorado. Although he has split his past couple seasons between the NHL and AHL, Solovyov reported to Calgary, where the Penguins play Wednesday night, and not to Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton.<\/p>\n Dubas indicated that the Penguins had done a deep dive on Solovyov in the fall.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a 25-year-old that all of our departments on the personnel side, R&D side, all are fans of and believe that he\u2019s got good potential,\u201d Dubas told Josh Getzoff on Sportsnet Pittsburgh\u2019s weekly \u201cGame Plan\u201d show.<\/p>\n Dubas noted that Solovyov fits a familiar mold in terms of recent acquisitions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just think he\u2019s shown enough defensively to be able to make stops and play that role, but also with the puck, the ability to get up the ice and transition the puck well,\u201d Dubas said. \u201cIt just continues in the trend of trying to add younger talent to the organization any chance that comes up.\u201d<\/p>\n As far as how well the Penguins have been playing since the Christmas break \u2014 going 8-2-2 \u2014 after struggling most of December, Dubas said he simply has liked the way the team has played.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not only the fact that we\u2019ve won, but it\u2019s the fact that we\u2019re carrying the play. We\u2019re doing a really good job (with) goaltending, both guys have been really strong. \u2026 And I think defensively we\u2019ve probably been at our best in the stretch vs. any other on the whole year. We\u2019ve also continued to get offense from all throughout our lineup,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSince we\u2019ve come out of the Christmas break, I think we\u2019ve shown really what we\u2019re capable of, and I think this is the longest stretch where we\u2019ve put it together consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n On signing fourth-line center, energy guy and penalty killer Blake Lizotte<\/a> to a three-year contract extension: \u201cWhen you have people like Blake who play that role and do so without complaint, do so without wanting to take on more of an offensive side, they\u2019re really hard to find.\u201d<\/p>\n On trading for forward Egor Chinakhov: \u201cIt\u2019s a player we\u2019ve talked about for a long time. \u2026 We just felt that it was a player that had had a falling out with the previous coaching staff in Columbus, and that stuff happens with every team. We just thought with his age and his speed, with his offensive speed \u2014 and probably more than that, as we dug into it, he also is extremely responsible defensively. He tracks back hard, covers for guys. We just thought that with our group that we have, he could play a really key role, and we just feel like \u2014 especially now having had him just over three weeks \u2014 it\u2019s only kind of hammered home the fact that there\u2019s so much more for him to give on so many different levels for him to get to.\u201d<\/p>\n On rookie forward Rugter McGroarty\u2019s season, with him now in the AHL: \u201cI just think it\u2019s part of it. I don\u2019t see it as frustration at all. Would we love for him and Ville Koivunen and Avery Hayes and Tristan Broz just to all have had great camps and then jump right in and be flying? Of course. But they\u2019re in development, and it\u2019s never linear. You learn so much more about them, and I think accrue the different skills that they need to accrue to be at their best when things aren\u2019t going right.\u201d Dubas added that right now McGroarty, coming off a concussion, simply was an odd man out at the NHL level because the Penguins like the lineup they have.<\/p>\n On captain Sidney Crosby at age 38: \u201cPeople who are deeply dedicated to their craft, who live their craft, are able to sustain their level of performance for a long time. \u2026 You have to outwork and be more deeply committed to it than anybody, and I think that\u2019s what Sid\u2019s able to do. The level of focus, the level of commitment day in and day out, it doesn\u2019t ever fade. \u2026 It\u2019s a lot of fun to watch, and I don\u2019t see any reason to put a timeline on how long he can keep it up for because in the three years that I\u2019ve been here, the performance level has been incredibly consistent, and that\u2019s been amongst the best in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: kyle dubas<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> Shelly Anderson<\/a> <\/p>\n