The Genius of Bill Zito: A Blueprint for Kyle Dubas?
During recent interviews, Penguins POHO/GM Kyle Dubas indicated he might seek to make hockey trades as a way of supplementing his team’s rebuild/retool.
He even suggested a willingness to part with some of the draft capital he’s worked so diligently to accumulate over the past couple seasons.
Wait. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of amassing those picks in the first place? To say nothing of flying in the face of conventional wisdom that states you build through the draft.
Yes and no.
Allow me to explain.
There’s an executive out there who’s laid down an alternate blueprint for building a champion. A modus operandi that’s led to a Presidents’ Trophy, two Cup Final appearances and a Stanley Cup in relatively short order.
I’m referring to Florida’s Bill Zito, who happens to be a Pittsburgh native.
Since taking over from Dale Tallon as the Panthers’ GM in September 2020, Zito’s largely eschewed the draft, instead building a perennial powerhouse predominantly through a series of incredibly savvy if not downright brilliant trades and free-agent signings.
Think Jim Rutherford, circa 2015-17, on steroids.