Penguins/NHL
— MORE FALLOUT FROM THE BURKE/HEXTALL FIRINGS —
— Brian Burke and Ron Hextall lasted just 26 months, a regime that failed to win a playoff series. From management to the head coach, it was just always an odd marriage. Burke-Hextall-Sullivan never matched up with philosophies. Burke early on wanted the Penguins to be heavier and tougher to play against but had constant push back from Sullivan till the end when it came to filling out the roster at the forward position. Hextall wanted to toe-the-line of contending, while also re-tooling which was what the Lemieux Group was intrigued about in hiring Hextall in the first place. That was the big picture play. But that philosophy never matched up with the new ownership or the head coach whose power in the organization is right behind Sidney Crosby’s. This season on the ice you saw contrasting beliefs again between coach and management. All three deserve to eat the failure of the 2022-2023 season.
— There is all the time in the world now to dissect poor move after poor move from this regime but even this ownership group in recent weeks started to hone-in on the obvious problems of evaluating talent. It doesn’t just start and end with the expansion draft debacle that had a domino effect on things. Sources say members of ownership began to take notice of low-priced players like Freddy Gaudreau and Evan Rodrigues not being prioritized and walking out the door.
— A decision to fire Assistant General Manager Chris Pryor was made days in advance of Tuesday’s loss. Decisions on Burke, Hextall didn’t come until the Penguins were eliminated. Hextall was given orders weeks ago major changes were coming under him as the buildup financially of a much bigger analytic department was being put in place under the General Manager whether Hextall was being brought back or not. What to read into this, though, isn’t that it’s a 100% slam dunk Fenway Sports plans to hire an obsessed analytic driven General Manager to replace Hextall. Already getting push back on that theory. There’s just as good of a chance that the next hire is To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
— Fenway Sending Early Signals of Dubas Interest? The league is buzzing about Kyle Dubas and Pittsburgh for a variety of reasons in that there is primed to be some mutual interest between both sides. It’s no secret around the league that Dubas To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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