Penguins part ways with assistants Recchi, Gonchar, Martin

The Pittsburgh Penguins will not renew the contracts of assistant coaches Mark Recchi, Sergei Gonchar, and Jacques Martin, the team announced Wednesday.

"We are in the process of conducting a review of our organization because we have underperformed in the playoffs the last few years," general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement. "We just thought we needed to change the dynamic of our coaching staff.

"We have very high standards here in Pittsburgh, and we want to continue competing for Stanley Cups. The message to our fans is that ‘We are not rebuilding, we’re re-tooling.'"

The Penguins finished fifth in the Eastern Conference but were eliminated from the qualifying round by the 12th-seed Montreal Canadiens in four games, prompting Rutherford to promise change within the organization.

Pittsburgh also had a highly disappointing playoff showing in 2019, having been swept by the New York Islanders in Round 1.

All three assistants were with the Penguins for the club's back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

Recchi joined Pittsburgh - where he played for seven seasons during his Hall of Fame career - in 2014 as a player development coach. He became an assistant coach in 2017.

Gonchar also had a lengthy playing career with the Penguins before joining the club as a coach in 2015 and was in charge of the club's defense.

Martin was a head coach for four different teams from 1986-2012 before joining the Penguins as an assistant in 2013.