Penguins Primed for a Freefall

The disintegration of our Pittsburgh Penguins has begun. By my unofficial time table, a season or two early.

It isn’t as much a prediction as a statement of fact. With a 1-5-1 record over the past seven games—including a pair of dismal losses to the Bruins—the Pens are hurtling toward the infernal regions of the NHL standings at breakneck speed.

Look out below.

How bad could it get? Pretty bad, if I’m reading the tea leaves correctly. Chained to a puck-retrieval system they’re ill-suited to play, the Pens are in a state of flux. They appear confused and disorganized. They lack size, strength, toughness and flow. Worse yet, they’re fragile—mentally and physically.

You have to feel for Mike Sullivan. On one hand, leading an NHL team is every coach’s dream. But he’s stepped into a nightmare.

It reminds me of 2005-06. Sidney Crosby’s rookie season. Anticipating a black-and-gold resurgence, then-Pens GM Craig Patrick imported a slew of free agents to compliment “Super Sid” and a fellow named Mario. Some pretty accomplished ones, too. Point-man extraordinaire Sergei Gonchar, power forward John LeClair, and former Cup hero Mark Recchi.

The propped-up Pens promptly fell flat, dashing any hopes of a playoff berth. On December 15 Patrick fired coach Ed Olczyk and replaced him with Michel Therrien, who had prodded the Baby Pens to a rousing 21-1-3 start.

Sound familiar? It should. While the names have changed, we’ve experienced almost the exact same scenario a decade later.

Expect similar results, too. The Pens didn’t execute an immediate turnaround under Therrien. On the contrary, the team went a ghastly 4-17-5 during the Montreal native’s first 26 games at the helm.

Lemieux retired. Recchi was dealt to Carolina, where he won another Cup. Youngsters Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen and Michel Ouellet were promoted from Wilkes-Barre to plug the gaps.

After much wailing and gnashing of the teeth, Therrien’s instruction finally took hold. The Pens finished that ill-fated season on a mild upswing.

Sullivan’s facing a similar challenge. While I don’t envision a crash and burn of such epic proportion, it’s liable get ugly. Indeed, Sullivan’s recent comment about teaching the team “the right way” to play has an eerily Therrien-esque ring.

Expect lots of tinkering. Lots of losses, too.

Hopefully, an immediate sag in performance won’t trigger a flurry of desperation deals from GM Jim Rutherford. JR needs to ride out the storm…at least for now.

Sprong Returned to Junior

The Penguins returned forward Daniel Sprong to the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. A second-round pick last summer, the speedy 18-year-old tallied two goals in 18 games while seeing mostly spot duty on the fourth line.

To replace Sprong, the team recalled forward Scott Wilson from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 23-year-old native of Oakville, Ontario led the Baby Pens with 15 goals in 25 games.

Wilson (5’11” 183) made his Penguins debut last season. He appeared in one regular-season contest and three playoff games.