
The lake houses are calling. Margarita machines and breathing easy for a few minutes before the suffocating grind of the 2024-25 NHL season begins and the pressure mounts. One year ago, new Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas extended the offseason drama into August with the Erik Karlsson trade that didn't reach completion until Aug. 6. There is not the same push this summer. Dubas will neither spend the future assets that he did to acquire Karlsson nor tie the team to big-money, longer-term contracts. At this point in the free agent frenzy, there aren't any big-money, long-term