It didn’t take long for former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas to figure out what the next stage of his professional career would be. Mere weeks after stating he’d probably either stay in Toronto or take some time away from hockey, he’s just been hired as the new president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

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Kyle Dubas Joins Penguins as President of Hockey Ops

The Pittsburgh Penguins made the announcement official on Thursday morning. Pittsburgh is a club that has suddenly fallen on hard times despite a star-studded lineup. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and during the Sidney Crosby era for that matter. They also haven’t won a playoff round since 2017-2018.

Following this past regular season, both president Brian Burke and general manager Ron Hextall were fired.

In his post-season press conference after Toronto was eliminated by the Florida Panthers, Dubas admitted that the year had been “taxing” on him and his family. “You won’t see me next week pop up elsewhere. I can’t put my family through that after this year.”

He wasn’t wrong. Those words were said on May 15. Today being June 1, it took two and a half weeks.

Dubas’ statement on joining the Penguins:

“On behalf of my family, we are thrilled to join the Pittsburgh Penguins organization and all of the incredible people across Fenway Sports Group. I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity that lies ahead of me.”