Dubas to assume role as Penguins GM this season

Kyle Dubas will not hire a general manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins and will assume that role this season, the Penguins announced Thursday.

Dubas, who was hired as president of hockey operations June 1, had been serving as interim GM and initially was going to begin a formal search last month. Dubas replaced Brian Burke, who was fired as Penguins president along with general manager Ron Hextall on April 14.

“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,” Dubas said. “We will continue to reevaluate the GM position alongside all others in future offseasons 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. We have also added both (assistant GM) Jason Spezza and (director, hockey operations and legal affairs) Vukie Mpofu to provide us with a nice mixture of playing experience, front office acumen, and growth potential.”

The Penguins also promoted Amanda Kessel and Trevor Daley as special assistants to Dubas. Kessel had been involved with the Penguins’ executive management training program, a one-year fellowship designed to give women and minority groups administrative expertise in preparation for a job in NHL management. She will work in all facets of hockey operations.

Kessel won a gold medal with the United States at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship in April and has represented the U.S. at the Olympics three times (2014, 2018, 2022), including a gold medal in 2018.

Daley worked for the Penguins as a hockey operations adviser the past three seasons, assisting in player evaluations at the NHL and American Hockey League levels. He played 1,058 games over 16 seasons in the NHL and won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017.

The Penguins also named Andy Saucier director of professional personnel and Erik Heasley director of minor league and amateur scouting operations.

Pittsburgh was 40-31-11 last season and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs after qualifying each of the previous 16 seasons, which was the longest streak in the NHL.