Penguins Update: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

As we approach the Christmas break, I find myself marveling over our Penguins remarkable transformation. Not only is the team playing the right way, to borrow a phrase from coach Mike Sullivan, but they’ve displayed tremendous character to boot. Save for our Stanley Cup champions, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a grittier, more resilient bunch.

It’s time to give credit where credit is due. I’m talking about Sullivan and general manager Jim Rutherford.

Following the inglorious playoff sweep at the hands of the Islanders last spring, it was easy to think they’d both lost their fastball. A team in name only, the Pens literally fell apart at the seams, which hardly reflected well on GMJR and his two-time Cup winning coach.

Since he’s the one who assembles the horses, I’ll start with Rutherford. Following the back-to-back Cups, I thought his work was largely uninspired. Rather than operating with a clear plan as he had in building the Cup teams, his moves seemed reactive. Understandable in a way, given a passel of key free-agent defections, not to mention Vegas pirating away franchise icon Marc-Andre Fleury in the expansion draft.

His additions during the 2017-18 season left a lot to be desired, Matt Hunwick, Greg McKegg and Riley Sheahan chief among them. Heavyweights Ryan Reaves and Jamie Oleksiak provided muscle, but ultimately fell out of favor.

Still, the Pens were on a piping hot 16-4-1 roll in the New Year and looking every bit a three-peat candidate when Rutherford executed a much-ballyhooed but misguided blockbuster at the trade deadline, adding Derick Brassard at the expense of Reaves, popular defensive stalwart Ian Cole and goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson. A gamble that failed miserably.

With the oft-injured and largely ineffective Brassard in tow, the Pens went 18-13-2 the rest of the way, including the playoffs.

Nor did JR’s work improve heading into the 2018-19 campaign. He cleared cap space but lost precious speed and scoring depth by peddling 18-goal man Conor Sheary to Buffalo. Then he signed embattled Jack Johnson, viewed by many as an albatross due to his poor metrics, to a long-term deal. JR also brought back 42-year-old Matt Cullen and signed forward Derek Grant, a plodding skater better suited for the Western Conference.

It added up to a team without an identity…ill-equipped to play Sullivan’s fast-paced style but not heavy enough to slug with the big boys.

Rutherford parlayed washout Daniel Sprong into rangy defenseman Marcus Pettersson on December 3. But his sliding performance truly took a U-turn on February 1, when he dealt Brassard and Sheahan to Florida for Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann.

Not only did JR shed a considerable amount of dead weight, the newcomers provided a badly needed spark, especially the speedy McCann. It also opened the door for promising youngster Teddy Blueger. Although the turnaround didn’t take in the playoffs, it provided the foundation for Rutherford’s stellar off-season work.

The Hall-of-Fame exec dealt Olli Maatta, solid but slow afoot, to Chicago for forward Dominik Kahun, freeing up cap space while adding a quantum burst of whoosh in one fell swoop. Conscious of making the team more difficult to play against, he inked feisty free-agent forward Brandon Tanev, another burner, to a six-year deal. Although the length of the contract drew groans, Tanev’s been an undeniable force on the forecheck and penalty kill.

Saving his best for last, JR acquired an obscure 22-year-old defenseman from Edmonton named John Marino for what amounted to a bag of used pucks. Think “the Oil” wouldn’t like a mulligan?

Perhaps the return for Cup linchpin Phil Kessel might’ve been better. But Alex Galchenyuk possesses more pedigree than he’s shown. And the real prize in the deal might be 20-year-old rearguard and former first-round pick Pierre-Olivier Joseph, currently developing his game at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Not to mention the long-term cap space JR freed up.

Bottom line? Rutherford’s done a brilliant job of overhauling a tired, shopworn team in remarkably short order.

Still, someone needed to energize the troops and mold them into a cohesive unit. And that’s where Sullivan comes in.

I won’t sugar coat. I thought Sullivan did a poor job last season. Rather than adjust his system, the hard-driving skipper stubbornly attempted to play a speed game with a team that wasn’t particularly fast. His lone tactic appeared to be line juggling, which only added to the chaotic feel. After guiding the black and gold through a ragged regular season, he was out-coached by the Islanders’ Barry Trotz last spring.

Worse yet, the players appeared to tune him out.

Frankly, I was stunned when Rutherford signed the fiery Massachusetts native to a four-year extension during the summer. Shades of Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma.

Yet by all appearances, Sullivan’s regained his Midas touch…and then some. The Pens are back to playing the speedy, spirited brand of puck-possession hockey that won them a Cup in 2016. And they’re doing it with a lineup that’s been watered down due to injury.

Heck, decimated is more like it. Key players Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Justin Schultz, Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist all have spent significant time on IR, to say nothing of secondary guys like Galchenyuk and Bjugstad. That’s a hell of a list. Yet like the old Timex watch that took a lickin’ and kept on tickin’, the Pens keep winning.

That speaks volumes about the coach. So does the team’s non-stop work ethic, resolve and incredible esprit de corps. These guys are never out of a game and they never give up.

To my eye, Sullivan’s grown as a coach. I’m most impressed with his new-found willingness to play guys deserving of ice time over his favorites, a prime example being Matt Murray.

Pens fans are well-aware of the deep regard “Sully” has for Murray. After all, the kid won him two Cups. But that hasn’t stopped Sullivan from doing what’s best for the team and riding piping hot Tristan Jarry for the past month. He’s been rewarded in spades.

In the past, Sullivan might have stuck with his “Matt’s My Guy” approach.

When all’s said and done? It wouldn’t shock me to see the Cup return to the ‘Burgh after a two-year hiatus. Nor would it come as a surprise if Rutherford won his second General Manager of the Year Award and Sullivan his first Jack Adams Award.

Each is richly deserving.