Ex-Leafs assistant Brandon Pridham joins Penguins’ front office
Kyle Dubas is bringing another familiar face into the front office of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
According to Elliotte Friedman, former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager Brandon Pridham will be joining the Penguins as a hockey operations consultant.
Pridham, 52, spent 12 years as a member of Toronto’s front office before mutually parting ways with the Leafs earlier this offseason. He initially joined the Leafs organization in 2014 as a special assistant to the general manager under then-GM Dave Nonis. When Dubas was hired as Toronto’s 17th GM in 2018, Pridham assumed the role of assistant GM, where he remained until March 31 of this year when became an interim co-GM following the firing of GM Brad Treliving.
In Toronto, Pridham oversaw the team’s analytics department, playing a major managerial role under president Brendan Shanahan as the Leafs succeeded in their mid-2010s rebuild to ultimately reach nine consecutive postseasons.
Pridham’s title as hockey operations consultant in Pittsburgh doesn’t clarify what his exact role will be with the Penguins, but according to Friedman, he will be in charge of the contract, cap management, and planning duties for the team.
Vukie Mpofu had been the Penguins’ director of hockey operations under Dubas since 2023, but left this offseason to become the Nashville Predators‘ assistant GM under the newly hired Chris MacFarland. According to Friedman, Pridham will essentially take over the vacated responsibilities of Mpofu. Pridham will also take on a mentorship role to younger members of Pittsburgh’s staff.
Pridham will join Jason Spezza and Wes Clark as members of Pittsburgh’s front office that also worked under Dubas in Toronto.
Dubas took over as the Penguins’ GM in 2023, after Pittsburgh failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and parted ways with GM Ron Hextall. Dubas ultimately brought Pittsburgh back to the playoffs last season, though they did lose in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers.
