11/19/2023 0 Comments Steve downie annual salary![]() ![]() Under Disco/Showtime, a three-game losing streak came about as often as the Lunar Eclipse.įor a long period of time, Ray Shero was seemingly beyond reproach. The Penguins’ job was obviously Ray Shero’s first as General Manager, and due to a number of considerations – including the coach, financial situation, staff, and team he inherited – Shero’s first three years with Therrien merit a separate discussion.īut the short version is this: no Pittsburgh Penguins team under Showtime and Disco saw such inconsistent levels of success as the 2015 Pens have under Grim/Mike Johnston. In writing this article, I am omitting the Michel Therrien (2006-2009) years, as Ray Shero inherited Therrien and a complete view including the Shero/Therrien years would exceed the scope of this article. I fully expect Ray Shero to be given the keys to another NHL team this summer prior to the 2015 Entry Draft. I think Dan Bylsma is the next NHL coach to be hired, and in fact would be working now if he so wished. While I am in the camp that believes an organizational change was necessary following the 2014 NHL season, I am also of the opinion that both Bylsma and Shero deserved better for all of the great things they achieved.Īlso, I wanted to get my thoughts out before one or both men are hired by another organization, which I think is imminent. These are my impressions on the 2015 Pittsburgh Penguins, written about 10 days before the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline:ĭue to the ugly nature of their respective dismissals, many of “Showtime” Ray Shero and “Disco” Dan Bylsma’s collective accomplishments have been swept under the rug. When the Pens’ Power Play went cold, the inability of the 3rd and 4th lines to contribute at 5-on-5 became a much more glaring issue, one that new GM Grim may not be able to entirely rectify by the 2015 Trade Deadline. It’s also obvious to opponents that if they contain Sid Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, no one on the lower half of the roster is going to be consistently able to produce in their stead. While the team still looks like a powerhouse on paper, the depth issues – particularly in the bottom-six forwards and on the second defensive pair – have not been resolved. The Penguins are seemingly further away from their goal of reaching the Stanley Cup Final than they were one year ago. ![]() Crosby assisted on a clean Power Play goal to Patric Hornqvist, and Brandon Sutter scored on the tail end of a Power Play.With the win, the team is now 11-11-5 since December 22nd.) Louis, with a Sid Crosby Power Play goal being called off because officials lost sight of the puck. (UPDATE: the Pens converted 2.5 Power Play against St. The Power Play, which once clicked at rates nearing 40%, is 0-for-20 as I type this on February 21st. 500 hockey team since Christmas following a white-hot start. The results have been decidedly mixed, as the Pens have basically been a. Under the mandate of Mario and Ron Burkle, Grim sought to bring in more grit and character. Former Portland Winterhawks czar Mike Johnston was eventually named Head Coach, and Pens great Rick Tocchet was named to his staff along with veteran NHL assistant Gary Agnew. In any event, the front office was reorganized, with Penguins “organizational” guys Jason Botterill, Billy Guerin, and Tom Fitzgerald named Associate and Assistant General Managers, respectively, under Grim. While I agree with Mario and Ron Burkle that a change in direction was needed from an organizational perspective, leaving Disco and his staff dangling in the wind for weeks while a successor to Ray Shero was appointed wasn’t a class move. With more than half of the 2014-15 NHL season played, I think it’s fair to give some initial impressions of the Jim Rutherford/Mike Johnston version of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as to cite some of the way in which the 2015 team compares to teams from the Shero/Bylsma regime.įirst, to get this out of the way: I am not in the habit of criticizing Mario Lemieux, ever, but Ray Shero and especially Dan Bylsma deserved better treatment on the way out the door. I’ll give a brief evaluation of the job Rutherford and Johnston have done to date, and also take a more-objective look at the Ray Shero/Dan Bylsma teams that represented the organization so well from 2009-2014. Having gotten a much better and lengthier look at the “Grim” Jim Rutherford/Mike Johnston iteration of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the time has come to take a hard look as the team’s needs approaching the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline. It may be amended further as developments occur.) (UPDATE: 2/21/15 – this article required an immediate update following the Pens 4-2 win against St. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |