Penguins Hire Spezza as Assistant GM

As readers of PenguinPoop are all too aware, I don’t often get things right. But as the old saying goes, a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in a while.

And so it is with the Penguins’ freshly minted hire of Jason Spezza as our new assistant general manager. On Monday I was talking hockey with a Wright’s Gym member who shall go nameless (to protect the innocent). He asked me who I thought might be our next general manager. I mentioned Spezza.

Now before you start wondering if I’ve suddenly been gifted with prescience or developed any special insights, think again. Spezza, who finished his exemplary 19-year NHL career in Toronto in 2022, had served as a special assistant to Kyle Dubas this past season. A post he surrendered shortly after Dubas was fired in May. It was simply a matter of connecting the dots.

I also opined to said member that appointing Spezza to the post of general manager would’ve been a stretch along the lines of Craig Patrick hiring Ed Olczyk to coach the Pens back in 2003 without any prior experience. But I felt the assistant GM position made more sense.

Akin in a way to when we hired current Wild GM Bill Guerin as our player development coach shortly after his playing days were over. Guerin would be named assistant GM in June 2014.

I’d expect Spezza to follow a similar development path.

Another good hire, methinks.

Farewell Stan

Pittsburgh sports media icon Stan Savran sadly passed away earlier this week at the age of 76 following a courageous battle with cancer and diabetes.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Stan. But a dear friend of mine, Kimi Milos, knew him well. She shared what a great guy he was and how he remained upbeat and positive, even during his recent health issues.

Farewell Stan. For all of us who “loved the show” and your honest, straight-on and insightful style, you’ll be deeply missed.