- Penguins hired ex-Leafs assistant GM Brandon Pridham as a hockey operations consultant, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman
- Pridham takes over Pittsburgh’s contract and cap work, reuniting with Kyle Dubas from their Toronto days
- Read below for what his cap smarts mean with Crosby, Malkin and Karlsson all headed for expiring deals
Kyle Dubas got his cap guy back.
The Penguins are hiring Brandon Pridham as a hockey operations consultant. The former Maple Leafs assistant GM takes over Pittsburgh’s contract and salary-cap work.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman had the report:
Pridham fills the spot Vukie Mpofu left behind. Mpofu recently jumped to Nashville as an assistant GM, and Pittsburgh needed someone to run the cap math.
They landed about the most qualified option out there. Pridham spent 12 years in Toronto’s front office, most of them as the guy untangling the Leafs’ cap sheet.
He worked the contracts for Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. Toronto kept all four under the ceiling while trying to build a roster around them, and Pridham’s fingerprints were on every deal.
Dubas promoted him to assistant GM in 2018, so this counts as a reunion. Back when Dubas ran Toronto, Pridham was one of his most trusted people. Now they are together again in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh has some heavy decisions coming.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both entering the final year of their contracts. Erik Karlsson’s deal also expires after next season, and Kris Letang is signed through 2027-28.
Whether the Penguins re-sign their aging core or start reshaping around younger players like Benjamin Kindel and Egor Chinakhov, they will lean on Pridham to carve out the room. Dubas has stayed busy this summer, from the Nick Robertson signing to the trade market.
He also spent two months as Toronto’s co-interim GM last season after the club fired Brad Treliving in March. Pridham stepped away before John Chayka took over and reshaped the front office, and Pittsburgh moved fast to grab him.
