Penguins' Kyle Dubas at it again with new contract extension

Kyle Dubas, who was the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs for several years until his termination this offseason, has since resurfaced with the Pittsburgh Penguins as their president of hockey operations. He replaces Brian Burke, who was broomed out of Pittsburgh along with now-former GM Ron Hextall after the team missed the postseason for the first time since 2006.

He's already made a handful of acquisitions for his new club, including 2023 Stanley Cup champion Reilly Smith from the Vegas Golden Knights along with re-signing goaltender Tristan Jarry to a questionable five year contract. And in addition to former Maple Leafs players Andreas Johnsson and Garrett Sparks, he's now brought back a familiar face to Penguins fans. 

Forward Drew O’Connor, who appeared in 46 games with the Penguins last season, has been re-signed to a two year contract worth a total of $1.85 million. 

From the team's official press release: 

"O'Connor, 25, split the 2022-23 season between Pittsburgh and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. With Pittsburgh, O'Connor had his best NHL season to date, setting career highs in games played (46), goals (5), assists (6), points (11) and hits (63). With WBS, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound forward recorded 22 points (8G-14A) in 20 games and was a plus-9.

The Chatham, New Jersey native represented his native country for the first time at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. With Team USA, O'Connor notched three goals, five assists and eight points in 10 games. His three goals and eight points each ranked fourth on the team." 

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