Penguins GM Kyle Dubas 'foaming at the mouth to bring in' NJ Devils HC Sheldon Keefe after Mike Sullivan's exit, per Paul Bissonnette

Kyle Dubas has always been very fond of his own guys.

The former Maple Leafs general manager, now president of hockey operations and general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is looking to put his stamp on the organization.

Dubas parted ways with longtime head coach Mike Sullivan last week, signaling a changing of the guard in Pittsburgh. Now that the Penguins are moving forward in search of a new bench boss, many are speculating about candidates. One NHL analyst is wondering about a very familiar face, Sheldon Keefe.

Former NHLer Paul Bissonnette spoke about the potential Dubas-Keefe reunion during the latest episode of the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast. Spittin' Chiclets shared the clip on X (formerly Twitter).

"I also heard rumblings that Sullivan kind of wanted to stay as coach in Pittsburgh, and he didn't want to leave, and he kind of got pushed out, pushed out. Do you see a world where Keefe gets canned in New Jersey?" Bissonnette said.

“You know Dubas is foaming at the mouth to bring Keefe into f****** Pittsburgh... I got criticized. Well, they came at me a little bit harder because I said the book's still out on Kyle Dubas on the Pat McAfee show, but boys, this guy traded Jake Guentzel for Bunting," Bissonnette added.

Sheldon Keefe spent time as Kyle Dubas' head coach with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL. He then followed him to Toronto to coach the Marlies for four and a half years and eventually the Maple Leafs for the next four and a half years.

Keefe just completed his first season behind the bench of the New Jersey Devils after inking a four-year deal during the 2024 offseason.

Kyle Dubas faces plenty of pressure to improve the Pittsburgh Penguins

Pressure is mounting on Kyle Dubas to get the Pittsburgh Penguins back into the playoffs in the near future.

Sidney Crosby is not getting any younger, and Dubas must improve the roster around his superstar captain sooner rather than later. Prospects Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty showed plenty of promise when called up near the end of the regular season. It was a good start to the youth movement, and they'll need these two to be impactful players at the NHL level on a full-time basis in 2025-26.

Pittsburgh will also have plenty of cap space to work with, projected for over $20 million. A bit of luck at the upcoming draft lottery wouldn't hurt either. Dubas and the Penguins will be one of the more interesting teams to follow in the coming weeks and months heading into the summer.