When Kyle Dubas signed some key contracts a few years ago, the NHL's salary cap outlook was very different. But the league has come a long way since then, and rising prices are now creating a challenge for the Penguins.

Kyle Dubas took over as the President of Hockey Operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 1, 2023. He then assumed the role of general manager on August 3 that year. Since then, he has seen mixed results on ice while facing the problem of growing player contracts in the NHL's current era.

Hockey writer Chris McCluskey gave his assessment of Dubas’ first three years in charge of the Penguins front office in a post on his official X account on Friday, July 3. He didn’t paint a pretty picture of it and revealed the challenges faced by the Penguins since the 2023-24 season in terms of the rising salary cap, while emotional about it, too.

“Look at the money being thrown around in the NHL with the rising cap,” said McCluskey about the high salaries given to the players in the league in recent times, to set up the stage to talk about the Penguins general manager.

“The Kyle Dubas era contracts were supposed to age gracefully. Become bargains. We were supposed to have room to do so much more. 3 years of no cap movement. Only a $2m increase in a 5-year span.”

“Wakes up in cold sweat, again,” wrote the hockey writer in his concluding remark with asterisks to emphasize his feeling about it all, seemingly as a Penguins fan.

As he alluded to, the salary cap in the NHL has risen substantially in the last three seasons for each team to spend on the players and build their rosters. It was $83.5 million for the 2023-24 season before increasing to $88 million and $95.5 million for the 2024-25 and the 2025-26 seasons, respectively.

For the upcoming 2026-27 season, the salary cap has been increased to a whopping $104 million.

This recent increase allowed the Minnesota Wild to sign forward Kirill Kaprizov to a massive $17 million average annual value (AAV) contract in September 2025, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL currently.

In regard to the Penguins, their highest-paid player is defenseman Erik Karlsson, who is on a $11.5 million AAV contract, signed in June 2019.

While Pittsburgh hasn’t been the big spenders with Dubas at the helm, unlike some other NHL teams, McCluskey didn’t like how he hasn’t been able to keep hold of some of their better players.

While he didn’t give away any names, defensemen Ryan Shea and Parker Wotherspoon have exited the organization, while Anthony Mantha has become an unrestricted free agent (UFA).

McCluskey also lamented the lack of salary cap movement at the Penguins over the last five years, showcasing a lack of urgency, despite its manifold increase for all NHL teams.

How have the Pittsburgh Penguins performed on the ice during the Kyle Dubas-era?

When the Kyle Dubas-era began at the Pittsburgh Penguins in the summer of 2023, they were coming off their worst season in decades. In 2022-23, the Penguins had missed out on qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first-time in 17 seasons.

During the first two seasons in charge for Dubas, starting in 2023-24, Pittsburgh wasn’t able to improve on their results and missed out on the playoffs. They actually ended their 2024-25 season in seventh position in the Metropolitan Division, the lowest position in any division after their inception in 1967.

But in the 2025-26 season, the tables turned for Dubas and the Penguins with a return to the playoffs after a wait of three years. They registered a 41-25-16 record for 98 points in 82 games to finish in second place in the Metropolitan Division behind the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, as per NHL.com.

Their playoff hopes ended in 2026 with a first-round loss in the Eastern Conference against the state-rival Philadelphia Flyers in six games.

Will the Pittsburgh Penguins improve on their contract negotiations with Kyle Dubas at the helm, just like the recent uptick in results on the ice? Share with us your thoughts in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason