Like most of you out there in Penguins Nation, I’m still trying to digest what happened to our team. How did a season that began with such promise end up in the crapper? As recently as February 18, the Pens were in first place in the Metropolitan Division. Then it all turned to…well…poop.
What went wrong?
I’ll try to address some of what I see in a reasonably coherent manner, starting with our general manager and coach.
Jim Rutherford
While I don’t hold GMJR as accountable as others might, he doesn’t get a free pass, either. It’s the general manager’s job bring in and develop players that give his team the best chance to succeed. Obviously, he fell short.
First, a little frame work. Following our Cup triumph in 2017, there was a noticeable dip in Rutherford’s performance (remember Matt Hunwick and Greg McKegg?) culminating in the disastrous Derick Brassard deal.
While I fully understand JR’s reasoning…he was trying to recreate the HBK dynamic after allowing Nick Bonino to walk…the trade cost us dearly.
At the time, the two-time defending champs were rambling through the 2017-18 homestretch on a 14-3-1 run and humming on all cylinders. But Brassard never embraced his third-line role and we haven’t been the same team since.
In a roundabout way it led to the unfortunate Jack Johnson signing (as a replacement for steady Ian Cole who was shipped out in the Brassard deal) which has proven to be an albatross to both JR and the team.
The downside to his aggressive and sometimes gambling nature. At times grabbing for the brass ring (pun intended) pays off in spades (the original Phil Kessel deal). At other times…
Still, I thought Rutherford regained at least some of his mojo beginning with the second Brassard trade, which netted Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann. Both showed genuine promise…especially the latter.
I liked the Dominik Kahun for Olli Maatta deal and, while a bit lengthy, the Brandon Tanev signing. I could see where JR was going, trying the recreate the 2015-16 dynamic by adding speed and forward depth. And the John Marino trade? An absolute steal.
He’d lined up a beauty to swap Kessel, who’d worn out his welcome, and Johnson to Minnesota for Jason Zucker (and perhaps Victor Rask), but “Phil the Thrill” vetoed the deal. So Rutherford eventually peddled No. 81 to Arizona for talented but enigmatic Alex Galchenyuk. An admittedly poor fit.
Still, JR was able parlay Galchenyuk (along with Calen Addison and a No. 1 pick) into Zucker in February.
If only he’d stopped there.
Just before the trade deadline, the Pens suddenly blew a gasket. Following a pair of flat-line losses to Toronto and Buffalo, Rutherford was reportedly livid. And when JR gets his dander up…
Feeling a sudden need to fill the “Team Dad” role vacated by Matt Cullen, he acquired 41-year-old graybeard and former All-Star Patrick Marleau from San Jose for a conditional third-round pick. An admittedly low-risk move.
Then, in a shocker, he dealt Kahun, a solid second-tier player who could slot up and down the lineup, to Buffalo for Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues.
Following the trades, the Pens went an uninspired 3-5 in the stretch leading up to the covid pause. Worse yet, a squad that seemed so tightly knit earlier in the season suddenly appeared to be searching for an identity, as if they were trying to figure out how the pieces fit. Struggles that were evident in the recent qualifying round.
As the late Kenny Rodgers once sang, “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em.” In this instance, I think Rutherford overreached.
Mike Sullivan
People far more knowledgeable than I regard Mike Sullivan as an excellent coach. He seems to be very highly regarded in the hockey world. Contrary to what my esteemed colleague Other Rick might say, you don’t win two Stanley Cups by accident.
Yet, for the second spring in a row, Sullivan was badly outcoached by a peer who preaches structure and discipline. Last year it was Barry Trotz. This season…Claude Julien.
It’s beginning to look like Dan Bylsma all over again. He couldn’t solve defensive-oriented teams, either.
I’m no x’s and o’s guy. But Sullivan seemed to make precious few adjustments throughout the series, either tactically or personnel-wise. Once Montreal became the home team, affording Julien the last line change and favorable match-ups, we were overwhelmed.
Too, there’s his stubborn streak if not downright intransigence when it comes to playing his guys. It was evident from the start of the qualifying round that Marleau (minus-4, 34.3 Corsi) had nothing left. Yet Sully penciled him in each game over younger players such as Sam Lafferty, who might have made a difference with his speed and willingness to battle.
We’ll never really know because Lafferty got precious little time to prove himself. Despite dishing out a couple of big hits and being noticeable with his speed and energy early in Game Three, the Hollidaysburg native was on the ice for the opening goal. Predictably, he was tethered to the bench after that.
It’s an area where Sullivan has really fallen down…developing young players. When we were winning Cups, he not only took a chance on kids such as Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl, Bryan Rust and Scott Wilson, but he gave them prominent roles and they delivered. In his biggest coup, he rode rookie netminder Matt Murray to two Stanley Cups.
Since then, he seems almost allergic to youth. Lafferty’s the poster child, but there are others, too. Juuso Riikola and speedy Adam Johnson come to mind.
Perhaps Sullivan’s at cross purposes, feeling he can’t win Stanley Cups while letting the youngsters play through their mistakes. But it led to him overtaxing his top three lines in January and February, exhausting guys who were already stretched thin due to injuries. I’m not sure we ever really recovered.
We could’ve sorely used a groomed and confident Riikola with his mouthwatering array of skills in place of the bumbling Jack Johnson against Montreal. The price you pay for not developing the kids. When the veterans go down there’s no one to turn to.
While we’re on the subject of players, I think Sullivan wields too much power and authority when it comes to personnel decisions. Rutherford has tried at various times to introduce a different element into the lineup by acquiring players like Ryan Reaves, Jamie Oleksiak and Erik Gudbranson.
With almost zero exceptions, Sullivan sours on them. It’s almost like watching a tennis match. Rutherford serves ‘em up, and the Pens’ coach slams ‘em right back.
As a result, virtually everybody on the team is roughly the same size and carries the same skill set. Phil Guentzel, Teddy Blueger, Zucker, Tanev, Sheary…it’s literally like they’re cranked out of an assembly line with “Sully Guy” stamped on them.
That’s no good. You’ve gotta have some size and gristle. You’ve gotta have some players who go in and battle…who relish physical confrontations. The only guys we have like that are Patric Hornqvist and Tanev. With everyone else it’s a perfunctory duty and it showed.
With their playoff lives on the line, the Pens had no one who could just go get the puck and possess it. As a result, everything came from the perimeter.
Perimeter teams don’t win Stanley Cups.
The Players
I’m not going to delve too deep into who’s culpable and who’s not. The problem areas were pretty obvious. The third pairing of Johnson and Justin Schultz was an unmitigated disaster (a combined minus-8).
Dear Lord, what happened to Schultz? So good during the Cup years, so bad now. A writer from another blog opined that he’s never really recovered from the broken ankle he suffered in 2018. Whatever the reasons, it’s sad to see him devolve like this.
Marleau was complete dead weight (a minus-21 in 5-on-5 shot attempts). Shame on Sullivan for not trying another option. Although reputed to be a good defensive forward, Zach Aston-Reese appeared to do nothing positive and was on the ice for several critical goals against.
McCann–who finished the season on a 25-game goalless skein–didn’t exactly shine, either, although he was saddled with Marleau. Murray had his moments, just not enough of them.
In the end, too many passengers and not enough drivers.
Perhaps the biggest shortfall was the third line. Actually shortfall is kind…black hole is more like it. All of our recent Cup teams featured strong third lines. In 2009, it was the buzz-saw trio of Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy. In 2016, and to a lesser extent 2017, it was the HBK Line. In fact, the Bonino-Kessel-Carl Hagelin unit led all black-and-gold lines in postseason scoring in ’16.
I’ll conclude with a Captain Obvious observation. There are a heck of a lot of holes and a ton of work to be done in order to return this team to anything resembling a contender. It’ll be interesting to see who oversees the reconstruction.
Before the series began, Other Rick…only half in jest…said if the Pens weren’t going to win the Cup (which we both doubted), he hoped they’d lose in the qualifying round so they’d have a shot at drafting phenom Alexis Lafreniere.
Well, my friend, you got your wish.
Nice to see some reasoned commentary amid all the flying tantrums. A few points.
1. The people who was Rutherford dismissed are dreamers. They measure him against some ideal of perfection. (I notice that none of the critics ever mentions Marino). Be careful what you ask for. Look around the NHL. What GM’s haven’t made plenty of mistakes. Yeah, he signed Johnson, but look at other teams – you won’t find many that don’t have far worse contracts. The bottom line is that the current Penguin team looks very good on paper. It failed to perform, but that can’t be blamed on the roster that Rutherford put together. The odds of finding a better GM than Rutherford are well below 50/50.
2. The Pens bombed last year and this, but there is a strong similarity between the Islanders and the Canadians – both are structure/trapping teams. They have always been the type of team that the Pens have the worst time with. Some some of their problems have been bad luck in the draw. A 30% pp success rate and the Pens win and no one is moaning about Rutherford and Sullivan. It really boils down to that.
3. I don’t get the dump Bjugstad business. He is a proven 40 point player. He came over in 2019 and scored 9 goals in his 32 games. That 23 goals a full season. The next year was a write off because of injuries. Penguins “fans” act like that never happen and just whine that he never played well in Pgh. It have have a lot more confidence in him than in McCann at 3C. It never ceases to amaze what short memories many people have. I even saw someone who wanted to dump Dumolin because he wasn’t so great against Montreal.
4. I also get a laugh at the “replace JJ with POJ” crowd. I can just see Pierre string bean boxing out big forwards crashing the net, especially on the powerplay. They need JJ or someone like him on defence. (I’d have preferred Gudbransen, but someone had to go.)
5. The Pens didn’t lose because of JJ. He wasn’t on the ice for the loser goal in game #4. Confirmation bias runs rampant among his critics. Their main focus in watching the games is to find fault with him. (No one says a word when the faire haired Marino screws up.) Some objective analyses show that even when he was on the ice, the goal wasn’t his fault or not completely his fault. I thought Shultz was far worse. The simple fact is that the Pens are supposed to be a high octane team that scores goals and hits on the pp. They didn’t. That’s why they lost. It wasn’t defence or goaltending that killed them. The sad fact is that they can no longer rely on Crosby, Malkin and Letang to overcome.
6. What should they do? Search me. The cup window is over and they are in the trap that Chicago, LA, etc found themselves in. They should auction off their aging stars but personal relationships are too strong to permit it. Maybe they can get themselves to part with Letang but I doubt it. But it’s time to accept that the Penguins are going to be a middle of the pack team next year no matter what happens.
Hello Stratton, and welcome to PenguinPoop.
Thanks for the comment about ‘reasoned commentary.’ It was really tough to wrap my mind around everything I was thinking and feeling. I only hope I succeeded to a degree.
Your points are all very valid. I’m not quite ready to give up on Rutherford just yet. Starting with the second Brassard trade (the one with Florida) I actually thought he did some really nice work. That was mitigated to an extent by the Kahun for Sheary and Rodrigues deal. I really like Kahun as a second-tier player.
I’ll push back slightly on Johnson…or at least the Johnson-Schultz tandem. Goodness, were they awful…I believe on the ice for 5 of the 9 goals we allowed against Montreal. I agree…you gotta have someone (at least one guy) to do the heavy lifting in your own zone. And it isn’t that Johnson doesn’t try. I just think (hope) we could do better.
I think your most valid point of all is the last one. You’re absolutely right…we’re at the same spot on the champions life cycle as Chicago was a few years back. They were still pretty loaded talent-wise, and registered 109 points in 2016-17. Then they got swept in the first round by Nashville…their second-straight first round exit…and hadn’t been seen or heard from since until they knocked off the Oilers in the qualifying round.
A similar fate could await our Pens, depending on the magnitude of tear-down.
There’s nothing tougher than rebuilding a declining champion. As you said, what do you do? Do you start trading off core guys, knowing your on-ice performance will in all likelihood plummet (and run the very real risk of alienating your paying fan base in the process)? Do you hang onto those guys (as most teams do) in hopes that you can rebuild around them one last time?
I don’t know what the answer is either.
Rick
Hey all,
If you want to read a really good post-mortem on our Pens, check out JFresh’s Newsletter. He and I seem to agree on a lot of things, but he does it a little more analytically. There’s a link to it on Pensburgh in the “Sunday Pens Points” article.
Rick
Hey Rick,
See the article by Ron Cook written below concerning Crosby, Malkin , Letang and Murray. It says it all. But no one in Pittsburgh wants to talk about it.
I do not follow any writers from the Pittsburgh area anymore due to my failing eyesight. I just came across it this morning by coincidence.
It is not a hatchet job, he just states facts. Very well done.
This team is no longer a true CUP contender and the truth be known it wasn’t last year either.
I guess I came back at the wrong time.
Nobody likes bad news !!!
Cheers
Hey all,
I’m going to call a penalty on myself and go to the box. I was poking around and looking at some numbers, and lo and behold, Lafferty had a 5-on-5 shot differential of -10 in Game Three in only 7:40 of ice time! Wowser…in the wrong direction.
No wonder Sullivan limited his ice time.
Still, I do stand by what I wrote concerning Sully and developing younger players. So it’ll just be a minor penalty and not a five-minute major …
Rick
Hello Rick,
So nice to see you in this setting once again. For a while I thought we would never speak again, but thankfully the good Lord had other ideas.
I knew this day would eventually come Rick. You may not like what I am going to say.. The end of a 15 year WONDERFUL ERA in Pens Hockey has finally closed. No if, buts or maybes. IT IS OVER !!
Time to move on.
This is not the time to think with your HEART…OH I really like him and he is so NICE we should keep him. Oh the fans may be upset if we trade him!! To bad folks.
Now is the time to use your BRAIN.
The Pen’s Team as currently built will NEVER win a CUP again. They are NOT good enough. I do not want to hear about Sid, Geno, Kris, Patrik….Great people yes. Future Hall of Famers.. Indeed.
But they can not get the job done anymore! That ERA is OVER !.
Now is the time we turn the page and move on. Everything is on the table.
Is the Team President good enough? The GM ? The Head Coach? The Assistant Coaches? The Trainers? The Media people? The Scouts?
Then we look at the Farm Team?? What does it need to help us win another Cup Run?
Then the players themselves !!!
Everyone needs to be examined and evaluated as of today…Not what they once were. What they are today.. A brutal,honest talent evaluation.
Then the key Question Rick.What will it take to get us back to a CUP FINAL?
1. We do not need 2 Goalies
2. Our defense needs a make over !! At least 50% need to be gone.
3. Our team lacks the talent to field 4 competitive lines.
4. We have way to many high priced contracts with players of marginal returns. That is our biggest problem !
5. Our Coaching and Management needs a change. Hockey is a tough business and we need tough decisions yo be made.
6. Everyone can be traded for the right return !! Period.
Personally I would keep Sid and everyone else would be available.I do not buy the argument that our players are to old to get any return. Even so a major reduction in the payroll would free up dollars to be spent more wisely elsewhere.
Here are a few suggestions…
Trade Murray ASAP. He should fetch you a fairly high 1st round pick, and a third Round pick. I would start with Ottawa and go for a 5th pick…. They have 3 first round picks.If he gets to RFA they could offer their 18th instead. Move quick.Maybe some $$$ to sweeten the deal because Ottawa is starved for cash. So are a lot of other NHL teams right now.
Center Ryan Nugent Hopkins,only 27 is available as a UFA. He wants out of Edmonton. He made 6 million last year. Dump Nick Bjugstad,Jack Johnson and sign him. Good 3rd line Center or even a second line Center on the right team.
Lets just hope we get a lucky bounce and we can get the # 1 Pick on Monday..
The team Needs at least one franchise Center man, a Franchise winger and a Franchise D man to start the rebuild.We get lucky on Monday, #1 draft, then trade Murray for a # 5 draft then pull off a major trade with LA or Detroit and land #2 or #4 draft pick… Then let the rebuild begin !!!!
In my movie Sid wins another Cup in 3 years from now !!!
We are all happy.
Have a great day Rick, Great to be back.
Jim
Rick
If I may old friend I want to expand a bit on my rant above.
I am so pleased that there are several contributors that I have not had the pleasure to post with.They are very knowledgeable in their hockey expressed opinions. it makes for a very interesting blog site.I always said ” it takes many voices to make a great Choir”. Pens Poop is in good hands. Your the Conductor my friend. We follow your lead. Thank You for all that you do for PP.
Ditto’s to Phil and OTR as well. A great team..
I was trying to look thru the list of coming UFA and RFA for 2020. Canadian Hockey Site rates the Top 20 RFA for 2020. Interesting that Matt Murray is rated # 6th,( The rated top Goalie in the 2020 draft ) and Tristan Jarry was Rated # 16th ).
Murray should fetch us a high return in form of a draft picks as noted above. Add Letang if needed to close the deal.
They also listed the Top 40 UFA’s for 2020 and there are a lot of big names available. Some as young as 27 years of age. Many are 29 and 28. This is a game changer Rick.
There is a lot of good/great young talent now coming on the market and the Key is to have the Cap Space to acquire it.
This is a touchy subject but as I said above, ALL options need to be on the table if the Pens want to win another Cup before Sidney retires in 3 to 5 years. That is my wish my friend.
Consider,
Player Age Cap Hit
Hornqvist 33 5.3 million
Letang 33 7.25 million
Johnson 33 3.25 million
Bjugstad 28 4.1 million
Aston Reese 25 1 million RFA
Rodrigues 27 2 million
Sheary 28 3 million UFA
Schultz 29 5.5 million UFA
McCann 24 1.25 million RFA
Murray 24 3.75 million RFA
Jarry 25 675,000 RFA
Total 36,675 million
Finally Malkin at 9.5 million . If the deal was right…
Top 3 draft pick and a young, very skilled roster player ???
That was what I was thinking above.
Your thoughts ??
Cheers
Rick
Hello Jim!
First of all, let me say how nice it is to hear from you and to read what you have to say … 🙂 And second, my apologies for not posting a response sooner. I have to admit, my brain was fried after writing my article.
I think your six points in your first post are very valid. Everything and everybody need to be evaluated and, with precious few exceptions, no one is untouchable.
The naked truth is…and again you clearly pointed this out…I think it’s the end of our championship run…at least for now. I’m not suggesting that we break up the core, but just about everything else needs to change. No more peddling draft picks to prop this team up. The Pens really have to turn toward drafting and player development. If they can bring in some capable kids…along with some savvy trades and free-agent signings, then perhaps Sid might have one last shot at a Cup a few years down the road.
But it has to be done right.
I have some concerns here, and it mainly deals with a perceived philosophical difference between Rutherford and Sullivan that simply won’t go away. If you look at our two hottest prospects, Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare, both play a power game but neither is especially fast.
That immediately raises a flag to me with Sullivan…he likes fast, little guys. And it’s well documented that if you don’t fit his mold…well. It’s no accident that Poulin, who had a monster season in junior, was left off the postseason roster.
While we’re at it, Drew O’Connor is 6’3″ 200 and Czech forward Radim Zahorna is 6’6″. You can see Rutherford wants to add some size and power to the lineup. But I can envision Sullivan stonewalling these kids (Anthony Angello, too) because they don’t fit his mold and system.
Frankly, Rutherford’s going to have to take charge and tell Sullivan to play these kids…or else. It still chafes me that Ryan Reaves isn’t skating for the Pens…all due to Sullivan.
Anyway, got sidetracked.
An interesting thought about Nugent-Hopkins. He’s never quite fulfilled the promise that made him a No. 1 overall pick, but he’s productive (generally in the 20-goal, 60-point range) and he can do a lot of things well.
I’m going to push back a bit about Murray, and Other Rick I’m not trying to squirt gasoline on our fire. I’m just stating fact. Murray is not going to fetch a high first-round pick. Statistically, he was one of the worst goaltenders in the league this year. His save percentage (.899) and quality starts percentage (.421) were abysmal, and this on a team that finished a respectable 10th in fewest goals allowed. His goals saved above average was minus-11.6…by contrast Jarry’s was 11.07.
Lest you think this is an anomaly, he posted similarly poor numbers in 2017-18. Really, with the exception of a hot second half last season, he hasn’t been the goalie he was during the Cup seasons.
Maybe…maybe he’d fetch a second-round pick. And I’m not even sure about that.
Anyway, I’ll sign off for now. But it was great hearing from you again my friend … 🙂
Rick
Hi Rick
Thanks for the reply. As always you give me much to ponder. That is why I came here in the first place all those years ago.
You are special my friend.
If Murray does not fetch a high draft pick then I would see if Jarry would fetch me a high pick. Maybe send him and Letang to Ottawa for the # 5 pick…Letang would love to get back closer to his native Quebec?? Just hoping. Maybe some $$$?
The real juice for me would be what can I get for Geno?? Not that i would trade him but i want to see what his value really is on the market now.
I finally getting free of those awful meds I was taking Rick and my mind is a lot less foggy now…I am still crazy but at least i know it !!!
Those Cancer drugs and very high doses on Predisone can really do a number on someone.
Talk soon buddy,
Cheers
Jim
Rick – Great article
Here’s my assessment after watching the Pen’s get embarrassed by
the Canadians.
1) Pen’s need a major trade – I’ve said this many times that its important
to know in sports when to part with a player – I think JR dropped the
ball on this one – Letang should of been moved after the 2018-19 season.
2) Is it me or does Sheary spend half the game as a human zamboni??
3) ZAR – i’m totally confused as to what Sully & the Pen’s see in him.
4) Justin Schultz was absolutely horrible – very much like Letang he
couldn’t complete a routine pass “frustrating”.
5) Pettersson play appears to have hit a ceiling. He’s at best the same
player as the day we traded for him.
6) Murray has to go. “No brainer” and it pains me to say this but he
hasn’t been the same since his father’s passing.
7) You can’t have Sheary playing on your top line.
8) What to do with Malkin??? The trade winds may not be a joke this
time around.
9) The Pen’s tried to go with all skill and no toughness – huge mistake
by JR / Sully and company.
10) Can’t believe I’m saying this but Mario needs to clean house – Front
Office, Coaches and players.
11) Some of my evaluations are probably out of frustration and I think
Sully has to take a long look at his system – The Pen’s are extremely
predictable – he’s all caught up in playing his way that he never makes
the necessary in game adjustments “ego”.
11) Players who the Pen’s should retain.
Crosby, Guentzel, Zucker, Hornqvist, Jarry, Dumoulin, Marino, Rust, Tanev,
Blueger, Lafferty, Angello, Olivier Joseph
On the Bubble
Pettersson, McCann, Riikola, A. Johnson
Need to be gone
Simon, Malkin, Letang, Johnson, Murray, Aston Reese, Rodriques, Sheary
Marleau
Rick, sorry for the rant – the lack of urgency the Pen’s displayed in this series
is unacceptable. If JR’s not up to making the necessary changes then he needs
to go. I know I was all over the place – Just random thoughts. I look forward to
your feedback.
So I agree with most of what you said, but going to have to disagree on a few points.
So here we go
1. I don’t believe that Pettersson has hit his ceiling, matter of fact I don’t think he’s even close. in 69 games he had 22 points and 106 hits, 5 more hits then Letang actually, those are really good numbers for a guy who is a 24 year old dmen, on top of the fact that his defensive/offensive awareness is good for a player his age.
2. I strongly disagree that Rodriques should be gone, definitely doesn’t “need to be gone” Rodriques is a highly underrated player in the NHL and has been wasted on the 4th line on every team, he gets occasional chances to play third line, but barely. The kid has incredible stick and skating ability and can literally dance on players and get into the zone and make plays when he needs to, on top of the fact he has a pretty wicked shot. In his last year at Boston University he had 21(G) – 40(A) , those are really good numbers and the kid has potential to be similar to Vegas’s Reilly Smith. I believe that Rodriques is the third line center we need, and I wouldn’t sleep on him.
Other then that I agree with pretty much everything you said, I would try to get Malkin to move, I would try and sell Murray fairly high, as for Schultz and Letang they are just embarrassing us out there, honestly sometimes I think they’re playing for the other team and Sheary has 0 business being a first liner.
Caleb
Your points are valid – I don’t really know enough about Rodriques and because of his limited ice time should of placed him on the bubble list.
My evaluation of Pettersson was solely based on what I believed to be
little if any improvement over last season. I actually thought he
regressed slightly. I felt like he also lost some of his edge and aggressiveness.
Letang – Has to go – he had (9) giveaways in (4) games and zero
takeaways. Turnover waiting to happen.
Hey Caleb,
Welcome to Penguin Poop,
1) agreed Pettersson is only 23, defensemen don’t traditionally reach their prime until 26 or 27. It is way too early to say he his his ceiling. I do think he took a step backwards this past season but that isn’t surprising. A lot of players get hit with a sophomore curse. Everybody is tradable in my book but normally I wouldn’t be to hasty to shop him. My only issue here isn’t so much with Pettersson but with how much money JR threw at him. Going into next season, Pettersson will cost the team $4,025,175 according to capfriendly and he certainly didn’t look like a $4 mil a year defenseman this past season.
2) after you and I talked and you showed me his not only Rodrigues’s NHL stats and College stats, in most circumstances I would give the kid a chance to earn the 3rd line Center spot. However, he is RFA and is getting $2 mil per year. With the way JR tossed good money after bad in many situations, I am not sure the team will be able to sign him. Even if the team doesn’t re-sign Schultz and his $5.5 clears, Pettersson eats up the bulk of that.
Pettersson’s contract often misstated as five years at $4 million. His current contract is 20,125,875 over five years or just over $4. BUT… the truth is more complicated. Last year he signed for league about minmum, which was absurdly low, $874,125. Pens were in desperate cap crunch at the time. He was doubtless promised that he would be compensated later. In fact, he likely agreed to a six year contract with the first year calved off a single cheap year for cap purposes.
There is good reason to assume this. Adding last year into his current contract, he is being paid *exactly* $21 million over six years that comes out *exactly* to $3.5 million a year. Does any body believe that this is an accident? I sure don’t. His contract is effectively $3.5 and not $4. If was far from an overpay, even he tops out a 4/5.
This year and next year are 2 different years and the difference between 3.5 and 4 are not worth talking about in pro-sports. The point I am making here is that his play this last season was a step backwards and doesn’t merit $4 or even $3.5. The difference between his play and an $875,000 a year player is not 4 fold. Pettersson did not earn that nor did he earn the M-NTC that kicks in 3yrs from now. JR over reacted to sign him to that extension.
Hey Mike,
I understand about the rant. I had so many thoughts swimming through my head after we lost, not to mention a good deal of emotion, and I just needed to write it out. I don’t think my ramble was nearly as cogent as your rant.
I pretty much agree with your evaluations, right down the line. And I also agree with who should stay and who should go…with the possible exception of Malkin. It’s probably an emotional thing as much as anything, but he had a strong regular season (tied for fifth in Points per Game) and it sure is nice to have him to rely on should anything happen to Sid.
I don’t disagree about Letang and his maddening inconsistency. Of course, if we ship him out and jettison Schultz and Johnson, that’s going to leave a lot of holes to fill on ‘d.’ But Dumoulin, Marino, Joseph and Pettersson (agree with your assessment but I’ll include him for now) give you a decent foundation to work from.
I hate to even suggest this, because I absolutely love the guy. But if the return is right, maybe we part with Hornqvist and his $5.3 million hit.
One of my main concerns…and you touched on it. We tried it Sullivan’s way, small, fast team…and it didn’t work. Even if we’d gotten past Montreal, I doubt if we’d have survived Boston. You can see by some of the kids Rutherford’s drafting and signing…Poulin, Legare, O’Connor and Zahorna…that he wants to add a power element to this team. But I can only imagine how well that’ll fly with Sullivan. We saw how eager he was to use Anthony Angello (not).
If they both stay, Rutherford’s going to have to assert himself here. It could very well be the issue that leads to Sullivan’s departure. As a back drop, and I’m not suggesting that’s who JR would turn to, Peter Laviolette is out there. And he’s traditionally embraced a more physical game.
Rick
Hey Rick,
Not much time so a quick note – don’t get mad at me but using your logic about Sullivan “Contrary to what my esteemed colleague Other Rick might say, you don’t win two Stanley Cups by accident.” then why are you a Murray hater? Your logic has to be universal or you can’t use it.
The Other Rick
Murray hasn’t been the same since the passing of his father. He never seems
comfortable between the pipes – his confidence is shot and you cant blame
that on Sullivan – he’s given him every opportunity to revive himself to the point
where it hurt the entire team.
Sullivan’s a good coach – I put more of the blame on JR and not having the
backbone to stand behind his acquisitions to add toughness to a team that
desperately needed it. Our biggest weakness is lack of grit “hands down”
Mike,
Although I agree the teams biggest weakness is its lack of grit. Now, let me ask you, who has consistently defanged this team? Murray? Crosby? JR? Who? Who squeezed out TOI to Reaves with an eyedropper after JR brought him in? Who wouldn’t play Gudbranson? Who fought tooth and nail with Ian Cole?
So, how can you say Sullivan is a good coach and then say that the team’s biggest weakness is exactly identity the coach wants, a team without grit?
The Other Rick
Mostly I blame JR. He needs to show a little backbone and tell
Sullivan we need these players in order for our skilled players
to flourish. Find away to work them into the lineup. Case closed.
As much as everyone hates Tom Wilson he makes the Caps a
very different and tough team to play against.
In Sullivans defense he equates speed – being quick to the puck
and possessing the puck as “grit”. To follow up on something
Rick said in his article we have to many of the same players.
This is a quote by a Hall Of Fame Coach that I use regularly
“Will beats Skill – Unless Skill has Will”
Hey Other Rick,
Your logic is flawed, too. Let’s be honest…we’re both coming from a biased position and we’ll go round and round about this forever. I understand you like Murray, at least to a degree, and are trying to have his back.
Maybe I’m pushing harder for Jarry because Sullivan so obviously overlooks him. Plus, I just think he’s the better goalie. Along those lines, read Dan Kingerski’s piece on Jarry (“The Silver Lining”) on Pittsburgh Hockey Net for a more objective read on the situation.
Back to Murray. One of our gym members shared something interesting. He said our former goaltending coach, Mike Bales, was pushed out because he tried to get Murray to play at the top of the crease, where he’s far more effective. For whatever reasons, Murray prefers to play back in his net, where…at least to my eye…he’s far less effective.
Interesting. Also interesting to note he hasn’t been the same goalie since Bales left. (Mike, I’m sure his father passing had something to do with it, too.)
Rick
Hey Rick,
I have yet to lay my cards on the table about Murray, good or ill (I’ll save that for later) so my logic can’t be flawed. All I wrote was that you can’t defend Sullivan with the 2 Cup statement and not acknowledge the same for Murray. All I have said so far is that I don’t accept that defense of Sully. If you want to give him a pass, give a different reason, or start giving Murray a pass for the same reason.
I will admit that being a former goalie I do defend all goalies, okay most goalies, since I have stood between the pipes. The Niemi experiment is a rare exception. However, the ego in me justifies my complaints about Niemi since, even though nowhere near the same level of competition, I have faced down frozen vulcanized rubber on a regular basis. I try not to be too harsh on people for doing things that I have never really experienced.
Let me leave you with this, if Murray is sitting too far back in his net (And I do agree with that assessment, I think he sits too far back too) who is at fault, the goalie or the coach not harping on using his big frame to its best affect. Whoever the gym member it was that mentioned Bales holding Murray accountable for not being aggressive is what I have been saying for 2 years about Murray, that it really is his Goalie coach who needs to be scrutinized.
For 2 years I have been saying that there was a correlational between Bales leaving and Murray’s inconsistencies. And even when you now acknowledge it, are you following that thought to its logical conclusion – who really needs to go, a 25 year old goalie who has won 2 Cups under the proper tutelage or the tutor who can’t bring out the same level of talent from such a young asset?
Hey Other Rick,
…and you can’t toot Murray’s horn for his one good outing and not mention the bad. Selective logic.
But don’t take my word for it. I encourage you to read what others are writing about Murray…JFresh…Kingerski. Specifically, that he left juicy rebounds all over the place (pizzas as they call them) but the Habs weren’t talented enough to capitalize on them.
That really wasn’t going to be the thrust of my comment. What I really wanted to say is, yes, I do recall you mentioning on more than one occasion that the switch in goaltending coaches has hurt Murray’s game. It’s just that when our gym member mentioned it, it really reinforced it.
Sometimes it takes a little time to put two and two together…
Rick
Hey Rick,
So this is the offending quote “During this Qualifying Round, you had all but Dominik Simon and Nick Bjugstad Mr. Sullivan, the rest of that team was of YOUR choosing and except for a 26 of 27 shot, save performance by Matt Murray, you would have been swept again Mr. Sullivan.” from my first Post-Mortem post?
Where in that am I tooting Murray’s horn and ignoring any of his other games. That looks to me as reinforcing how close to a sweep Montreal came because an inept coaching performance of Sullivan.
I was not discussing Murray good or bad, I was discussing Sullivan. The only thing relevant to my discussion was how close to a sweep it was.