Not only have the Pittsburgh Penguins hired Ron Hextall as the team’s next GM, but Brian Burke will be joining him. Burke will be installed as President of Hockey Operations, with Hextall as General Manager. Burke last held a similar role with the Calgary Flames until 2018 when he stepped down, joining the Sportsnet broadcast team and working in media since. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Hextall’s contract is four years long (with another option year), with the rest of the 2020-21 season counting as the first.
Penguins’ CEO David Morehouse released a statement on the hires, which were made official Tuesday afternoon:
We feel incredibly lucky to bring in two highly-respected executives with a combined 50-plus years of NHL management experience. Ron and Brian are well-known in the hockey world as fierce competitors with championship pedigrees. They’re very well-connected and experienced in all aspects of the game. They are both excited to get to work here in Pittsburgh, blending their skills and building on our long tradition of success.
Patrik Allvin, who served as interim GM since Jim Rutherford’s sudden resignation last month, will resume his role as assistant GM under Hextall.
This is certainly a change for the Penguins, who had been under the control of Rutherford since 2014. He had seen talented assistants come and go during that time, but it was ultimately Rutherford’s voice that ran the show. Now, by bringing in two veteran executives, there will be more voices in the room as they decide where to go next.
Burke, who famously mocked those who suggested the “Pittsburgh model” was one to follow while the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, first joined an NHL front office in 1987 and has been around the game basically his whole life. While there is some debate to how much credit he should actually receive, the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007 under his leadership and he has plenty of experience at the international level with USA Hockey, including a silver medal in 2010. There may be some who question his decisions, but there’s no one that questions the experience that Burke brings to the table.
Hextall’s arrival in Pittsburgh will come as a confusing moment for many Penguins fans, given how much he was hated during his playing days. A legend of Philadelphia Flyers hockey, the fiery goaltender was an easy villain for the cross-state rivals. That rivalry was reborn in retirement when Hextall took a position with the Flyers scouting department in 1999. After several years with the team, he left for the Los Angeles Kings, getting his first taste of managing by running the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL while serving as an AGM for the NHL squad. In 2013 he returned to Philadelphia and by the next year was named GM.
By 2018 however, he was fired from his job with the Flyers after seemingly being too patient in his approach. The team was slowly laying a foundation through the drafting and development of prospects, but Hextall refused to sacrifice any of it to take a big swing in trades or free agency. That foundation appears to be paying off for the Flyers now, as they contend for the East Division crown while also still having a strong prospect system.
In Pittsburgh, he’ll be challenged right away, given the team’s win-now decree. The Penguins still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to anchor their forward group, meaning the Stanley Cup should always be a goal. But with those two stars and Kris Letang heading into their mid-thirties, it’s unclear if that’s a real possibility for the team at this juncture. Now it’s up to Hextall and Burke to decide where the franchise goes from here.
Whoa
Soon we will find out the revolutionary strategy these 2 pitched during interview. At least it isn’t Weekes or McGuire.
I’m laughing here
What heavyweight dose Burkie bring in
Nooo that means more Stewart on Sportsnet and he’s just terrible
You watched sportsnet for the chipper and upbeat analysis from Burke? I’m sure you can find a recording device and periodically press a button that says such phrases as “truculence” “his grit was on display” and “needs to work harder in the corners”
Love it.
Hextall can build for the future while Burke pushes them to max out the current window.
Hopefully, Burke and Potash will have a pregame show where the former mocks the latter for comedic effect.
I love how the other sports are pushing for young analytics front offices and in hockey a team decides to have Brian Burke and Hextall running the show in 2021
Hockey analytics are mostly bunk.
Just numerical rain dances.
Typical millennial logic, someone with 20 years experience isn’t as capable as someone with no experience.
It worked so well in Phoenix with that Chayka kid
Violating every rule in the book had more to do with his downfall.
Hextall wasn’t even a good enough GM for the franchise that loves him.
Yup. Just some nerds way of using numbers to convince you that he knows more about hockey than you do and boost his already inflated ego.
Watching a hockey or baseball game can feel like a math class that you don’t ever study for.
Kendall at least talks me through it the ENTIRE game so that’s cool. She played at a comparable level right?
Not having a shred of integrity was his downfall.
Good choices, for those who want to see the Penguins get worse. Hard to believe they went in this direction, but I guess lemiuex really doesn’t have a clue outside of playing hockey.
Mario has more rings than Gretzky and more Cups than any other living NHL owner besides Ron Burkle and both of the GM’s he’s hired have won Cups with the Penguins.
But, yeah…sure. Great point.
Like I said last week that if kevin weekes gets a interview then why not Brian Burke..it makes more sense…so I would say Burkie will have alot of say for this club…I will miss him on sportsnet…
Their first meeting, probably:
Burke: I admire your truculence.
Hextall: Thank you but no one is as truculent as you.
Burke: That’s true. Still, you were a mean SOB as a goalie.
Hextall: I like to think I had snarl.
Burke: Love snarl. You need snarl. Snarl and truculence.
Hextall: Definitely truculence.
Burke: Can never have too much truculence.
Hextall: Never.
Burke: Good meeting.
Hextall: Great meeting. A truculent meeting.
Burke: Love truculence.
@John – You copied my script! (You’re welcome!) The only thing missing there was the back-and-forth about trading Laddy Smid! :)
I do wonder if the Pens might be in on Virtanen in search of said truculence.
One thing is clear about the Burke hire…Yohe and Bomboulie’s jobs just got easier.
Nobody wants virtanen he has negative value at this point thanks to old Jim benning handing out terrible contracts
First order of business for Burke will be to trade a future first round pick for Phil Kessel. As he’s aged, he should require fewer picks but Burke still doesn’t do protections on picks, I’m guessing.
Just curious why not Dale Tallon ?? Is he still in the organisation?