“Welcome back my friends
To the show that never ends
We’re so glad you could attend
Come inside come inside”
To borrow the words of those eloquent musicians Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer.
After a brief absence due to technical issues we are back!
Without further ado I will jump right into it. So, from the files of nobody asked me but… here are my thoughts on what the Penguins NEED to do to hoist the Cup once more. I will start with the most pressing need.
Mike Sullivan, must, needs return to his former self.
Mike Sullivan is the key to the Penguins return to dominance. When Sullivan had the Penguins taking the league by storm with his Blitzkreig, lighting fast, high pressure attack, he didn’t care if a player was making $9.5 Mil or $700,000, if you didn’t play hard or made too many mistakes, you sat. Last playoffs, a $7.25 mil defenseman made mistake after mistake, from the opening faceoff of the Capitals’ series allowing Evgeny Kuznetsov to walk in on goal, uncontested 17s into the series, up to the very end and only got more ice-time and quality ice-time after each mistake. Sullivan has to return to the Coach that didn’t let any sentimentality enter into the equation, but evaluates every situation objectively. (Need I say Ian Cole?)
Team speed was the trademark of those Cup winning teams. Team speed was driven by Sullivan’s willingness to play the young fast kids, a strategy copied and used against the Penguins last year, time and time again, and often times used to the disadvantage of our boys of winter. Unfortunately, Sullivan opted against his own winning formula and sat the kids whenever he had an excuse.
Sullivan also needs to return to being the Coach that presses the right buttons and adjusts to his strategy and line-up. Throughout the Penguins’ Cup runs, between games or periods, Sullivan tweaked his lines, defensive pairings, and strategies to out coach his opponents. Last playoffs, Barry Trotz out-coached Sullivan. Sullivan doggedly held to his ineffective line combinations and defensive pairings.
With the team suffering from their well-documented, well-discussed lack of secondary scoring, the now departed, much maligned Conor Sheary, pulling his second straight play-off disappearing act, got regular ice-time, while a rookie, CORSI giant got press box time. Sullivan didn’t even shake up the lines when the Brassard – Kessel combination fell flat.
However, I for one, am not going to blame the forwards completely for the lack of scoring. It can get extremely hard for 3 players to try and get the puck through 6 opposing players. There is a very good reason why there are so few Short Handed Goals scored. When the other team has more players than you do, you won’t score that often.
Yes, I am maligning, the Penguins’ defense. The only defenseman on that squad last year that took on the Capitals that had a heavy enough shot to eventually force the Capitals’ defense to play the full defensive ice surface was Jamie Oleksiak. Kris Letang takes too long to get his shot off, and even when he does get it off, “he is liable to hit a hog in the next county with it” and not the net. So forwards who have dropped down low to out-man Penguins’ forwards have copious amounts of time to recover to pressure him. Justin Schultz does have and accurate wrist shot but wrist shots do not strike fear into any player, so laying out in front of a wrist shoot is no cause of consternation to anyone. There is no need to rush back out to the point to try and get a stick on the shot rather than a body. Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maatta have shown some flashes of attack but really do not have shots that scare anyone either.
So what did Sullivan do, he gave Oleksiak very little ice time and the stumbling, bumbling Kris Letang tons of ice-time. It doesn’t surprise me any that there was very little secondary scoring.
More than any other position, Sullivan needs to look at his Defense with an open mind.
It all starts from the top. Hockey, unlike most of the other major team sports has remained a team sport and has not dissolved into a superstar spectacle. Although superstars are integral parts to the winning formula, to win a Stanley Cup, you still need a team, and a Coach. Team work and depth and strategy are still as important if a team wants to challenge for the Cup. Sullivan needs to return to his top form.
Hey Coach,
As you say ..It all starts with the man behind the bench.
We are going to need a ” Blockbuster trade ” before the Trade deadline if we
are going to see the Cup in 2019.
I think we can be a top 8 team in our division but we are NOT the favorites to get to the finals ! Caps, Boston,Phili,Bluejackets, Rangers, Toronto,Tampa and with the Wild cards like New Jersey and Detroit…. This is no cake walk my friend.
Plus we do not have the luxury of losing a Crosby or Malkin for an extended amount of time.
It is paramount we have a fast start so that 25 games in to the season we are sitting 3rd in the division and NOT 9th- 10 th, trying to play catch up.
The teams are just too close now.
Watch Toronto and Phili !! They are no fluke and have lots of elite young talent to spare.Meaning come trade deadline they can trade some of their young stars in the minors for an immediate impact player to help them with a Cup run.
We do not have that luxury !!
We will need to trade a roster player.Not good situation to be in.
Great article Coach.
Happy Labor Day !
Jim
Hey Jim,
Given the lack of physical D on this team combined with Phil getting JVR and the way Anders Lee plays for NYI really does cause concern.
Now that that the Caps broke their Jinx, I agree, they can now be a concern. I am not going to panic just yet, at least not until I see how their new coach handles his first 2 months.
NJD does concern me, particularly if the Pens brass keep insisting on playing Letang. Taylor Hall blew his doors off last year and with Letang another year older, I don’t see any cause for hope there.
I am not sure about NYR. A healthy Shattenkirk should improve their O, but like Letang, he may be very exploitable. With Henryk not really king anymore, they should be better than last year but still a bit off mark.
Tortorelli may figure the coaching thing out, but as long as he is in CBJ, I don’t worry that much about them. Add to that the Panarin issue and CBJ should at best bow out in the 1st round again.
Boston, Toronto, and Tampa could all be very formidable road blocks even if the Pens finally give up the ghost on Letang.
Without any roster changes I can still see the Pens make the Division Finals, that is to say, I think the probability is at least 50%. Making the Conference Finals will certainly be harder, but I still think that too is doable, if Sullivan returns to the Sullivan of his first 2 – seasons.
However, even getting to the finals, let alone dreams of winning, I agree, roster changes are necessary. With Letang wearing the NHL website endorsement of 13th best D-man, this is where I would start, and I would pull the trigger on a trade now, before training camp, before more people sober up.
I am not really going to open this can of worms up completely, but like you, I am really concerned more for next year and the year after. The core is aging and will, at some time, not be able to drive the O. The odds that Bellerive, Sprong, Bjorkvist, and Hallander all pan out would probably make even the most reckless gambler cringe.
Well said my friend !!
In all fairness, I would like to see Dumoulin with another defensive partner, I think Shultzy can do it. From my eye test ,they fine together and they handle it well. Pens D look solid and fine .
Penguins need 2 right handed defenseman. Maybe Justin Faulk. 4 million contract. He’s young . Carolina might trade him since they got some Flames defense and rebuilding their team. Dumoulin deserves to shine and to do his thing. Justin Shultz as well. They both can give you offensive and defensive. Dumoulin underrated offensively.
I don’t like Letang on the top powerplay. Shultz looks better there and calm it down Better shot and deception with his skates to fool the goalie. He’s unselfish and don’t do to much that makes the powerplay out of sync.
I think Letang should be fighting for a spot during training camp.
Jack Johnson will be fine during training camp.. Media claim he will be with Shultzy on second pairing. I don’t like it. I would started him solely on the bottom paring (to let him grow without pressure and higher expectations.
I know Guentzel, Hornqvist, Kessel, Crosby, Malkin,Hagelinand Sheahan will be great during training camp.
Matt Murray should be fighting for a spot as well. I think Murray is a good goalie, I don’t he’s durable to withstand this league. He’s injured prone and inconsistent. I understand he had some hard issues last season. I still believe Penguins could’ve have kept Fluery and trade Murray to Vegas. Fluery gives Jarry some veteran experience and Gustavsson in the minors with DeSmith. I’m happy Jarry got a new deal. But I think Penguins need a great backup goalie to give Murray competition.i have a feeling Sullivan will do Karry wrong over Murray. Jarry is the real deal to me. I would try picking Pickard. I won’t sign Murray to a extension. He’s too injured prone.
Penguins are weak on Left Side with Guentzel and Hagelin. Hornqvist, Rust , Sprong should rotate on the Sid’s line. Penguins should get qualified RW there. I’m very happy Sheary will not be saddling Sid’s line. 5 on 5 play will be better for that line. Also I don’t care about Nhl top 20 center list. Geno and Sid are top 2 centers in this league to me . Maybe it’s just me . I don’t care to hear about Mcdavid nor to be his fan. I like Matthews over him .
Brassard deserves a chance .Bad Trade and he’s somewhat overrated.He doesn’t fit. But I would still trade him. Rutherford was going after Alex from Montreal that got me thinking that Media speculation that Brassard was untouchable. Get someone cheap at center to center position deep or right handed defenseman.
I would like to see Phil and Geno together. I understand that people hate it. From my eye test, they are a dynamic duo with Hagelin, Phil just have to commit to defense/ win more battles and consistency. Malkin can’t be careless with puck . Sid 1A center and Malkin 1B center . I love Hags-Hornqvist and Malkin too. Sullivan needs to let that go and setup 4 scoring lines differently. Strengthen the road games wins over 16 games.
He needs to get over it and make 4 scoring lines to be rieady to go deep in the playoffs.
I wouldn’t mind Brass-Sheahan-Kessel. I like a sequence they had together in March vs the Dallas Star .Brassard and Kessel don’t mesh well together. It could be Grant/LW/Cullen/RW / Sprong and Brass/LW/Sheahan/RW/Jimmy Hayes
Sprong should take 3rd/4rd lines to get his feet wet to get chance to grow more
Simon and Resse should be healthy scratches for injuries. Jimmy Hayes is a diamond in the rough, But I think he will be some it factor during training camp. I wouldn’t mind him playing on the third/fourth lines to help Pk and other places to help Penguins win games. He provide some grit for Sid and Guentzel from time to time.
I love Rust , I don’t know about his durable to play my than 70 games with 40-50 points. Hes could be great for all the lines . He does needs to show durability (not On IR)and consistency. ( point wise)
Sheahan is good . He does need to have effective wingers and to create more offensively for his wingers.
Pens need:
2 right handed Defenseman
1-2 Left Wingers
Grit
Youth ( Hungry players)
Penalty Killers (that block shots)
Qualified RW(if Sullivan play games with Hornqvist and Sprong for Sid’s line
Backup Goalie( I love DeSmith and Jarry but I think they will do Jarry wrong because he’s better than Matt Murray)
Sullivan and coaching staff got work to do. I hope find a complete identity , consistency, urgency for his teamPraying that Letang is tradedduring TDL and he’s confine to second pairing and second powerplay. I want Pens to be successful and win the cup without .aLetang again. Penguins can stack two centers on their lines as well during games.
Ifs:
Letang
Murray
Brassard
Johnson
Hayes
Grant
Hey Dee,
Some great thoughts there.
I am going to go thru and preview (my thoughts) on each position so I will hold off a little on that,
What I will say is that, barring injuries, I don’t think the Penguins are in danger of at least getting the last wild card spot, if they stand pat and make no roster changes. However, I agree, this team could get a whole lot better and a whole lot scarier with a couple of moves
Hello the other rick,
Agree.
I can wait to see your thoughts on every position.
Penguins will probably finish second in the division. Some emsuggest they will finish first over the Capital this season.
It doesn’t matter to me . Lol. crazy dreams about them winning the cup without Kris Letang. Sid , Guentzel and Geno ties in points. Also Sid winning two trophy this season.
Hi Dee,
I read a lot of your posts last year and found you to be a very informed fan. This latest post is no exception.Thanks. The Pen’s have some real issues to deal with if they hope to reclaim a Cup this year. Left wing and defense has plagued us for the past 2 seasons. Jamie O was a real steal for us last year and the acquisition of Jack Johnson, I am not so sure. Are we getting the JJ of old or more realistically are we getting an OLD JJ? Either way both of these d men are not 1-2 pairings and therefore the need for debate over Letang once again. The Pen’s need an upgrade over Letang. A true number one d man to play in all situations. Not just the Power Play.
Left wing for me has been a frustration for several years. Hagelin does not score. Skates like the wind, but can not score consistently. ( Funny thing is that was the reason given when he got traded to us in the first place.Big new contract and they traded him to us while they could.}
Jake G. A small converted center man to left winger who has found a niche playing with Crosby. Question Dee? How come he can not play the same way on another line or be our 3rd line offensive center we still crave ? To small and not enough talent !! I reminded of the quote long a go. ” Even a fire hydrant would score 25 goals playing with # 99 !” The same is said with Crosby ! Take Jake G. away from # 87 and he is at best average. Sorry to say average does not win Championships !
Whose next on LW ?? Average or not even average on the 3rd line. Grant may be ok as a 4th liner. 10 minutes a game.
You raise a great point in youth. OTR, ( I call him Coach) and I have for the past 3 years been saying NOT to trade away top draft picks and as a result the talent pool of truly elite players simply does not exist in Pittsburgh. That is the real issue Dee. The Cup team of 2016 had no choice but to call up WB Pen’s to fill in, and they did a great job as we all know. But the talent pool has not been replenished. This will be our Achilles heel this year.
Lastly the league has gotten a lot better and we simply have NOT kept up !
Phili has a much deeper and more talented group of under 23 players than we have. Many other teams as well. We are NOT the power house in the league any more and if we were all truthful to ourselves , last years Pen’s were not as well.
WE NEED SERIOUS CHANGES !
Great article DEE.
cheers
Jim
Hi Jim ,
I always thought Pens Prospects pool is weak and very high risk/ reward over the years. Long term developments. Pens do have some good prospects in WBS. Pens needs to do better with prospects and picks to build around the team in the future.
They can be in win mode and still effectively have players in the wings to be ready to play in this league.
I don’t like to give picks away to teams. I didn’t like that Brassard trade. I think Rutherford should trade Letang with pick and a player to get a decent return.
Like I said, I’m disappointed and conflicted with this team,we should be more stacked against other teams this season. I think D Corp , another nhl qualified backup goalie , more youth/more gritty skilled players to attack, and one more LW would make them better to play hard against. Playing without Letang in the line up. Teams use Penguins speed advantage to beat the Penguins every game like season. They abuse players on their pinching and mental lapses. I will keep open mind about this season.
I always thought Jake Guentzel was better at Playing LW with playmaker abilities to help his center get space on the ice.its a story on why he play center/ LW in college .
Yes.He did ok.
Jake can’t play center because he’s not big enough to withstand going against other centers in the league and he’s isnt defensively sound third line C/great on face offs to take on that role every game. I like Jake a lot . He’s a great player that has great years ahead. I like that he’s bulk himself up and willing to do everything to get better every year. I didn’t have high expectations on him last season. He had to learn to be more effective through Nhl than Ahl in his first season . He’s less prone to injury . He played 82 games. He play good through being tossed around and playing center. Sullivan should’ve never played him at center. I know he needs consistency to be effective player every game.
I don’t like players playing without consistency and tossed around because team failed during off-season to get 3rd line center.
Sidney Crosby is an elite unbelievable talented two way 200ft game player with or without Jake . He’s very unselfish. All – round team guy. IMHO He’s the greatest of all time. Outstanding fiesty leader. Hard worker.
He’s up there with Gretzky , Mario and Bobby Orr . He’s created his own great lane and legacy. He has sacrificed a lot on this team. He’s has never had great #1 wingers to keep up with him nor make him better like he does for them. Wingers to truly play his game and contribute enough with him. He always work hard every game. He make players better. I love Dupi and Kuni. They did great with him. But Sidney Crosby deserved better on his line. Pens organization failed him with wingers .
Sullivan treat his line bad last season. Sullivan and Reechi failed Sidney Crosby last season. He saddle Bas Sheary, use his line like a third line , gave Sid 6 different wingers every game and consistently over shift him in game. Sharks vs Penguins. ( after all -star weekend) ( look back at that game.) I just recently watch it.
Crosby isn’t slow down nor below average center. He needs better effective wingers. He’s the best player in the world. IMO. Jake deserves to play with Sidney Crosby . He earned that spot. Sid deserves him to be there as well.Sid needs Someone like Jake to finish, be playmaker from time time, get him goals, open space for him and to keep up with him. Jake fits there. I politely disagree on them being below average players without one another. Sid didn’t have consistent wingers.
It was a up and down year for them. Sid endured a lot with B2b stanley cup. I expected them to have better season than last season .
Rested and Rejuvenated. I hope they continue to blossom together. Sid and Jake do make each other better. They feeding off each other. Jake seem to understand that he happens to be more defensively sound on the top line against opponents. Sheary is gone.
You can say Kessel is below average as well. He isn’t. It’s all about chemistry and consistency on your line. Players mesh well with one another.
How do you trade Letang?
Thank you. Cheers to the new season. 😉
Hello ,
Man. I thought I was harsh on Letang and the Penguins. I started to be optimistic about the cap space and roster at the end .No. I wrong.
Honestly, I’m very conflicted /dismay with 2018 -2019 Defense Corp. I don’t like that they didn’t actively shopped Letang , bring more grit, new youth and to reshape things up to be more stacked through out the roster.
D Corp is thin and very suspect with Letang.
Penguins missing something going into 2018.
I don’t want Letang on this team anymore . He shouldn’t be on their top # 1 pairing. They needs to move on. I don’t care about Rutherford liking Letang in a article. Someone needs to be honest in their assessment about Letang. He does to much. One trick pony. I don’t wanna read he will get points/ Norris trophy winner. and we should count on him. False. Doughty, Karlsson, Hedman and will be in the Norris trophy race this season.
Ken Dankeyo set it straight that he isn’t a top 1 defenseman. He’s very inconsistent and injury prone. He shouldn’t be on the top 20 defenseman list.
Penguins needs to stop betting on him. Give Shultz and Dumoulin more bigger role to have this team He needs to be traded. Flabbergasted. Rutherford is stuck in the past . Take the blinders off.
I hope Sully put his big man pants on and demote Letang all season.
Oops! I thought the first post failed when I hit a wrong button. Oh, well. They both say the same thing, basically, but I couldn’t remember the first version word for word, obviously.
Hey, tOR!
That’s as good a “square one” as there is. It does indeed begin with the coach. I hope Sully puts on his big boy pants once again and judges solely by performance first. Every player on this team has to earn their spot, from period to period, game to game and from Sid on down.
What I’ve read about Letang this off season isn’t encouraging. He still gets glowing press. Most still tout him as a premier defenseman in the league, and the best on the team. While there was some talk about trimming his minutes, it was mentioned in the 23-24 minute range. I’m thinking 19-20, and keep him off the ice when the game is on the line.
But… I’m sure he’ll be on the ice 24+ minutes per game, and always on the ice when the game is on the line. If not, then, and only then, will I be certain Sully indeed has donned his big boy pants.
— 55
Hey 55,
Agreed, everything I have read regarding Letang is disheartening. I am somewhat okay with NHL.com erroneously calling him the 13th best D-man in the league, that could drive his stock up, if the org would look at him critically and trade him. The thing that has me totally disheartened is how everything coming from the team sounds like they will continue trying the same old thing and expect different results. Last year he had his 5th highest TOI/GP despite how awful he played defensively.
Also, I agree with what you wrote below, for me, every player from Sid on down has to earn their spot every shift, every game, every year. If I am coach, I am getting paid to win, not be anyone’s friend.
Hey tOR!
That’s as good a “square one” as there is. I does indeed begin with the coach. I hope Sullivan puts on his big boy pants again and judges solely by performance. Every player on this squad, from Sid on down, needs to earn their spot. There are no grandfather clauses in hockey, or at least there shouldn’t be.
What I’ve been reading about Letang doesn’t give much hope anything is going to change. Many still tout him as one of the premier defensemen in the league as well as the best d-man on the team. There was mention of trimming his minutes, but merely to the 23-24 min. range. I’m thinking more like 19-20, and I certainly don’t believe he’s a “premier” defenseman in the league, or even the best on this team. Maybe six or seven years ago I’d grudgingly agree that was the case. Not any more. But, then, I can’t get past thinking what the team could do with that $7 mil.