Penguins fire GM Shero; Bylsma's fate to be decided by next GM

The Pittsburgh Penguins made it official on Friday and fired general manager Ray Shero. In a surprise move, they retained head coach Dan Bylsma, whose fate will be left to Shero's successor.

"We feel it is time to move our franchise in a new direction," Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle said in a joint statement on the Penguins' website. "We share the disappointment of our fans that we have not had success in the playoffs over the past five seasons. We believe that new leadership in the general manager’s office will bring a new approach and new energy, and help us return to championship form."

Penguins assistant general manager Jason Botterill will take over as interim general manager and oversee Penguins scouts as they prepare for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft in late June. 

Bylsma, Pittsburgh's embattled head coach, was retained despite reports that he'd be fired at a press conference on Friday morning. Penguins CEO David Morehouse explained at the press conference that, "The decision is to have a new general manager come in and do the complete evaluation, and evaluate the whole hockey operations department including the coaching staff." 

So Bylsma's fate has been kicked down the road, to be decided on by whomever is hired to replace Shero as Penguins general manager.