From the “better-late-than-never” department, the Pittsburgh Penguins relieved Michel Therrien from his head coaching duties in the middle of the Pens playoff push. Replacing Therrien will be interim head coach Dan Bylsma, who has spent the last 2 season as a coach for the Penguins AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
In his two seasons with the Baby Penguins, he helped lead the minor league team to a 1st and 2nd place finish in their conference. Last season as an assistant coach, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton made it all the way to the Calder Cup Finals (AHL’s playoffs) before they were finally defeated by the Chicago Wolves.
Meet the new Pittsburgh Penguins boss
Even though he’s extremely new to this coaching thing, Bylsma has proven that he has what it takes in the minors to get the most of out his players. In fact, many that knew him during his playing days always thought he had all the makings to be a coach when his playing career was over. Well, despite his relative inexperience, it looks like his time is now. The Penguins will be fighting for their playoff lives over the last month and a half of the season. If the new coach is unable to right the ship, not only will it be hard for him to keep the job on a permanent basis—but the players will have a lot of explaining to do. From Stanley Cup Finals to out of the playoffs is never solely a coaching problem. It’s a players’ problem. It’s a motivation problem. And maybe even a self-pride problem.
At this point, I doubt that most of the Penguins fans care who Dan Bylsma is. With the struggles the team has endured for most of the season and his questionable solutions to ongoing problems (Pascal Dupuis on the #1 line, etc), as far as the fans are concerned, the door better not hit him on the way out. The game on Valentine’s Day was probably the last straw—6-2 losses to the Maple Leafs are the ultimate wake-up call. But it wasn’t just that the Penguins lost in Toronto, it was how they lost to the Leafs. If ever a team quit on their coach, this was it. You can say what you want about how Ray Shero handled this entire situation, but at least he had the common sense to release Therrien when the players stopped playing for him. He could have been stubborn (as GM’s often are) and stayed the course with a coach that it seemed like he WANTED to keep for the remainder of the season. He pulled the trigger on a move that needed to be made—so you have to give credit where credit is due.
When comparing this year’s team to last years, it’s important to remember that the personnel isn’t the same. Over the off season, the Penguins management was not able to resign Marion Hossa or Ryan Malone. The Penguins miss Malone’s grit down low more than his 27 goals and 51 points. The team obviously misses the edge that he played with last season (clearly a contract year). But the obvious loss from last year’s Finals run was Marian Hossa bolting for the Red Wings. Not only did they lose his 2-way game and pure scoring ability, but it’s important to remember that they lost a couple of young players when they mortgaged part of their future for a run at the Cup. No one questioned the trade last season when Hossa came over from Atlanta, but now with him gone and the Penguins lacking in depth on the wing, don’t you think they’d want Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen on this team? It doesn’t matter WHO the coach is, they could use some young skill on the wing.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko were the major pieces that were designed to replace the people they lost. I didn’t need to watch the season unfold to know that wasn’t going to go well. Their other big off season move was to keep Brooks Orpik in a Penguins sweater after his strong play in the playoffs last season. While the play was good for their Cup chances, it absolutely killed them at the bargaining table. I doubt they wanted to pay him over $20 million for the duration of his contract.
The Penguins power-play could have used him all season
Another thing that led to Michel Therrien’s demise was the injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney earlier this year. Gonchar injured his shoulder in the first preseason game of the season and didn’t return to the line-up until this week. Similarly, the Penguins other premier offensive-minded blueliner, Ryan Whitney has only played in 25 games this season. Judging by the minus -15 he’s posted thus far, it’s safe to say that he hasn’t quite rounded into midseason form yet. Regardless, the addition of both defensemen should be huge for their power play. Both additions should help the Penguins in their push towards the playoffs—and both of their absences helped push Therrien out the door.
Speaking of the PP, Mike Yeo is the assistant coach in charge of the power play—how he kept is job his beyond me. The power play is 24th in the league at 16.3%. How can a team that has such creative talents like Malkin and Crosby be so low in the league? Hell, if you just let them play with no system whatsoever they could probably throw at least a 16% up there. There’s simply no excuse for that kind of output with the talent they have in Pittsburgh. Therrien is in charge of the team, including the work/suggestions of his assistants; therefore he is directly accountable. But how was Yeo not given the boot at the same time? If he was simply retained to give continuity to Bylsma’s coaching staff, then he’s already being set up to fail. I assume he’ll make it through the season, but I’d be shocked to see him on the staff at the start of next season.
Monday’s game against the Islanders was a game that makes you wonder if the glass is half full or half empty. On a positive note, the Penguins played with a jump and energy that they haven’t played with for a few weeks. Ryan Whitney was able to help he power play cash in on an opportunity and Malkin looked to be rejuvenated as he scored his first goal in 5 games.
However, the pessimists in Pittsburgh will point to the cold truth that the Penguins lost to the New York Islanders—NHL cellar dwellers. No matter how well you play, no matter what kind of strides you make to your own game and no matter how many points you get for a shootout loss, when you’re battling for the last playoff spot, you have to beat teams like the Islanders. Two points are two points and an ugly win is better than a promising loss.
I’m sure that most hockey fans in western Pennsylvania are looking for the quick infusion of energy that some other teams have experienced over the last couple of years. They are probably hoping they can get a boost like Ottawa has this season from Cory Clouston or the Capitals got with Bruce Boudreau last season. Don’t get me wrong, I think Dan Bylsma is the right guy for the job this season and beyond. If the Penguins take on the personality of their new coach, they’ll be a team that puts in effort and heart every game while being defensively responsible. Remember, Bylsma was a 4th liner for both the Kings and the Ducks, yet managed to not only earn a spot on each of the teams but also a leadership role as assistant captain. Mix the Penguins talent with Bylsma’s character and it would be the perfect team. Only time will tell if the players take to Bylsma better than they did with Therrien.
We’ll see if a new coach helps change the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the rest of the season. To be honest, I’m not sure that an attitude adjustment is going to be enough for the Penguins to make up the deficit that they’ve put themselves in. Dan Bylsma can make the players work harder, back check better and be more accountable in all facets of the game—but he can’t fill the holes that are left from last season’s departures. Coaching can only do so much; at some point they have to have the depth on all 4 lines to win on a consistent basis. I liked Dan Bylsma during his playing days, so for his sake I hope they add another player or two—but if I was a Penguins fan, I wouldn’t order my playoff tickets just yet.
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