Kyle Dubas Hired as Penguins' President of Hockey Operations After Maple Leafs Exit

The Pittsburgh Penguins named former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas their new president of hockey operations Thursday.

Regarding the decision to continue his career as an NHL executive in Pittsburgh, Dubas said:

"On behalf of my family, we are thrilled to join the Pittsburgh Penguins organization and all of the incredible people across Fenway Sports Group. I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity that lies ahead of me. The ownership group, FSG leadership and the Penguins staff on the ground in Pittsburgh have been absolutely outstanding. Everyone has demonstrated a clear commitment to building a best-in-class hockey operation."

Dubas spent the previous five seasons as GM of the Leafs, but following their loss to the Florida Panthers in the second round of the playoffs, the Maple Leafs and Dubas decided to part ways.

Toronto reached the playoffs in each of Dubas' five seasons at the helm, but it lost in the first round in each of his first four seasons before finally breaking through with a playoff series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After the Panthers shocked the top-seeded Boston Bruins in the first round of this year's playoffs, the Leafs were widely viewed as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

Florida took down Toronto in five games, however, and the high-powered Leafs were held to just two goals in each of their second-round contests.

Having made seven consecutive playoff appearances with only one series win to show for it, the Maple Leafs parted ways with Dubas, replacing him with former Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving.

When Dubas became available, Pittsburgh immediately emerged as a potential landing spot in the wake of the Penguins firing general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke.

With a record of 40-31-11 and 91 points, the Pens missed the playoffs this season by just one point, ending what was the longest active postseason streak in the NHL at 16 consecutive seasons.

Dubas will take over the front office of a franchise that has won three Stanley Cups since 2009, although the Penguins have not made it past the first round of the playoff since 2018.

Pittsburgh is still led by veterans Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who had 93 and 83 points this season, respectively, but Crosby will be 36 and Malkin will be 37 at the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

Other quality pieces in place for next season include forwards Jake Guentzel and Rickard Rakell, and defenseman Kris Letang, but fifth-leading scorer Jason Zucker is a free agent, as is starting goalie Tristan Jarry.

Per Cap Friendly, the Penguins are projected to have just over $20 million in salary-cap space this offseason, and it will be up to Dubas to make the most of it in terms of upgrading the roster, getting Pittsburgh back in the playoffs and giving Crosby and Malkin one more shot at a Cup.