Penguins, Welcome to the Bottom of the Atlantic Conference

preface

I debated whether I should post this. I asked our friend good friend and my partner in crime Rick B. what he thought. He smirked and said, “Let it fly.” So, blame him.

Welcome to the bottom of the Metro Division Penguins Fans. Yep, last night the Washington Capitals defeated the New Jersey Devils leap frogging our Pittsburgh Penguins, plunging our favorite flightless fowl to the bottom of the Metro Division. Yes, it is still early in the season, only 6 games old but when was the last time our hometown heroes occupied this position of ignominy?

To be quite accurate, Mike Sullivan’s fossils are not only the worst team in the Metro division but the worst team in the Atlantic conference and 28^th of the 32 teams in the league. Not a very auspicious start for Kyle Dubas and last seasons Norris trophy winning Erik Karlsson (makes you wonder if he is now questioning his decision to come here), for whom GM Dubas paid what could easily be a top 10 pick.

Yes, this year, should our Penguins finish in the bottom 10, that pick would be protected but the team would have to give up next seasons pick instead. However, if the team finishes in the bottom 10 this season (They currently hold the 5^th pick) then what do you think the odds that next seasons first round pick will be a top 10 as well?

My questions to all Penguins fans are,

1. How are you feeling this morning knowing that our team rests in roughly the bottom 1/8^th of the league?
2. It has only been 6 games but how many times do you think a team has started out 2 and 4 (or worse – the Black-and-Gold could easily be 3 and 6 or even 2 and 7 before the month is out), still made the playoffs and accomplished that feat without a Coaching change?
3. Do you still think it was worth going “All in for it” in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 instead of retooling?
4. How many fans out there still think Sullivan is a good Coach, when he has a team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and last seasons Norris trophy winner and his team sits at 28^th in the league? And when questioned about a loss to a team already in rebuild mode answers that he has no answers?
5. How much lower does the team need to sink before the media and the fans really start asking the hard questions of the Organization and start demanding real change in the team’s direction and not just deck shuffling of the players?

They say hindsight is 20-20, and many fans will try to hide behind that mantra, but there were many signs foreshadowing the Penguins current state, and several people including our friend Jim and I trying to warn of the fall that looms on our seafaring sphenisciformes horizon but many fans not only didn’t want to hear it, they greeted the messengers with belligerence.

I honestly don’t think all the players in the organization are that bad.  I do think the team is salvageable to some extent. However, I am not saying it is going to happen, but I can easily see a bottom 1/3 rd finish and a top 10 pick this coming summer if there is no coaching change. He has said on more than one occasion now, this season, that he has no answers. It could take a herculean effort for the players to start believing in him again.

Moreover, the best 23 players in the organization are not on this roster and let’s face it, some of the better, true prospects aren’t even on our AHL affiliate, they are buried down in the ECHL, hindering their development, playing against players that may never even see the AHL.

Furthermore, the lip service of training camp battles and players needing to earn roster spots was an out and out lie. Sullivan had already picked his roster before training camp and only true rookies are tasked with “earning” roster spots. Jansen Harkins and John Ludvig weren’t even in Camp, they were simply given their roster spots.

Odds and Sods

• Yesterday, Alex Nedeljkovic was placed on LTIR and Radim Zohorna was sent down to Wilkes-Barre /Scranton (WBS), while Corey Andonovski and Magnus Hellberg were recalled.
• Today, Andonovski was sent back down to WBS, while Zohorna and Vinnie Hinostroza were recalled to Pittsburgh.
• If you don’t remember, Hellberg, he was the worst of the Penguins Goalies in preseason. His Save Percentage (SV%) was 0.842% in the 2-periods he played, and he looked as bad as the numbers suggest.
• On tap tonight – the Colorado Avalanche. Maybe the team will find their hidden vigorish playing against Sidney Crosby’s buddy Nathan MacKinnon but chances are our Pens aren’t even a speed bump in the road on which the Avs are streaking.