Few jobs in professional sports come with more pressure—and less security—than coaching in the National Hockey League. Indeed, the average tenure of an NHL head coach is 2.4 years, according to a 2014 study published by Peter Tanner on FiveThirtyEight.
Coaching our Penguins? Given the expectations that throb like an extended hangover in the wake of the ’09 Cup, the pressure to succeed must be suffocating. Falter, even a little, and talk shows and blogs literally explode with critique.
Michel Therrien? Got us to the Finals in ’08. Too gruff, too conservative. Wouldn’t activate the defense. Dan Bylsma? Won 252 games in five-plus seasons, a Stanley Cup and a Jack Adams. Couldn’t make in-game adjustments.
Into the maelstrom stepped Mike Johnston. It was only a matter of time before fans began carping about him, too. Too professorial. Looks confused behind the bench. Makes stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin play both ends of the ice. Heck, he wasn’t even our first choice to succeed Bylsma.
You have to feel for Johnston, who left behind a powerhouse program with the Portland Winterhawks that he’d built from scratch to test the uncertain coaching waters of the Steel City. At times, he must’ve felt like Captain Bligh on The Bounty. Especially on the heels of last season’s nightmarish collapse.
Things went from bad to worse this fall when the Penguins stumbled to an ugly 0-3 start. Despite a revamped lineup that included sniper Phil Kessel, the team couldn’t buy a goal. Or a win.
Fingers were pointed squarely at Johnston. When the club jetted to Nashville on October 23 following a dismal 4-1 home loss to Dallas, his fate seemed all but sealed. Rumors swirled that the 57-year-old native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia soon would be replaced.
Talk about having one foot on the end of the gang plank and the other dangling in mid-air over a shark-infested sea.
People crumble under such pressure.
Johnston responded. With the vultures circling overhead the embattled skipper took charge and righted the ship. He moved boldly and decisively, shifting Kessel to Malkin’s wing. He continued to reinforce his puck-retrieval system while demanding defensive-zone coverage and accountability from everyone—including the stars. From his perch behind the bench he exuded a zeal and sense of command that became infectious. The team began to win.
Two weeks later? Comparatively speaking, the Pens are sitting pretty. They’re 9-5. Good for third place in the tough Metropolitan Division. They won six in a row (and nine of ten) until the tank ran dry against a youthful and rested Calgary squad during the final game of a grueling swing through western Canada.
Does this mean MJ’s the man to lead the Penguins to the Promised Land?
There’s a not-so-small matter of sagging superstars Crosby and Kris Letang to contend with. Ditto an underachieving power play. So the jury’s still out.
This we know. Johnston can rally the troops.
I don’t like coach Mike, but watching other games this early season, all the games are boring. Teams are more worried about not letting the other team score than scoring themselves, and it makes this era of hockey boring.
Hey pen’s 4ever,
I’m with you about the games being boring. I know I’m going off on a tangent, but I especially miss the physical element that seems to have all but evaporated. At least when our Penguins play.
Heck, I remember back even a few years ago when the Pens and Flyers would square off. The action…and atmosphere…was electric.
It isn’t like that anymore.
Still not a fan. The Pens went on a very similar streak last year just to end up barely making the playoffs. My other big problem is how boring the games are. They have three of the most dynamic players in hockey and I feel like I’m watching the old NJ Devils trap every night. The end of the games are exciting because they are always close, but the rest of the game is horribly boring. The system may or may not pay off if they make the playoffs, but relying on Fleury every game, things can go awry fast. Tonight’s game against the Habs will be huge in either cementing or swaying my opinion of him.
I hear ya, Phil.
They’ve raised winning ugly to an art form. Pretty, it ain’t. But they do keep putting up W’s …
Hey Rick,
I watched the Habs game last night and like most of the games this season they are indeed boring as Phil said….and disorganized.
There is a disconnect between the defense and the forwards.They miss passes,off sides,icing the puck.Not pretty to watch.
The Letang-Cole defense pairing has been a failure.Ian Cole is a good d man as a 5-6 pairing.He is not at 1-2 pairing.The TV media last night mentioned that except for Letang, the Pens D-Corps is very questionable at best. It shows.Secondly they mentioned the PP. With 43 million dollars worth of talent on the ice,they said it appears that the Pens are not getting their moneys worth.I agree.
The question I have is, What is the true upside for this team? Last year we started hot,but as the season went on the team’s real weakness began to show.Other teams,started slowly but as the season went on they got a lot better and come April they were Cup ready. We were not.The last day of the season we needed to beat the weakest team in the league just to get into the playoffs. We finished 19 th in scoring. 19TH ! With Crosby and Malkin playing !
Makes you wonder ?
Hey Jim,
You asked the magic question: what’s this team’s upside?
Wish I had a clue. Despite their record and recent success the Pens still look awfully disjointed at times. I think Mike Milbury commented on their lack of flow during last night’s NBCSN telecast.
In the team’s defense, they are basically a brand new team. And it does take time for pieces to fit. Still, you wonder when (or if) they’ll really jell. Or, if as you suggested, we’ll be witnessing another fade down the stretch.
Regarding the D? I agree … the Letang-Cole tandem isn’t working out at all. While it’s hardly his fault, Cole’s in way over his head on the top pairing. In a (Penguin) perfect world you’d team Tanger with Maatta, who has some Paul Martin in his game.
I’d be hesitant to split up Lovejoy and Dumoulin…they’ve shown decent chemistry. But Cole and Scuderi have been a disaster whenever they’ve been paired up in the past. So what do you do?
Still wish we had an Andrew Shaw-type forward and an aggressive defenseman to light a fire under the team and provide some spirit. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll ever have guys like that … at least not under the current regime.
What do you do Rick ? Trade goalie Matt Murray and Beau Bennett for a young left winger with some size,talent and speed.( To play with Crosby ). A lot of teams are in need of a future Goalie.Depending on the player coming back, you may have to substitute Dave Peron in lieu of Bennett. Especially for Cap reasons. Secondly,trade defense men D.Pouliot, R.Scudrei and some cash for a decent,25 year old, 3-4 mobile d man with size who can move the puck.( Oh yeah, we had one of those named Simon once ). Then we can have Letang / Matta, Cole / ? and Lovejoy / Dumoulin on our defense. Is this perfect. No. I believe we still will need to trade for another large d-man come the March trade deadline to augment Cole and regulate him to the 5-6 position for the playoffs.
The reason I say trade Pouliot is that the Pens do not need another 5’11, 200 pound d-man with health issues. If he was 6’4, 230 pounds and played both ends of the Rink, I would say keep him. Unfortunately,that is not his style of play. It seems that every cup contender has at least two or three good size d-men on their roster. We do not !
What would you do Rick ?
Hey Jim,
I like your thinking. I’d love to get a left wing who combines size, sand, and scoring touch in one package. I’m sure lots of other teams would, too. And an established physical defenseman, preferably with some size.
Again, I’m not sure the Pens would agree. They seem loathe to add anyone with an aggressive streak.
As far as who I’d target? While I’d love to pry Dustin Byfuglien loose from Winnipeg, you’d probably have to give up Letang (and maybe something else) to get him. Not sure the Jets (or Pens) would do it. Nor is it a lock that the Pens could re-sign Big Buff if they did swing a trade.
While we’re talking the Jets, I’ve always liked Andrew Ladd. Again, pricey. And I’m really not sure the Pens have anyone to offer in return. While Perron’s playing better, he’s hardly lighting it up. Ditto Bennett.
In the end, the Pens might be better off targeting young up-and-comers rather than guys in their late 20s or early 30s. That would be more in line with what they can afford and what they have to offer that other teams might want. Matt Murray and perhaps Pouliot as you suggested, although I hate to give up on the latter just yet. Obviously he’s had some issues. But he does possess a ton of skill. And he could be at least a partial answer to our power-play woes down the road. Especially with Gonchar on board to mentor him.
A reality I think we need to face. Even though he’s been surprisingly effective (plus-9), nobody’s going to trade for Scuderi. Other teams, I’m sure, are well aware of his limitations. At his age, I can’t imagine anyone agreeing to take on his contract.
Hey Rick,
I feel for the guy.A lot of the times it is not the Coach’s fault for an under achieving team.Usually it’s the GM or the President of the Team that has created a difficult situation where by a Coach simply does not have enough talented players or the resources to be able to compete properly for a Cup.
Of course it is much easier to fire a Coach than a GM or a super star player with a no trade clause, or the mighty Team President. In Pittsburgh’s case the Coach seems to be blamed for everything. Even when the owner’s are trying to sell the Team and leave for greener $$ pastures.( pardon the Pun ). I really feel sorry for the situation that Coach Johnston is in.
Hey Jim,
Good points as always. Especially the one about a coach being somewhat limited by the players and talent level he’s given to work with. While a good coach can make a difference to a certain degree, he’s not going to turn … say … the ’83-84 Boys-of-Winter Penguins into a Cup champion.
Even though my article was meant to be complementary, I’m still not 100% sold on Johnston as coach. He’s got the team playing a system, and it’s helping them win games. Yet at the same time, his stars are languishing.
Especially Crosby. Since a 5-point game versus Buffalo last November 8, he’s got 23 goals and 67 points in 78 regular-season games. While it’s hardly horrid production, it’s nowhere near what we’ve grown to expect from him. How much of the drop-off is due to adhering to a system vs. changes in Sid’s game or a decline in his abilities? One can only guess.
Kind of ironic, in a way. Back when we were scoring tons of goals playing fire-wagon hockey under Bylsma, we all (or at least I) bemoaned the team’s inability to play defense and the lack of structure. Now that MJ’s put structure in place and has them playing decent team defense? We want more offense.
I guess we’re never satisfied …