• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Pittsburgh Penguins (Official Thread)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
BuckeyeMike80;1404057; said:
You have half of your cap on a crumbling team to 4 players. I got the numbers wrong, but something is going to change with Pittsburgh.
Click to expand...

Actually, you got the numbers wwaaaayyyy wrong. The Wings have nearly the same amount commited to 4 players, $26M + , and that's not counting Hossa and the Mule. Sure, While it's not a sure thing the Wings will win it this year, it has to be the closest a team can be to a gimme. The only way they lose is if the goaltending blows up. Doubtful though, with that defense.

Anyways, I've got no problem with the money they're paying Crosby and Malkin. The other core players all have decent contracts that make them easier to move if necessary. Staal needs to play center and he's not going to replace either one of the top two, which makes him the most likely forward to be moved. I love him but he's the most likely to be dealt. I'm not a big fan of Whitney so he's another likely to be dealt before his contract is up.

You're right, something is going to change, but no way Shero trades for another rental like Hossa last year, unless an extension is agreed upon.

Oh, and I still hope Hossa gets a staph infection in his knee. Prick.
 
Upvote 0
The Pens rolled the dice last year with the Hossa trade and it ultimately burned them. They traded depth to get Hossa and he left them. Toss in some injuries on defense and you end up with a team barely over .500. I didn't like the Hossa trade and I hope they don't make a similar one this year. Rumor has it Martin St. Louis is being considered, but it would drain what's left of the once deep farm system.

The Pens need to manage themselves like the Minnesota Twins. They can't afford to trade several young guys for vets heading for free agency. It was a dumb move, and the coach paid the price for it.
 
Upvote 0
3074326;1409163; said:
Pittsburgh Penguins fire head coach Michel Therrien - ESPN

I'm not summarizing these articles because the titles are saying it all.
Click to expand...
Warning: Language (Delete the spaces after it pops up)

Edit: Adding my explanation.

I'm supposed to sympathize with the guy that can't keep a winger on Crosby's line for more than two games? I'm supposed to sympathize with the guy that the players hated?

Here's the truth about Therrien: Player development guy. That was his great ability. He developed talent, to his credit. When adjusting lines became as easy as Hossa-Crosby-Anyone, Malone-Malkin-Sykora, he looked like a genius. But, when the going got tough, he couldn't cut it. The team has no energy. The team has no heart. We never send an enforcer out. We don't play team defense anymore. Therrien's only actual gift gameplay-wise was the ability to have his players use the cycle, and they haven't done it enough all season. They aren't playing strong hockey.

Yeah, sure. Satan and Fedotenko are Shero's fault. Shero deserves a lot of the blame as well. He's the guy that signs the third line center to a $4mil a year deal after signing Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury to long term deals. I get it. Shero's an idiot.

The bottom line is that the team was still underachieving. Even without Gonch and Whitney for most of the season, the Pens should have been able to play team defense. They were one of the best defensive teams in the East last year. Go luck up the stats. They are on my side. Therrien, the guy that is supposed to stress defense and team toughness, sucked this year.

He will never be a Stanley Cup-winning head coach. The Pens need an actual gameday head coach. Developing talent isn't good enough at this point. Gameday is what matters. I thank him for his years of service, but I'm glad he's gone.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Fired coach Therrien predicts Penguins will make playoffs

PITTSBURGH - Michel Therrien says he saw improvement in the Pittsburgh Penguins' play of late and didn't expect to be fired as head coach.
Therrien was dismissed Sunday night, after his team fell apart during a Saturday night loss to Toronto. General manager Ray Shero replaced him with minor-league coach Dan Bylsma.
"We had been playing better the past three weeks, I thought," Therrien said Monday. "I was really encouraged by our team's attitude and overall defensive play. I thought a (3-1) home stand was a sign we had turned the corner."
Therrien predicted the Penguins will make the playoffs under Bylsma, who, like Therrien, was the coach at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) before being promoted to Pittsburgh.
Bylsma lost his debut Monday afternoon, 3-2 in a shootout at the lowly New York Islanders. The Penguins remain 10th in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Florida and Buffalo for the eighth and final playoff spot.
There were rumblings for weeks that Therrien might be fired despite coaching the Penguins to 94 wins over the past two seasons, including a trip to the Stanley Cup final last year. But Therrien said he was surprised when Shero gave him the news on Sunday.
"I never saw it coming," Therrien said. "That conversation (with Shero) took about five seconds, to be honest."


continued...
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
What the pens have to do is trade both Whitney/Staal for around the same kind of talent. Just even swap type of deals. One player for one player! Not a package deal of tons of young talent like we did last year to get Hossa. Now i'm in the opinion that last years trade was genious. Shero had no idea that he wasn't going to be able to resign Hossa. If we resign Hossa then the pens are in first place right now, and everyone is talking about the genious that is Shero.

Shero then Gaffed by thinking Satan (who I thought would pan out), and Fedetenko. Shero waited till deep in the free agency to do anything (Thank you Mr. Hossa) and was stuck wtih scrub possible 3rd liners instead of guys like Michael Ryder etc.

I wouldn't even mind trading Whitney/Staal combined for one player such as Dany Heatly or someone along those lines. Maybe sign someone in the 6 million dollar talent level (Staal/Whitney make 8mil a year combined), and that way you're getting an exceptional winger as well as saving money for free agency.

I'm starting to get the feel the pens won't do much of anything, and will instead try to get there as the team is. IF this is the case they need a major face lift this offseason.

Trade 3 of the 9 defenseman they have, and for god sakes get rid of Staal he contributes nothing on offense. He's built to play center and with Sid/Malkin there he won't get any meaningful minutes in his true position.
 
Upvote 0
BuckeyeMike80;1411018; said:
:tibor:

FA started July 1st. Hossa signed with Detroit July 2nd. :slappy:
Click to expand...
Some Pens fans still haven't gotten over it. Sorry for our poor manners.

Anyway, a 3 game points streak. Wow. Maybe this dude knows what he is doing. Or maybe we are the NHL's version of the Phoenix Suns, who are also surging since hiring a new head coach but will probably fall back down to Earth after a bit.

At least Byslma wants the Pens to use their strengths, which is the ability to fun-and-gun. For once, I feel like the Pens are playing Pens hockey again.
 
Upvote 0
3074326;1413946; said:
I'm not over it. [censored] Marian Hossa. Hard to go from my favorite player to my least favorite player, but this asshole managed to do it.
Click to expand...
I'm more upset with Ray Shero than Marian Hossa. The talented have the right to do what they want to do. Shero is the one that couldn't convince Hossa that this was the place he wanted to be. The fault is our own. And, I still like watching Hossa play hockey, even if it is a bit bittersweet. Guy really knows how to work around the boards.
 
Upvote 0
daveeb;1413950; said:
I'm more upset with Ray Shero than Marian Hossa. The talented have the right to do what they want to do. Shero is the one that couldn't convince Hossa that this was the place he wanted to be. The fault is our own. And, I still like watching Hossa play hockey, even if it is a bit bittersweet. Guy really knows how to work around the boards.
Click to expand...

He is a ton of fun to watch. I still hate him. :p
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top