The Pittsburgh Penguins have been under the management of Ron Hextall for the past two years and it has been a bonfire the whole time. 

Two years ago the Penguins lost in the first round of the playoffs again, and this year they were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in 16 years. 

Hextall, who made some decent moves, also deserves the blame for some of the worst moves in franchise history, like the contract for Jeff Carter and trading for Mikael Granlund. Some even jokingly thought that Hextall was against the Penguins from the start due to his last job with the Flyers organization.

Naming Kyle Dubas the president of hockey operations should turn things in the right direction.

Dubas had been the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs for five years, and he brought them their first playoff series win since 2004. He also brought in key pieces year after year for the team with guys like John Tavares and Ryan O’Riley.

The biggest move Hextall made was for Rikard Rakell and that was about it for players who made a big impact for the Penguins 

Dubas also is the second-youngest top hockey exec in the NHL as of right now. Younger ideas and philosophies should be now implemented in the team’s next few seasons to prepare for the eventual rebuild to come after the Big Three for the Penguins retire 

If he were judged solely on playoff performance in Toronto, Dubas does not look so great. But it should not be on him that Toronto’s stars went cold in big moments. 

Dubas should make this Penguins team younger and the future bright for Pens fans.