For Penguins president Kyle Dubas, the only stats that matter are wins

Few people in the NHL are synonymous with the influx of advanced metrics that revolutionized front offices and roster construction in the 2010s to the degree Kyle Dubas is.

Regardless of the validity, Dubas is seen by many as an “analytics guy” in his current role as president of hockey operations of the Pittsburgh Penguins or his previous station as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He knows a lot about expected goals, PDO, Corsi and probably a lot of other terms exclusively familiar to those in his orbit.

Dubas is also fluent in one axiom above all else when it comes to those tabulations: The only stats that count are wins and losses.

And right now, the Penguins have a less-than-appetizing imbalance in those figures with an 11-12-3 record.

“Nobody outside of our walls cares about what the underlying stuff says one way or another,” Dubas said after practice in Cranberry on Monday. “If we’re winning and our underlying objective numbers are horrible, no one cares. The fans want us to win. If we’re losing and everything says how great we are beneath the surface, nobody outside of our building cares. You have to go out and execute, and you have to stick with it.

“In the end, we have to commit to a process that’s going lead us to win games or we have to change our course. No one really wants to hear about the underlying stuff about the even-strength play or even the power play. They want to see execution on the ice, and they want to see us convert on the ice and deliver wins for the fans in Pittsburgh.”

Dubas held court with media Monday and offered a state of the union about his underwhelming club and touched base on a number of subjects, including the coaching staff, a dead-stick power-play and personnel.

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• As is the case anytime a team in any sport falters, questions arise about faith in the coaching staff. None are coming from Dubas, who took over the Penguins this past summer with Mike Sullivan already in place.

“With (Sullivan), I had my impression of him coming in and respect for him coming in,” Dubas said. “Being with him every day and not only seeing his attention to detail on the systems but his attention to detail with the players and coaching them individually and personally, I think we’re very fortunate to have Mike. Do I think that he’s the right person for this job now and far to the future? I absolutely do. It’s on me to help support the coaching staff as best I can to help us get going in the right direction.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Mike Sullivan has a 348-199-68 career record as head coach of the Penguins.

“The thing that’s been encouraging for me with the coaching staff is they’re not transfixed by their own systems or what worked in the years that the club won. They know we have to continue to adapt, and they’re trying to, every single day and of every hour of the day, find those. They’re not beholden to what worked in the past. They’re trying to find what’s going to work moving ahead. That, to me, is the most encouraging part. Like any team that’s in this spot, we have to continue to find our way out of it. I’m certain that (Sullivan) is the best person to help us in that regard.”

• Like Sullivan, Dubas has been less than thrilled with the power play, which has failed to score for a month. Despite having a menagerie of talented All-Stars, the Penguins have failed to score a power-play goal in a ghastly franchise-record 13 games.

“The power play has been a major focus, not only of fans and media as it should be, but every day internally,” Dubas said. “When the power play struggles, it’s the heaviest feeling that you can have. … And as soon as it doesn’t work to the exact way you want it to, especially when you’re at home, you feel the angst that goes with it. The players that we have and the coaching staff that we have are far too good to not solve our way out of it. … The players, they know what has worked for them in the past on the power play. That hasn’t worked here as of late. … In particular, in practice, they’re more open to doing things that aren’t particularly common for them in their games as they try to find their way out of it. That, for me, has been the most encouraging part of it.

“It doesn’t mean that (Tuesday) night, we’re suddenly going to come out and light the world on fire. When you’re at that stage, it’s a process of earning your way out of it and building a new confidence in the way that things run and continually trying new things. We haven’t continued to try to do the same thing over and over. But we have to start to build a consistency in terms of what we want in the power play. Obviously, it’s on the top of mind for everybody and it takes up a lot of bandwidth right now and that’s because it hasn’t been near the level that we want it to be, especially in the last month. If we can get that part of our game rolling and sustain the other parts of it, I think we’ll have a good run of success and pull our way out of it. Everyone’s focus is on that.”

• Dubas lauded defenseman Erik Karlsson, acquired in a blockbuster trade this past offseason, for his initiative in trying to solve the Penguins’ malfunctions on the power play as well as the team’s overall game.

“Erik, in my view, has been a great addition on spurring conversation about how we can continue to evolve and change,” Dubas said. “He doesn’t truly accept status quo in his own game or in others as the way that we should go about things. Especially (in how) he views his role on the power play. He’s the quarterback of it. So he takes that very seriously. He’s not afraid to directly talk to players about the way that it’s going. That, for me, is very refreshing.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

In 26 games this season, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists).

“Here, it’s easy, I think, for some players to be intimidated — and rightfully so — by some of the presence and pedigree of the people that we have that have won (multiple) championships here. Erik comes in and he’s very respectful, great energy, very gregarious and inquisitive. But he’ll also push. Especially when we’re at the spot we’re at right now, you need that. You need people that are going to ask tough questions, that are going to push the group ahead. Erik, to me, has helped that immensely.”

• Defenseman Ryan Graves, who was the team’s biggest free agent signing this past offseason (agreeing to a six-year, $27 million contract), recently critiqued his own game as needing improvement. Dubas preached patience in assessing Graves who has primarily been deployed as Kris Letang’s defensive partner.

“In just going back and studying his career as he’s transitioned from different places — he was in the Rangers’ organization, went to Colorado then from Colorado to New Jersey — he’s always been someone that when he’s gone (elsewhere), he’s taken a little bit of time to get rolling,” Dubas said. “With Ryan, you know what you’re getting. He’s going to clear the net front, he’s going to be able to kill penalties. For us, it’s just continuing to encourage him to get in motion with the puck and not do everything from a standstill with the puck. Not do everything from a standstill with the puck and continue to build his confidence that way. He’s starting to integrate himself more deeply more into the team which I think takes time.

“It’s not just (him). … It’s been a lot of the (new players). That’s on us as an organization to continue to push them to get to the level that we all saw on film. … I’d love it if every time we sign a new player it goes very smoothly and the transition is easy. A lot of it is on them but a lot of it is on myself and the coaching staff to continue to get them back up to the level that they were at. Of late in the last couple of games, Ryan, in particular, I’ve started to see some of those steps. They’re subtle and they’re small but with his game, that’s the way they’re going to be. He’s never going to be a guy that we expect to go end to end and create a ton of offense. It’s going to be the small, subtle defensive things. His spacing, killing plays with his stick and making stops and getting the puck going the other way. That’s all we expect of him.”

• The Penguins’ depth on the right wing has been lessened considerably due to long-term undisclosed injuries to top-six forward Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. Dubas professed confidence in the team’s options to replace them but provided something of a warning.

“I don’t think injuries can be any type of excuse,” Dubas said. “ The injuries are an opportunity for guys that wanted opportunity, who came here for the opportunity. They have to run with it. This is their chance. We want guys to run right through the door and take it and go. Are we well equipped? The players are going to tell us that here in this coming stretch. If they don’t pull through, then that’s on me. We haven’t found the right mix of guys to take advantage of it. If we have depth issues, that falls onto my shoulders and should be held against me more than anybody else. I’m excited for the guys that are in those opportunities to take advantage of it and roll with it. If they don’t, then it’s up to me to act and try to find us other guys that can.”

AP