A lot of this. Also, when the Penguins won the Cup in 2009, Crosby was 21, Letang and Malkin 22, and Fleury 24. They were very, very, very young players who had been to 2 Finals and won a championship already at that age. Toast of the town, huge in the hockey world, tons of attention from the league's advertising. Bylsma was not the guy to be overseeing that.
Those guys seemed to develop this malignant sense of entitlement, like they'd be able to just win a Cup every year for showing up. And they were the team's core, so that seemed to rub off on everyone who joined the locker room. Discipline was horrible, and yes, there was some whining/flopping going on in those days (not to the extent that people act like, but it was apparent). Injuries contributed, too, with Malkin and Crosby missing all that time it seemed like they became frustrated. 2012 was the explosion of all of it, they just came totally unhinged.
Scott Hartnell is something of a troll, but there's a story (I'll have to go find it) that throughout that series he would continually skate by their bench and ask them "What's wrong with you guys? Have you lost your minds?" Last year, as a Blue Jacket, he was asked what had changed about the Penguins since last time he played them in the playoffs and his response was "Sid's not whining all the time." Is he being cheeky in both of those scenarios? Yeah, but I think there's some truth to it.
The team just lost its mindset entirely under Bylsma. Johnston was also a weak coach and his brief tenure was just more of the same. Sullivan came in and pretty much saved the team, but those are almost like lost years for a could've-been dynasty. They still might be again, which is amazing, but again a testament to how young they all were when they won that first Cup.
