Penguins title former Maple Leafs GM Dubas as membership’s new director of hockey operations

Kyle Dubas didn’t keep out of labor for lengthy.

The Pittsburgh Penguins named Dubas because the membership’s president of hockey operations on Thursday. The transfer comes lower than two weeks after Dubas was fired as the overall supervisor of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dubas replaces Brian Burke, who was fired together with basic supervisor Ron Hextall in April after the Penguins failed to achieve the playoffs for the primary time since 2006.

The 37-year-old Dubas takes over a workforce that also believes it might probably compete for a Stanley Cup if it builds correctly across the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. While Crosby and Malkin have been wonderful for a lot of final season whereas Letang handled a number of setbacks – together with a stroke and the demise of his father – Pittsburgh struggled to achieve any actual momentum throughout a lot of the 2022-23 season and stumbled down the stretch to snap the longest energetic playoff streak in main North American Sports.

“Throughout his career, Kyle has proven himself as a forward-thinking hockey mind and embodies all of the qualities – integrity, intelligence, and an unwavering commitment to building a winning culture – that we value in a leader at the Penguins and within Fenway Sports Group,” FSG principal proprietor John Henry and chairman Tom Werner mentioned in an announcement.

Dubas involves Pittsburgh after 9 seasons with the Maple Leafs, together with the final 5 as basic supervisor. Toronto received a postseason collection for the primary time since 2004 this spring earlier than falling to the Florida Panthers within the Eastern Conference semifinals in 5 video games.

Shortly after the Maple Leafs’ playoff exit, Dubas mentioned that he wasn’t certain if he wished to stay in Toronto. His contract was set to run out on June 30, however workforce president Kyle Shanahan opted to pre-emptively hearth Dubas as a substitute. Toronto employed former Calgary Flames basic supervisor Brad Treliving as Dubas‘ substitute on Wednesday.

While the Penguins stay one of many NHL’s marquee groups, additionally they haven’t superior out of the primary spherical of the postseason since 2018. Dubas takes over the NHL’s oldest workforce, one with a number of gamers with no-trade clauses and a handful of onerous contracts that could possibly be tough to maneuver. Pittsburgh’s farm system can be in want of a significant improve after the workforce spent years dealing prospects for extra established gamers as a part of a “win-now” mindset.

Dubas helped construct the Maple Leafs right into a regular-season energy throughout his tenure. Toronto set single-season data for wins and factors, and went 221-109-42 in his tenure. Dubas additionally didn’t draw back from large strikes – he fired Stanley Cup-winning coach Mike Babcock in November 2019 and changed him with Sheldon Keefe – however struggled to search out the correct mix within the playoffs till this spring.