The Pittsburgh Penguins’ first missed playoff berth since 2006 came at a cost for the management team.
The Penguins announced Friday that general manager Ron Hextall, president of hockey operations Brian Burke and assistant GM Chris Pryor were fired.
Hextall and Burke had been hired in February 2021 after the surprise resignation of Jim Rutherford. Hextall kept the Big 3 together last summer by re-signing Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to stay with captain Sidney Crosby, but the team had cap issues and lacked scoring depth beyond the top two lines. The re-signing of Jeff Carter and Kasperi Kapanen didn’t pan out and neither did trade deadline moves.
The Penguins still had a chance to clinch a playoff spot by winning their final two games but lost to the bottom three Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets. They made the playoffs in Crosby’s second season, a run that included three Stanley Cup titles.
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That 16-season playoff streak had been the longest active one among major North American sports.
“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,” Fenway Sports Group’s John Henry and Tom Werner said in a statement.
The Penguins said director of hockey operations Alec Schall would be part of the transition team and be assisted by head coach Mike Sullivan until new managers are hired.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Penguins’ Ron Hextall, Brian Burke fired after missing NHL playoffs