The Pittsburgh Penguins cleaned house on Friday, as the Fenway Sports Group fired president of hockey operations Brian Burke, general manager Ron Hextall and assistant general manager Chris Pryor after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons.
Who might be hired to fill those positions? What comes next for the franchise as they attempt to get back into the postseason in short order?
Here’s the current and future state of the Penguins:
Why was the front office fired?
The Penguins’ core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang was maintained so they could win a fourth Stanley Cup together. It was Hextall’s mandate to re-sign Malkin and Letang last summer, and he fulfilled the obligation by inking Malkin, 36, to a four-year contract and Letang to a six-year deal, both with a $6.1 million average annual value.
The problem was the supporting cast. Hextall and Burke made several player acquisitions that never had their desired effect. Injuries and ineffective goaltending combined to undermine the core’s efforts to lead the Penguins back to the playoffs and, in the end, led to the front office implosion.
The company line from John Henry and Tom Werner of Fenway Sports Group:
“We are grateful to Brian, Ron, and Chris for their contributions to the organization over the past two seasons, but we feel that the team will benefit from new hockey operations leadership. While this season has been disappointing, we believe in our core group of players and the goal of contending for the Stanley Cup has not changed.”
The biggest factor here beyond the team’s performance: Burke and Hextall were hired by the team’s previous owners, Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. Fenway Sports Group didn’t pay $900 million to watch diminishing returns under someone else’s hires.
That ownership group did approve a contract extension for head coach Mike Sullivan through the 2026-27 season, and he remained untouched in today’s purge.
Who are the candidates to become the new Penguins GM?
The Penguins’ GM search is going to be fascinating, because it’s unclear who will do the hiring. The team doesn’t have a CEO after David Morehouse stepped down. Does Fenway Sports Group hire a team president that hires the general manager? Or does it hire a general manager that is empowered with both roles?
The team announced that hockey operations duties will be shared by director of hockey operations Alec Schall, AHL GM Erik Heasley and hockey operations analyst (and coach’s challenge savant) Andy Saucier. Mike Sullivan will also assist in the transition of power.
A few names to consider:
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Jason Botterill, Seattle Kraken assistant general manager. He was a hot managerial prospect while working under Rutherford with the Penguins, but only lasted three seasons as general manager of the Buffalo Sabres. His tenure there looks more successful in hindsight — acquiring Tage Thompson in the Ryan O’Reilly trade, drafting the likes of Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt and Mattias Samuelsson. He’ll get another GM job, and it could be back in Pittsburgh.
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Ray Whitney, currently with the NHL Department of Player Safety. The 22-year NHL veteran winger was a finalist for the San Jose Sharks GM job last offseason and should have an endorsement from league management. He’s never been a GM or assistant GM, however.
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Kyle Dubas, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager. The 37-year-old doesn’t have a contract after this season. If the Leafs fall short in the playoffs, it likely means the end of his tenure in Toronto. It’s not exactly a leap to suggest that an ownership that once entrusted the Boston Red Sox to Theo Epstein wouldn’t hesitate to hire someone like Dubas to run the Penguins.
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Some current general managers could also gravitate to the Penguins, who are one of the NHL’s flagship franchises.
There’s a ticking clock for the Fenway Sports Group with the NHL draft looming in late June.
What are the key decisions for the Penguins this summer?
Pittsburgh has 14 players under contract for next season and close to $21 million in open cap space. Only seven of those players are forwards.
The next general manager will be tasked with finding the right mix of players to improve their 5-on-5 defense, which was 19th in expected goals against, while offering more offensive support for Crosby and Malkin’s lines. On the back end, defenseman Brian Dumoulin is an unrestricted free agent and that group could use some bolstering.
But the biggest area of concern has to be goaltending. Tristan Jarry is a UFA and will most certainly not be back after playing to a below replacement level this season. Backup Casey DeSmith has one more year remaining but isn’t the answer. This could be priority No. 1 for the next GM.
What’s next for Hextall, Burke?
Hextall had one more year left on his contract with the Penguins. It was his second stint as a general manager, following four years with the Philadelphia Flyers. He also won a Stanley cup as an assistant general manager with the Los Angeles Kings.
The long-time NHL goaltender was always an odd fit for the Penguins. They were a win-now team. Hextall’s philosophy had always been focused on the draft and organizational prospect development. That’s a really hard balance to strike with the modus operandi of the Penguins was to maximize their contention window with a core of star players in their mid-30s.
Hextall should find another gig, perhaps with a team whose trajectory better fits his expertise. Ironically, one of those teams could be the Flyers. They have an interim GM in Danny Briere and the need for a president of hockey operations. There’s been a reevaluation of his time as Flyers GM; whether it’s because of his drafting or the fan base’s general feelings about Chuck Fletcher’s performance, Hextall is remembered more fondly five years later.
Burke, 67, took over the Penguins as a stabilizing force less than two weeks after Jim Rutherford resigned as general manager for personal reasons in 2021. (Rutherford is now the president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks.) Burke had been working for Sportsnet in Canada prior to his hiring, and the expectation is that he’ll return to television in the near future.