I think 2017 broke Sullivan. 2016 was great, we played a style that works against every system and had the roster for it. After 2017, he thought his changes to the 2016 system (i.e. passive defense in our own zone and just dumping it out) were unbeatable, when we just goalied + superstarred our way to a very fortunate win with a crappy system. Coaches really have to learn not to get veteran bias and remember what got them there.
It was mentioned by a lot of here, myself included, that back 2 back Pens Cup team was playing a style that was not sustainable. The thing is they hit the league with that shit and they couldn't catch up and then after the 2nd cup, the teams saw which parts worked and emulated that, they didn't usher in some insane style or anything. That's what the Sullivan fans will tell you, that he changed the league - No, some moves by JR and the mix of Sullivan and Tocchet's system worked just at the right time and players like McDavid and others being speedsters, that was an eventuality.
The parts that didn't work - a lot of us called out. Pouring on shots, odd man rushes, giving up a ton of shots, basically playing to run up the score so you'd be ok with the collapses, etc. The Penguins basically went on full attack mode those 2 years, they were never out of games it felt like and the way they played, you just knew it was exhausting the shit out of the players. The problem was that while other teams picked some of the parts that would work going forward....
Mike Sullivan felt that style wasn't going to work anymore and went his new route in 2018, then he got caved in by Tom Wilson and the Caps and just doubled the f*** down on the veteran players that he felt he could trust to keep winning because they could figure things out quick enough to help him out. Well it failed and the 2 cups bought him so much f***ing rope, he pissed away a lot of years. But this notion that he changed the game, lol, I will forever laugh at that shit.
Sullivan's problem was he couldn't adapt to the way the league was trending and then when he did make changes, they were all the wrong ones and he just stuck to his guns about how it would be the way, yeah the way to failure.
f*** that wanker.
