On Wednesday Pittsburgh Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle announced they are exploring the possibility of selling the franchise.
During an appearance Thursday on Hockey Central at Noon, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Rob Rossi said the two men have not always been on the same page in terms of hockey decisions.
“Mario (Lemieux) didn’t want to fire (former general manager) Ray Shero but Ron (Burkle) wanted Ray to report to (CEO) David Morehouse,” Rossi said. “Mario didn’t get his way. Mario, to be fair, had backed Ray (Shero), when he retained (former head coach) Dan Bylsma after the (2013) sweep to Boston. Ron pulled his stroke last summer I’ve never seen (Mario) around less than he’s around this year.”
Listen: Rob Rossi on Hockey Central @ Noon
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The Penguins fired Shero from his general manager’s post following the 2013-14 season after the club was knocked out of the post-season by the New York Rangers. Initially, the club held onto Bylsma, but the head coach was dismissed weeks later once the club hired Jim Rutherford to replace Shero.
Bylsma was later replaced by first-year NHL coach Mike Johnston.
Under Rutherford and Johnston, the team struggled, finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 43-27-12 record in the regular season before dropping a five-game series to the Rangers in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Rossi expects even more changes within the Penguins front office once the team is sold to new ownership, which he is confident will happen.
“I don’t think it went this far (hiring Morgan Stanley to gauge their financial prospects) that they wouldn’t be confident to get an offer,” he said. “You’ll see within a year — a new GM, new head coach, new CEO.”
Despite Lemieux’s issues with Burkle, the timing of Wednesday’s news had little to do with that relationship. The two have been looking to liquidate a large part of their equity in the team for quite some time, said Rossi.
“This was (never) an ownership that wanted to make this their life’s work,” he explained. “(Mario) brought Burkle in to keep the team in Pittsburgh… The lottery changed their lives. (Sidney) Crosby changed the franchise that might’ve been destined to move. It brought a new arena. A license to print money in some ways. Burkle told the Penguins going into (their new arena) that he would re-evaluate five years in. That was last summer. Theres a bubble to maximize profit.”
