Fixing the Penguins

I got to watch the entirety of the Penguins Playoffs without hearing a word from Mears, Errey, or anyone.  I watched in silence listening to reggae/ska music sitting at a beach bar owned by a guy from Minnesota who just happened to have the NHL package.   Because of my two hour time change, my brother and I even talked him into opening the bar up at 10am on Sunday so we could watch the game.

Sorry I haven’t been reading the blog or comments, but I really wanted to come back and give my opinion without it being swayed by others.  So here it is….

#1)  Mark Recchi.  My all time favorite hockey player.  He needs to go.  My brother dubbed him the “iPad Coach” and I believe that to be a fitting title.  There are plenty of experienced ex-head coaches out there like Guy Boucher or anyone that could fill this position.

Sullivan has a plan and players Kris Letang constantly ignore it.  Tocchet was excellent at getting the players to buy into the system.  Recchi is not.  Think about it.  If one person tells you there is a raccoon behind the dumpster with five legs you would be hesitant to believe it.  If a second person tells you the same thing, you tend to believe it.

#2)  Sullivan is no longer untouchable.  I’ve said it before, two time Stanley Cup winning coach Sullivan has a free pass until he misses the playoffs or gets blown out first round.  While Sullivan is not yet on a short string, there is an ever present string.

#3)  I didn’t look up the stats, but was Matt Murray’s save percentage 0% when the Penguins had the lead?  If it wasn’t it had to be very close.  I realize a couple of those goals were the defenses fault, but at least two of them were not.

The Islanders top goal scorer had 28 goals this season.  Penguins had four guys with more point than the top Islander scorer.  Matt Murray being outplayed by his counterpart is why the Pens lost. Murray wasn’t horrible.

I still don’t understand why DeSmith who had one of the top save percentages in the NHL against the Isles this season wasn’t given a shot.

#4) The Penguins defense are a defense without and identity.  Are the Penguins trying to play defensive or are they trying to all go all out offense?  When you have it both ways you give a lot of odd man breakaways.

#5) Olli Maatta.  The TV I was watching listed Maatta as a healthy scratch and for this I present a graphic.

Olli Maatta, the guy who all year played with whichever defenseman was new to the team learning the system or a rookie, has the #1 playoff +/- in the entire NHL since he came into the league in 2012/2013.   You could present the argument that Maatta is washed up, then I would say he did have the #6 best +/- in the playoffs just last year.

Find a coach that will tell you that playoff experience isn’t invaluable. Maatta had one bad game, bench him for the series?  If I was him I would demand a trade.

#6) Penguins defense vs. the Islanders trap.  The Penguins have 3 roster players that can throw a fast quality stretch pass which just so happens to be the 2nd best way to beat the Islanders trap.  Watching Petterson and Gudbranson throw the puck back and forth to each other 5 times before leaving the zone while the Islanders set up the trap was a lesson in futility.

The Penguins forwards looked stuck in the mud because the Penguins benched one third of the guys that could break the puck out of the zone fast.

#7) Speed and hungry players.  Trotman and Johnson should have been called up and playing if not by the third game, definitely in the fourth.  The Pens players weren’t hungry.  Trotman would have given the Pens a fourth defensive guy that could break them out fast.

#8) I mentioned in #6, the second best way to beat the Islanders trap.  The best way to beat the trap would have been to use a trap of their own, then traded the punches of Crosby, Guentzel, Malkin and Kessel with the jabs of Barzal, Bailey, Nelson & Lee.

#9) The playoffs and building up to it.  Everyone and their mom was so concerned as to who the Penguins would be facing the first round they missed the big picture.  Sullivan barely played DeSmith down the stretch trying to ensure a better playoff spot, which back fired because DeSmith wasn’t ready to be thrown into the playoff fire.

Columbus taking down President Cup winning Tampa in four games should tell you everything you need to know about making the playoffs.  Make sure you make it and have all of your resources ready.

#10)  The future.  I’ve read and heard people say Sullivan doesn’t coach towards a particular players strengths.  He is correct in that regard.  You coach towards a teams strength, not a particular players.  If that player is unable to play the type of game that best fits what is best for the good of the team, then the player is the problem.

The Penguins core is ageing.   The Penguins could go drastic and trade away Kessel, Hornqvist and a go heavy into the free agent market, or they need to switch to more of a defensive game like the Islanders.   Switching to a defense first game the Pens could look to the free agent market releasing Letang and Johnson for a solid defensive defenseman.

Guys I wouldn’t trade no matter what?  Crosby, Guentzel, Malkin & Shultz.

That’s it!   I will probably relegate myself to the comment section for the summer, reading Rick and the Other Rick’s wonderful prose.