Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote about the Pittsburgh Penguins freefall and what it means for head coach Mike Sullivan. Yohe wouldn’t lean one way or the other when it comes to Sullivan’s future but did concede that the Penguins’ current predicament is ripe for a coaching change. However, he doesn’t believe that general manager Kyle Dubas or Penguins ownership expected the team to make the playoffs this season.
Sullivan has been at the helm of the Penguins since late 2015 and has guided the Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships. That being said, the Penguins haven’t been out of the first round of the playoffs since 2018 and have missed the postseason in each of the last two years. Combine that with their horrific 7-12-4 start to this season, and it has people wondering if a coaching change is in order. Yohe casts doubt on that possibility but does add that if things get much worse in Pittsburgh, it could happen.
In other evening notes:
- TSN’s Darren Dreger spoke on TSN690 radio and mentioned that the Penguins have been heavily scouting the Montreal Canadiens. Dreger wonders if a trade could be brewing between the two sides, adding that nothing is in the works yet, but he does see a potential path to a deal between the two teams. Pittsburgh isn’t in fire sale mode yet, but with so many expiring contracts on the books and the playoffs falling out of reach with each passing game, the Penguins may begin to move players out with an eye toward the future.
- The St. Louis Blues didn’t expect to make a coaching change until Jim Montgomery became available a few days ago (as per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press). Blues general manager Doug Armstrong spoke to the media today saying that the Blues viewed Montgomery’s free agency as an opportunity to grab a top coach in the NHL and improve the team’s prospects behind the bench. The move certainly came as a shock to many but can’t be that surprising given Montgomery’s coaching experience as well as his deep ties to the Blues organization.
The problem isn’t losing. It’s…
A) The number of players who aren’t even trying. They glide. They wave their sticks instead of battling for pucks. No team can win that way.
B) The fact that Sullivan won’t recognize or acknowledge that. If he won’t sit them, hire someone who will.
We’ve been in hail mary mode for awhile. Trying for a coaching change spark is a readily available and easily accessible option to do it again.
It’s not like Sully is the coach you’d want around for a rebuild anyway. Not much to risk.
Just make sure Sid is OK with the next guy and don’t repeat the Mike Johnston debacle.
Not sure I can remember a coach getting a longer leash than Sullivan. Sometimes its just time.
No coaching change is going to alter the basic fact that this is an elderly, tired crew in need of a three-years-overdue rebuild. I agree that in the games I’ve seen, they’ve been slow and unmotivated, and against Utah in particular, it was like watching the HC play an ECHL squad.
“It’s not like Sully is the coach you’d want around for a rebuild anyway.” Agreed. But what’s the point of bringing in a coach with that kind of skill set before management actually *sets out to rebuild the team*? You don’t need that teacher NOW, you need him three years from now, once the draft picks acquired in the unloading are actually drafted.
So the Bruins should tear down now before it’s three years overdue, then? That question was valid before they tanked out and had to fire the coach who made them successful. It’s quite urgent now, right? Don’t want them to become the Pens with less rings.
I didn’t say they should fire Sully and hire the rebuild coach now. I said that firing Sully will not become a regrettable move should it fail to kick start the team as he would not be the right fit going forward either way.
The plan remains the same. It’s just the Erik Karlsson/Ryan Graves/Michael Bunting/Matt GrezeekZjelkejklejlksjzzyk don’t care AT ALL and their apathy is accelerating the timeline.
An honest and accurate assessment cannot be conducted on a team that isn’t even trying.
Sully has to go.
More than any team in sports history, we chew up coaches and spit them out (Scotty Bowman at one point wasn’t allowed at practice when he was our coach). In that context, it was both easy and hard for Sully to become our longest serving and most successful coach.
In doing so, he’s earned a LONG leash. A VERY long leash.
He’s used up all of the rope.
Gold watch and pink slip. It’s just time.
(scritches his head) You’re really big on trying to deflect comments you don’t like, aren’t you. “Whataboutism” run amok.
And yes, you’ve SAID that Sully should be dumped in favor of Bruce Boudreau. C’mon, our attention spans aren’t that short.
It’s not deflection. It’s determining the sincerity of your beliefs. It’s easy when it’s everyone else’s team. Do you believe the same thing when it comes to your’s?
Had the Pens done what you’ve said, I’d be into Year 3 of watching ugly hockey instead of 6 weeks. No thanks. I’ve laid out the timeline and plan. Delay oblivion until you embrace it fully. If, after we fire Sully, we’re still this bad, so be it. But, let’s see.
OTOH, the Bruins are EXACTLY where you claim the Pens were 3 years ago. Worse off, even. Lost Bergeron and Krejci for nothing. So, why do you want to cling to the past when there is no future?
Time to trade Pasta and McAvoy and Swayman while they still have value, right?
Or, for some reason, do you want them to keep trying to win with these players you like (even though it’s increasingly unlikely)?
And, on what planet, is BBQ a rebuild coach?
Yeah, I think he’s about the right fit for us. A guy whose time is probably over, but was great, so…give it another shot, you never know. Fits like a glove, actually.
66- you’re well into year 3 of watching ugly hockey as a fellow Pens fan. It’s just that the apathy has fully set in with the players
The problem wasn’t waiting for three years to do it, the problem was not realizing that through that 3 years they were not even vaguely a contender.
The most important evaluation these front offices make isn’t about other players, it’s about their own roster.
There was no “window”, their ceiling was an 8 seed and maybe a first round upset, they were clearly going no further.
That’s not a ceiling you delay a rebuild for, because every year you delay it is actually 2 years more on the back end. This could have been over already, considering the assets they had.
They could be swimming in young talent right now and considering the 2nd tier of the Metro, they could be looking at grabbing a playoff spot and having some fun with a young roster.
Why does Sid need to be ok with the change? Is this thenPittsburgh Penguins, or the Pittsburgh Crosby’s ?
Yes, the past two years we’ve had to sit through the horror of 81 meaningful games of 82 each year and just barely missing the playoffs.
If that’s ugly, you won’t survive what’s coming.
You need your smugness smacked off of your face.
It’s absolutely been ugly hockey. Calling it anything else is just pure denial. It’s not early 80s/00s ugly, but it’s ugly. They have talent, but not execution. I’ll “survive” just fine. Give me the GenX Pens over whatever this is anyday. At least that team gave a damn.
Good luck with that.
“Give me the GenX Pens over whatever this is anyday. At least that team gave a damn.”
This is exactly right. I gladly watched that awful team. It tried. THIS one doesn’t. I can live with losing.
But to say that they’ve done the same thing the past two years (played lazy, didn’t care, etc.), when they missed the playoffs in Game 81 would be to claim that they were a top tier team and missed because of lack of effort, since mediocre teams can’t be lazy and almost make the playoffs. That’s not what happened.
I never said that it was the same thing. I said it was ugly hockey. Yes, they were much closer to making the playoffs but they failed to execute against some of the worst teams in the league. They’ve been a sloppy defensive team, prone to mental lapses and they take a lot of games for granted. That’s ugly in my book. They’re just much more apathetic now.
Unless we turn things around this year (on paper, this team is a slight bit better than the past two…on paper) that’s probably the best hockey we’ll see this decade.
I would say I feel bad for you as a Canes fan who had to watch 10 years of mediocre hockey lead to no playoffs but mid picks, but… you got 3 Cups so I cant do it lol.
No one should.
I’ve seen 5 Cups and 3 of the top 5 players ever. I’m as spoiled as a fan can be.
I just realize that kind of luck doesn’t last forever or come around as often as it might seem to us here so hold onto it while you can.
It’s very predictable that Sullivan will be the scapegoat, But whoever the hillbillies are that hired Dubas are simply clueless.
That’s the real problem; it starts with FSG. Dubas was just doing what they hired him to do: paper over the cracks and do something, anything, to keep the wins coming Right! Now! It was obvious then and is obvious now that the plan was never going to work, but I wager if he’d started the rebuild back then, Dubas would’ve been pitched on his backside so hard, he’d have bounced to Station Square before he had the chance to blink.
I popped for the Station Square reference.
Heh, as it happens, my first wife was from Pittsburgh, and I spent a lot of time there over the years.
What coach on earth would want to take over this debacle? You have literally no chance to do anything, it’s just going to be a huge stain on your resume.
ESPN just did their Future Power Rankings, using talent under the age of 25, draft picks, farm system as criteria and the Pens were dead last.
This could take until 2030, if not longer.
The only coach in their right mind that would take this job is a coach that has never coached in the NHL before.
Or a tired old coach just looking for another few million to put in his retirement account.