Kyle Dubas makes a power play and fires Penguins coach

Moments ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that GM Kyle Dubas has fired Todd Reirden, the team's associate coach. Reirden was in charge of the Penguins brutal powerplay this year, but this move may be a part of a bigger move by Dubas.

Under the new ownership structure in Pittsburgh, Kyle Dubas is the acting General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, holding a ton of power in the organization. Still, both Dubas and the owners respect the pedigree of head coach Mike Sullivan, who was reportedly adamant about not firing Todd Reirden. On a recent episode of the Daily Faceoff Podcast, NHL insider Frank Seravalli hinted there may be a power struggle happening in Pittsburgh between Dubas and Sullivan. between Dubas and Sullivan.





If there's this much public tension between Dubas and his head coach, it's hard to imagine that Sullivan will stick around much longer. NHL head coaches typically have control or input over their direct staff on the bench, so it's not likely Sullivan will take kindly to this move from Dubas, and might soon be out the door himself if the Penguins don't turn it around.

Still, someone had to pay for the Penguins brutal season this year, and their provenly ineffective powerplay coach is a fine candidate as any. A video surfaced earlier this year of Reirden attempting to draw up a 6-on-5 play, and it's hilariously awful. As the fan recording says, ‘He doesn't know what to do!'


This firing may the first domino to real change coming for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They're not wavering from their commitment to their aging core, and are expected to re-sign Sidney Crosby, but everyone else in the organization must be better to get back into the playoffs before it's too late.