"Dubas loves his former Leafs" "Hand us the cup already": Fans react as Penguins name ex-Leafs' scouting director Wes Clark VP of player personnel

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins posted on their X, formerly Twitter, account that they have hired Wes Clark as their new Vice President of Player Personnel. This announcement came from the team's President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Kyle Dubas.

NHL fans reacted to the news on X.

"Just hand us the cup already, one fan tweeted.

"Dubas LOVES his former leafs," another fan tweeted.

"This guy was the decision maker at the draft for the Leafs? I fail to see how that's a good thing for the Penguins," one X user tweeted.

"Hahahaha Dubas is running the Penguins into the ground," one fan tweeted.

"fully prepared for a leafs return to basement dwellers lookin for the next matthews," a fan tweeted.

"The only guy in leaf management that actually earned his paycheque," one fan said.

Toronto Maple Leafs' former scouting leader Wes Clark joins Penguins

Wes Clark began playing hockey at the University of Maine, competing for four seasons in collegiate hockey. Dubas mentioned the recent additions of Trent Mann and Andy Saucier to the scouting team.

“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," Dubas said (via NHL.com).

He pointed out the importance of these personnel decisions for the team's future success:

"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.”

Dubas is confident in Clark's ability to improve the scouting process.

"Having worked with Wes for many years, I have a deep trust in his ability to identify talent, lead staffs, 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,” Dubas added.

Clark's tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs spanned six seasons before his move to the Penguins. His roles included Director of Player Personnel and Director of Amateur Scouting, alongside positions as Assistant Director of Player Personnel and Player Evaluation Consultant.

Earlier in his career, Clark contributed to the Florida Panthers as an Amateur Scout and the Soo Greyhounds as Director of Player Personnel and Development.

The Penguins believe Clark's leadership will bring new insights to scouting and player development. They aim to add young and ambitious players to their team.