Penguins Fire GM Ron Hextall, More After Missing Playoffs for 1st Time Since 2006

The Pittsburgh Penguins are clearing house after failing to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season for the first time since 2006.

The Penguins and Fenway Sports Group announced Friday that they have fired general manager Ron Hextall, assistant general manager Chris Pryor and president of hockey operations Brian Burke.

John Henry and Tom Werner of Fenway Sports Group said in a statement:

"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."

Hextall and Burke were hired by the Penguins in February 2021 following the resignation of former general manager Jim Rutherford. Pryor was also hired in 2021 as director of player personnel.

Additionally, the trio was hired under Pittsburgh's previous ownership, so it's no surprise Fenway Sports Group is looking for a change this early into ownership after purchasing the team midway through the 2021-22 season.

Head coach Mike Sullivan is under contract through 2026-27 after agreeing to a three-year extension last offseason. He is the winningest coach in franchise history.

Hextall and Burke's tenure was highlighted by salary-cap issues and various trades and signings that failed to meet expectations in a lineup highlighted by Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

The Penguins were one of the most inconsistent teams in hockey during the 2022-23 campaign, posting a 40-31-11 record and a minus-two differential.

Some of those inconsistencies can be attributed to goaltender Tristan Jarry, who went 24-13-7 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .909 save percentage, but the franchise also didn't get much out of its bottom-six, either.

Jeff Carter notched 13 goals and 16 assists in 79 games, and the likes of Danton Heinen (22 points in 65 games), Ryan Poehling (14 points in 53 games) and Josh Archibald (12 points in 62 games) all greatly underperformed.

The Penguins had held the longest active playoff streak in North American professional sports, which included three Stanley Cup titles, four Stanley Cup Final appearances and five Eastern Conference Final appearances.

With that playoff streak officially a thing of the past, the Penguins will now embark on a difficult offseason that will be highlighted by questions about how they can get back to the postseason in 2023-24.