Brian Burke Remains a Key Figure in Penguins’ Future
The future of the Pittsburgh Penguins general manager role remains in the hands of Brian Burke.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are dancing a delicate line as the NHL regular season draws closer to its end. They sit in a playoff spot but are much less secure than seven days ago.
With the team falling short of expectations, many in the Penguins fanbase have grown tired of the on-ice product and have begun calling for general manager Ron Hextall's job.
"Fire Hextall" chants have echoed throughout PPG Paints Arena on multiple occasions, and questions have begun to rise about new owners, Fenway Sports Group.
However, one name missing in all the discourse surrounding the Penguins is their President of Hockey Operations (POHO), Brian Burke. Burke was hired in tandem with Hextall in 2021, becoming the first solo POHO in franchise history.
While many are pleading with Fenway Sports Group to intervene with the current hierarchy of the front office, maybe they should be looking to Burke instead.
FSG manages several multi-million dollar properties, including Liverpool FC of the Premier League and the Boston Red Sox of the MLB. Meanwhile, Burke was hired as the intermediary between Hextall and former Penguins CEO David Morehouse, acting as Hextall's direct superior.
FSG retained Burke in the same role, placing him as the middle rung between ownership and their general manager on the organizational ladder. Therefore, any question about Hextall's job security will seemingly go through Burke, which may not be good news for the "Fire Hextall" faithful.
Brian Burke has an extensive history of remaining loyal to his guys once he gets them into the organization. He spent 15 years as an NHL GM, splitting his time between Vancouver, Anaheim, and Toronto. Burke fired two head coaches in that time.
Mike Keenan was fired from the Vancouver Canucks halfway through Burke's first season as a GM in 1998. In 2011, Burke infamously extended the contract of his longtime friend Ron Wilson while operating as President and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs despite a string of losing seasons.
Wilson was fired three months later due to the continued struggles of the team and a growing public outcry for Wilson's firing, forcing Burke's hand in March of 2012. Burke replaced Wilson with Randy Carlyle, who served as head coach of the Anaheim Ducks during Burke's time there years prior.
Burke also held the POHO position for the Calgary Flames from 2013 to 2018, firing incumbent general manager Jay Feaster just three months into his tenure to put into place his hire of Brad Treliving.
Before signing on as POHO, former owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux invited Burke to help with the general manager search that landed Hextall in Pittsburgh. Therefore, Burke had a hand in hiring Hextall by the Penguins, despite being hired himself on the same day.
So with a historically loyal President of Hockey Ops and a team teetering on the brink of missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season, what is the future for the Penguins this summer? What is the point of no return for Ron Hextall in Burke's eyes this season? And will Burke continue in his pattern of remaining loyal to "his guys"?
Only time will tell, but the irrefutable fact is that Brian Burke holds just as many answers to the short-term future of the Penguins as anyone at the Fenway Sports Group corporate offices.
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