Penguins hire David Quinn as assistant coach

A familiar face is heading to the Steel City.

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins officially announced they are adding David Quinn as an assistant coach.

Arthur Staple of The Athletic originally reported the news on Tuesday.

The opening for another coaching position in Pittsburgh became available when the Penguins parted ways with associate coach Todd Reirden last month after spending the last four seasons with the team.

This is the the second non-head coaching job in the NHL for the Cranston, Rhode Island native. Quinn was an assistant under Joe Sacco during his final season with the Colorado Avalance in 2012-13.

The move comes a little over a month after David Quinn was removed from his last job. The former Boston University product was fired by the San Jose Sharks after just two seasons, which saw the team hang near the bottom of the league standings, ending up with the worst record in the NHL at the end of the 2023-24 season. In two seasons in San Jose, Quinn led the Sharks to a 41-98-27 record.

Quinn was also the head coach of the New York Rangers from 2018 to partway through the 2020-21 campaign, with the team only making it as far as the Qualifying Round during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.

Across five seasons as a head coach in the NHL, Quinn has a 137-185-50. He has also spent a number of seasons at his alma mater, serving as an associate coach from 2004 to 2009, before holding the top job from 2013 to 2018. He was also the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters from 2009 to 2012, when they were affiliated with the Avalanche.