Ray Shero who has looked like a trading genius at times, a Stanley Cup winner and 2013 GM of the year was done in by his abysmal job with the draft, player development and the inability to secure ‘A’ list rental players to contracts.
In Ray Shero’s 8 years of drafting players only 3 have played over a hundred games in the NHL. One of the 3 the Penguins Shero didn’t sign and he went on to sign and is playing for the Kings. The only team with a worse drafting record over that period of time is the Vancouver Canucks who had two. The league average is 6.36 players.
I have no doubt that Ray Shero will land on his feet.
Dan Bylsma who was also rumored along with Ray Shero to be fired this morning will be evaluated by the new GM. Dan Bylsma has won a Stanley Cup, Coach of the year, is the fastest coach to 250 wins in the NHL and finished in first place with 500 some man games last season. His abysmal performance in the post season the last two years has put him also on the hot seat.
This move of firing Shero and keeping Bylsma makes perfect business sense. The Penguins have Bylsma under contract and will pay him either way. He is an option for the new GM, they can keep him if they feel he is the best option or remove him if they find a better one, all without losing a nickel. Bylsma may opt to remove himself from his contract and take on another job in the mean time saving the team millions.
My personal opinion is let the new GM bring in some tough guys and see what Bylsma does, he does have a damn impressive resume.
Coach here–I agree with you, Stu. I have a feeling that we will see lots of changes, big changes, once the new GM is named. And, I don’t think that it will be Botterill….
Hey Coach,
From every account I’ve read, Botterill is considered a strong candidate for the GM vacancy. Apparently, he’s pretty highly regarded in hockey circles.
My concern would be, how much input did Botterill have into the scouting/drafting process? If he was heavily involved, as his resume seems to suggest, and Shero was fired (in part) due to unproductive drafts … you get the picture.
First of what should be many to go and rebuild a Playoff Winning team not just a
regular season WINNER. Time to dump some overpaid talent too in Letang, Fleury, Orpik, and Scuderi. Time to cut loose only penalty killers Adams, Vitale, and Glass. Let’s invest our money in young hungry talent that will play hard like
Gibbons, Megna, and Bennett showed when given a chance
Wow. Of all the possible scenarios, I didn’t see this one coming. I thought Bylsma might go, or both Shero and Bylsma, but not Shero only. I mean, as recently as last spring the Pens were favored to win the Cup.
I guess it was bound to happen. Too much money tied up in 30-something players, and absolutely no forwards in Wilkes-Barre ready to step into prominent roles. The Scuderi deal probably sealed his fate.
Anyway, I wish Ray all the best. He was a first-class guy through and through.
P.S. to my previous post.
I guess it’s a reflection of the extreme passion and sense of expectation we, as Penguins fans, have for our hockey team that the 2013 General Manager of the Year (Shero) has been fired and the 2011 Jack Adams Award winner (Bylsma) is…for the time being…in limbo.
Perhaps we all should reread “Horse’s” article of May 1, “Penguins Fans: Winning the Stanley Cup Isn’t Easy.”
I just hope ownership takes their time, considers what type of team they want the Pens to be going forward, and make a wise choice for their next GM.
Disco Stu here – In my opinion, Dan must go, Jason Botteril must not be given the GM position, and pretty much the entire coaching staff with maybe the exception of Jacques Martin must go too. It’s time to clean house otherwise, it’s meet the new boss, same as the old boss. There’s a laundry list of players that probably shouldn’t be brought back either
Nope, only Shero has been fired. Bylsma is still on payroll pending review by the new GM.