The Pittsburgh Penguins have relieved President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke, General Manager Ron Hextall and Assistant General Manager Chris Pryor of their duties, the Fenway Sports Group announced today.
John Henry and Tom Werner issued the following statement:
“We are grateful to Brian, Ron and Chris for their contributions to the organization over the past two seasons, but we feel the team will benefit from the leadership of new hockey operations. While this season was disappointing, we believe in our core group of players and the goal of competing for the Stanley Cup has not changed.”
The search for new leadership for hockey operations will begin immediately.
During this transition, administrative duties for hockey operations will be shared between current Director of Hockey Operations, Alec Schall, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton General Manager/Director of Hockey Operations, Eric Heasley and Hockey Operations Analyst, Andy Sussier. Coach Mike Sullivan will also assist during the transition period.
The Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, ending the longest active playoff streak between teams in North American professional sports. The series included three Stanley Cup championships (2009, ’16, ’17), four Stanley Cup Final appearances and five trips to the Eastern Conference Final. This is only the second time since then Sidney Crosby He made his NHL debut in 2005-06 although the Penguins did not qualify for the postseason.
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