Dubas named president of hockey operations for Penguins

Kyle Dubas is the new president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced Thursday.

The 37-year-old replaces Brian Burke, who was fired along with general manager Ron Hextall on April 14. In their second full season with the Penguins, the two men failed to lead the team to the playoffs. Their first omission from the spring tournament in 16 seasons ended the longest active streak in the NHL.

Dubas, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past five seasons, was informed May 19 that his contract, which expires June 30, will not be renewed.

He replaced Lou Lamoriello at the head of the general staff on May 11, 2018, when he was only 32 years old. Dubas previously served as a Toronto assistant for four years. The Maple Leafs’ record during his tenure as general manager is 221-109-42.

The Torontonians suffered elimination after a five-game second-round series against the Florida Panthers. In the team’s end-of-season report on May 15, Dubas said he wanted to consult his family before making a decision about his return as general manager.

“My family is a very important part of what I do. Committing to anything without being able to fully understand what this year has meant for them is probably unfair at this point, he said. We haven’t had those discussions yet. But it was a very difficult year for them. »

Dubas had been linked with other vacancies elsewhere in the NHL, but had kicked himself out of the running for any other location except Toronto.

« I certainly don’t have the flame to go elsewhere, » he said. So, it will be here where I will take some time to reflect on past seasons here. You won’t see me landing (in another market) next week. I can’t put this through [à ma famille] after the year we have just passed. »