Penguins Shove GM, Coach Out in Cold; Patrick Takes Over

The Penguins fired General Manager Tony Esposito and Coach Gene Ubriaco today and hired Craig Patrick, the former New York Rangers executive, as Esposito’s replacement and interim coach.

“We feel very confident Craig Patrick will be able to lead this team in the direction we would like to see it go,” Eddie DeBartolo Jr., son of Penguins owner Edward DeBartolo, said at a news conference.

Esposito was in his second year, and Ubriaco, a former minor league coach and longtime Esposito friend, was hired last season. He was the third coach in three years for the Penguins, in fifth place in the Patrick Division at 10-14-2.

This time last year, the Penguins were 10-11-5 but reached the Patrick Division finals, where they lost to Philadelphia in seven games.

Paul Martha, Penguins’ general counsel who ran the franchise until Esposito was hired, said disgruntled Penguins fans asked the DeBartolo family to make some changes to turn around the struggling franchise.

“A lot of people were calling Youngstown,” where the DeBartolo family is based, Martha said. “Obviously, there was a lot of unrest among the fans.”

Martha said the DeBartolos began discussing the need for a change about six weeks ago but only recently decided to fire Esposito and Ubriaco.

He said the owners were disappointed with the team’s lack of effort.

“We expected more from our players, and over and over again we didn’t get it,” he said. “The players voiced concern about that themselves.”

Patrick is a member of the Patrick family, for which the NHL’s Patrick Division is named. He was the vice president and general manager of the Rangers from 1980 to 1986, when the team made the playoffs every season and reached the semifinals twice.

He played for Calgary, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minnesota and Washington during his eight-year NHL playing career.

The last two years he has been director of athletics and recreation for the University of Denver.

Patrick said the Penguins first contacted him two weeks ago.

“I wasn’t sure just how serious they were. I didn’t know what to expect. Nothing really happened” until Monday, he said.

He said he wants to look at his staff and players before he names a new coach.