I was reading an article by Dan Kingerski on Pittsburgh Hockey Now when I came across an item that sent a shiver down my spine. Namely, that Stan Bowman (pictured above) has popped up as a possible candidate to replace Ron Hextall.
Scion of former Penguins coach and hockey legend, Scotty Bowman, Stan served as the general manager in Chicago from 2009-2021 where he presided over three Stanley Cup winners. While not to demean his considerable contributions to the cause, I used the term “presided over” because much of the heavy lifting…i.e.; drafting franchise cornerstones Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith…was performed by his predecessor Dale Tallon. Similar to the way the Pens’ core was already in place when Ray Shero replaced Craig Patrick in 2006.
Once the Blackhawks began to slip, Bowman didn’t seem to have too many answers. He resigned from his dual post of President of Hockey Operations and General Manager in October 2021 in the wake of an investigation into an organizational mishandling of an alleged sexual assault by a former Hawks staff member.
However, that’s not the root cause of my concern. Rather, the very fact that Bowman’s name popped up hints to what for me is an even darker reality. Namely, that the Pens’ ownership group, FSG, is taking direction from coach Mike Sullivan.
Indeed, FSG exec David Beeston made it clear that ownership holds Sullivan in high regard and values his input.
“…we think Mike Sullivan is one of the best coaches in the NHL,” Beeston said. “He was extended last season, and then once we bring in a new hockey operations leader, he or she will be responsible for evaluating the coaching staff. And we think Mike is terrific.”
To digress, Sullivan served under Bowman during the 2014-15 season as a member of the Blackhawks’ player development staff before joining the Pens. When the latter was named general manager of the 2022 U.S. Olympic team, he appointed Sullivan as his coach.
It doesn’t take much to start connecting the dots.
The thought that Sullivan could be driving the decision-making process, if not hand-picking our next GM, is beyond disturbing. While it’s important to have a management staff and coach that’s on the same page, the last thing we need is a malleable GM who’s beholden to Sullivan and who’ll try to build the team in his image. We tried that before, and it failed.
Miserably.
After we were swept in the first-round of the 2019 playoffs with a hybrid club that combined size with skill, then-GM Jim Rutherford caved to his coach’s wishes and assembled a small, speedy team. Featuring a cadre of undersized Sully favorites such as Evan Rodrigues, Conor Sheary and Dominik Simon, we lost eight of our final 11 regular-season games before being literally shoved out of the qualifying round of the playoffs by the 24th-seed (and infinitely larger) Canadiens.
I commented at the time that we’d invented the horseshoe offense. We’d dump the puck into the Canadiens’ zone along the wall and the Habs would win the ensuing puck battle and clear the puck up the other wall. The apex of perimeter hockey.
As for our two Cup winners? While Sullivan and his aggressive, speed-based forechecking game were certainly driving forces, there was some good fortune involved. In addition to boasting an uber-talented core in its prime that had something to prove, the Cup teams possessed considerable grit with battlers like Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz and Ian Cole. Kind of a perfect storm.
However, Sullivan’s consistently de-empathized the need for this type of player during his tenure, not to mention anyone who plays a straight-up, physical game. Erik Gudbranson, Ryan Reaves and Jamie Oleksiak were all shown the door following incredibly brief stays.
Too, Sullivan doesn’t seem to like big personalities (Cole, Reaves and Phil Kessel). And his early work aside, he isn’t exactly kid friendly. A must as we begin to rebuild.
If he gets to pick his GM, my fear is he’ll continue to place restrictions on our roster construction.
If anything, we need the opposite…a GM who’ll hold our coach accountable. Frankly, I thought Sullivan did a poor job this season. Breakdowns and mistakes went unchecked and uncorrected. Some of his personnel decisions, the most egregious continuing to deploy Jeff Carter and Brian Dumoulin in key roles when it was clear both were struggling, almost defy logic.
It was suggested on another site that Sullivan at times almost seemed to be purposefully mismanaging his troops, perhaps in a thinly veiled attempt to undermine his bosses and regain control of the team.
While I hate to think he’d be that duplicitous…
Bottom line? Sullivan isn’t the one I want calling the shots.
Rick
FSG needs to bring someone in with zero ties to the organization. I don’t want someone
living on the teams past performance or being influenced by Sullivan. They need to
focus on the “NOW” and whats best going forward.
I know plenty of people will disagree with me but until the Penguins separate Business
from personal the decline will continue. The dynamics have changed and it’s rare
for players to remain with one team. The only one of our core that should remain in
the Black & Gold is Crosby and I say this because the type of game he plays will never
go out of style and he show’s no signs of slowing down.
I look at the Pen’s organization and think how after winning two cups they never adjusted
to the leagues increased speed, youth and size. I think the same is happening wiht their
roster – they refuse to adjust and move players when the situation calls for it.
‘”THIS IS A BUSINESS”
Hey Mike,
You won’t get any argument from me, this team needs a complete reboot. A couple of points though.
1) I don’t think the FSG has what it takes to make the hard decisions.
2) It will effectively impossible to reshape the roster over night, one off-season, or even one full season.
3) having said point 2, we may not have to wait for the FSG to start making changes, many of the younger FAs are already abandoning the ship. Filip Hallander and Filip Lindberg both jumped back to Europe. I read somewhere that Hallander said that he wasn’t given a real chance to play and that is why he abandoned this ship. To those who keep trying to argue that Sullivan does play kids, this comes from the mouth of a kid.
4) unfortunately, as you mentioned, this is a business and as such the team has to find the right balance of changing the face of the team without losing revenue at the turnstiles and merchandising. They will need to hold on to fan favorites while reshaping around them until the team is actually a winner again and people come to the games to see wins not their favorite player.
To reiterate, I agree Mike, this team could never have gotten out the first round let alone compete in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Their fall from elite is pretty much complete. Smarter moves at the trade dead-line, better in-game adjustments, and better personnel usage may have gotten them into the playoffs, but they would have been swept out like so much trash. I just don’t see FSG ready to commit to the future, rather they appear to need to suffer further humiliations before admitting it is done.
Wow Mike and Other Rick, great comments and observations both. I really have nothing to add.
Unfortunately, if Sullivan is driving the decision-making as I fear he is, it’s going to be the same-old same-old.
I’m going to sound like I’m talking out of two sides of my mouth and maybe I am. Give Sullivan a fresh start with a fast, young team like the Devils and I think he’d be fine. But IMHO he’s been here too long. The team desperately needs a new voice and a new direction, and I don’t think he’s the one to provide it.
It’s time for a change.
Rick
Rick
Not sure if your still checking this particular comment section? I had mentioned this back
in April but I thought it would be interesting to start a draft page / blog. Give me your
thoughts.
Hey Mike,
I have already been looking at potential Penguins draft choices.
As I wrote early in reply to one of your comments that I may consider trading back in the draft order if I could get a 1st and an early 2nd. I may still feel that way when I am done.
However, at this point, I am thinking Nate Danielson but I fear they will take Gabe Perreault if Sully isn’t ousted.
Perreault is a small perimeter playing pass first type player.
Hey Rick,
You know my thoughts. I have expressed them often, logically, rationally at first, then emotionally when logic and reason failed only to still fall on deaf ears. The bottom line is the team was failing long before Hextall and Burke got here. They may have accelerated the fall but Sullivan surely started it. He was the first domino to cause this death spiral, for all of the reasons you cited and more.
if they follow Sullivan’s advice, it may be more than 10 years before the Penguins get back to relevance, let alone challenge for a Cup