The Pittsburgh Penguins announced a flurry of promotions within their front office on Thursday, which included the appointment of Kyle Dubas as general manager.
Dubas was hired as the Penguins’ president of hockey operations in June, and was conducting the search for a new general manager before ultimately assuming the position himself.
“At this time, I feel it is best for continuity that I formally continue in both roles as President and General Manager in the hockey operations department,” said Dubas via the team’s website.
“We will continue to reevaluate the GM position alongside all others in future off-seasons, to ensure that we are optimizing all facets of the department. We have a small but extremely dedicated management team here, and I have come to know each of them quite well over the last couple of months.”
The 37-year-old was fired as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs in May after five seasons at the helm, while the executive was deciding between extending his contract with the Leafs or stepping away from hockey for a bit.
Pittsburgh was quick to act, swooping in and hiring Dubas to run their hockey operations department after parting ways with previous president of hockey ops Brian Burke and general manager Ron Hextall. The Penguins failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
The Penguins continued to form Dubas’ front office with Thursday’s promotions, notably bumping Trevor Daley and Amanda Kessel up to the roles of special assistant to the general manager.
Daley, a 16-year NHL veteran and two-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh, spent the last three seasons as a hockey operations advisor, helping with player evaluation at the NHL and AHL level.
Kessel, a former United States Women’s National Team star and Olympic gold medalist, recently completed a year in the team’s executive management program, and will focus her work in hockey research and development in her new role, among other things.
Dubas and the Penguins also brought in longtime NHLer and Toronto front office protegé Jason Spezza as an assistant general manager on June 14.
