The Pittsburgh Penguins have named Wes Clark Vice President of Player Personnel. President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas made the announcement this morning.
The Penguins have named Wes Clark Vice President of Player Personnel.
Clark will oversee the club’s amateur, professional and college/European free agent scouting departments and will report directly to Kyle Dubas.
Details: https://t.co/jPKwgZ3lyC pic.twitter.com/5rL458mRMs
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 9, 2024
Penguins Hire Wes Clark
Clark will oversee the club’s amateur, professional and college/European free agent scouting departments and will report directly to Dubas.
Clark spent the last six seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He served as a Player Evaluation Consultant, the Assistant Director of Player Personnel, the Director of Amateur Scouting, and ran the draft as the Director of Player Personnel. Prior to his time in Toronto Clark spent two seasons with the Florida Panthers as an Amateur Scout from 2016-18.
Clark and Dubas worked together with the Maple Leafs a season ago. Dubas left Toronto to join the Penguins in his current role.
What This Means for the Penguins
The Penguins are in an interesting spot. They are an aging team. However, they are still playoff contenders. The team remained in the playoff hunt last season. This was despite trading Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline. Dubas is seemingly trying to walk the tightrope between remaining a contender and bringing in young talent.
Bringing in Clark is a sign that Dubas is focused on bringing in young talent.
“Starting last fall with the addition of Trent Mann as a player development and scouting advisor and the elevation of Andy Saucier to lead our pro scouting department, we have sought to really bolster our player personnel system. Our personnel decisions in this short term will be critical as we seek to add the draft picks, prospects and young players that will serve to add an infusion of young, hungry players to our core,” said Dubas. “By adding Wes to lead the departments directed by Nick Pryor and Andy, along with the valuable experience and wisdom that Trent provides, we have tried to put the Penguins in a strong position to go out and execute on our personnel strategy in the short and long run. Having worked with Wes for many years, I have a deep trust in his ability to identify talent, lead staff, advance our scouting process and methods, learn from mistakes to improve processes and to challenge my own thinking and planning on a near daily basis.”
In his time in Toronto, Dubas was always looking to improve the team long-term. By reuniting with Clark, Dubas will look to repeat that with the Penguins.
What This Means for the Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are losing a key front-office piece in Clark. It will be interesting to see who is chosen to replace him.
The Maple Leafs are in the middle of a key off-season. The team is trying to determine the future of Mitch Marner. Furthermore, the Maple Leafs are trying to build a roster that can make a deep playoff run.
Losing Clark certainly is a roadblock for the Maple Leafs. Time will tell how this impacts the Maple Leafs in the long term.
Main Photo Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
