Talk of Eastern Conference team chasing Kyle Dubas picks up after terrible season

According to Mark Madden of Pittsburgh's 105.9 The X, after officially missing the post season for the first time in 16 seasons, rumours of the Penguins trying to sign Dubas in the off season are gaining momentum.

In his latest latest column for the Toronto Star, Nick Kypreos also mentioned the rumours of Dubas being pursued by Pittsburgh.

Whether the Leafs try to re-sign Dubas to a new deal likely depends on whether the team can finally get past the first round of the playoffs. That said, I can't imagine there'd be no interest from Toronto at all. A deep playoff run would certainly help his case.

At the other end, Pittsburgh President Brian Burke and GM Ron Hextall have both been adamant that a rebuild isn't needed for the Penguins, and that the team just needed to continue to build around the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang in order to compete for the Stanley Cup. It didn't work, and now ownership has to decide whether they deserve another shot, or whether a top to bottom rebuild/reset is needed. If they decide to do that, it would be silly not to at least contact Dubas to see what it would take to pry him away from the Toronto Maple Leafs. There's no question there's some loyalty there for the Leafs, but the size of the offer can remedy that to some extent. This is one to watch for once the Cup is awarded and offseason business gets underway.