The Pittsburgh Penguins cleaned house on Friday, as the Fenway Sports Group fired president of hockey operations Brian Burke, general manager Ron Hextall and assistant general manager Chris Pryor after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons.
Who might be hired to fill those positions? What comes next for the franchise as they attempt to get back into the postseason in short order?
Here's the current and future state of the Penguins:
Why was the front office fired?
The Penguins' core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang was maintained so they could win a fourth Stanley Cup together. It was Hextall's mandate to re-sign Malkin and Letang last summer, and he fulfilled the obligation by inking Malkin, 36, to a four-year contract and Letang to a six-year deal, both with a $6.1 million average annual value.
The problem was the supporting cast. Hextall and Burke made several player acquisitions that never had their desired effect. Injuries and ineffective goaltending combined to undermine the core's efforts to lead the Penguins back to the playoffs and, in the end, led to the front office implosion.
The company line from John Henry and Tom Werner of Fenway Sports Group:
"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."
The biggest factor here beyond the team's performance: Burke and Hextall were hired by the team's previous owners, Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. Fenway Sports Group didn't pay $900 million to watch diminishing returns under someone else's hires.
That ownership group did approve a contract extension for head coach Mike Sullivan through the 2026-27 season, and he remained untouched in today's purge.
Who are the candidates to become the new Penguins GM?
The Penguins' GM search is going to be fascinating, because it's unclear who will do the hiring. The team doesn't have a CEO after David Morehouse stepped down. Does Fenway Sports Group hire a team president that hires the general manager? Or does it hire a general manager that is empowered with both roles?
The team announced that hockey operations duties will be shared by director of hockey operations Alec Schall, AHL GM Erik Heasley and hockey operations analyst (and coach's challenge savant) Andy Saucier. Mike Sullivan will also assist in the transition of power.