Salary Cap: Pens '23-'24 Salary Cap Thread: "Mandrake, do you recall what Clemenceau once said about hockey"

[Ryder71]

So what you're saying is no matter the personnel, the system/setup they're being told to run is the issue?

And you continue to "not blame" Sullivan for this? So why are you giving him credit for the 5on5 play (even though it's not as great as you make it sound)? Either the coach is responsible for how the team plays as a whole, or the coach has no effect on anything and it's the players' fault for everything. Which is it?

I'm resigned to their fate which is they're not going anywhere. The players are aging out, and THOSE largely are the players that populate the PP. Look how far Geno has dropped off from last year to this season. Pretty dramatic and very abrupt. I'm not sure how we can fault the coach on that front. To be clear I'm not a big Sully fan as I stated earlier today. All I'm saying is when your team ages out it'll be very dramatic, and this is the beginning of that fall. If you think a different coach changes much I just think you're grasping at straws.

It IS a problem. It's not THEE problem.

It's a precursor to the rest that they'll fall off as well. The only question is to what degree.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Marshall??? people with Brain Cells to rub together, You mean the Chucklehead who defended Abylsma to the Bitter end & even after the bitter end

Marshall's the most knowledgeable person to ever speak on this board, from what I've seen. And he makes most of the beat reporters look like complete morons. All the podcasters too. They don't even have the capacity to follow along with what he's saying.
Bylsma's coaching record wasn't anywhere close to as bad as people pretend it was. Look up the numbers instead of going off feelings.

 

[Josey Wales]

Marshall's the most knowledgeable person to ever speak on this board, from what I've seen. And he makes most of the beat reporters look like complete morons. All the podcasters too. They don't even have the capacity to follow along with what he's saying.
Bylsma's coaching record wasn't anywhere close to as bad as people pretend it was. Look up the numbers instead of going off feelings.

UMMMMMM I have been a Pens fan since before Mario & went to games at Civic Arena where you could have put a bomb off & no one would have gotten hurt

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I don't understand how he figures to do the dumbest thing with the line up.

He has Phillips now on Geno's wing, healthy scratching Puljujaarvi and has Puustinen on the third line. Phillips is Who Sullivan wants on RW with Geno because of his scoring in the ahl. Ahl. Not that Puustinen has thrived with Geno and should be the option but because he sees Phillips who has scored a ton in the ahl but jack all in the NHL, as a better option over Puustinen.

This is what Sullivan thinks is trying new things...

Rakell, Crosby, Rust
O'Connor, Malkin, Phillips
Smith, Eller, Puustinen
Harkins, Carter, White

Joseph, Letang
Pettersson, Karlsson
Graves, Ruhwedel

Dubas is allowing this coach to do this right in front of him and doesn't want to make any move to fire the entire coaching staff somehow.

It should be...

Smith, Crosby, Rust
Rakell, Malkin, Puustinen
O'Connor, Eller, Puljujarvi
Gruden, Hinostroza, Phillips

That would be trying something.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Marshall's the most knowledgeable person to ever speak on this board, from what I've seen. And he makes most of the beat reporters look like complete morons. All the podcasters too. They don't even have the capacity to follow along with what he's saying.
Bylsma's coaching record wasn't anywhere close to as bad as people pretend it was. Look up the numbers instead of going off feelings.

Jesse is good but he has his moments too, he can get pissy at me all he wants, he's nowhere near as bad as Kingerski, Madden, Yohe, or Rossi but those 4 are also some of the worst beat writers for any team other than the Leafs who have the worst in the entirety of sports..

Recently I've gained a ton of respect for Danny Shirey - he's at least got the bollocks to call out Sullivan. The others above, nope. Jesse may allude to it but not outrightly saying it. I mean how does he see the projected line up choices by Sullivan today and not say a f***ing thing about needing a new voice?

Also Bylsma has a better winning percentage as a Penguins coach and this is a bloke those same reporters had no issue saying he lost the room but 99% won't touch on writing about Sullivan in a negative light.

 

[Pens x]

Good, hope he tells the league that he's open for business.

He’s open to making more poor decisions.

 

[Bishop7979]

I don't understand how he figures to do the dumbest thing with the line up.

He has Phillips now on Geno's wing, healthy scratching Puljujaarvi and has Puustinen on the third line. Phillips is Who Sullivan wants on RW with Geno because of his scoring in the ahl. Ahl. Not that Puustinen has thrived with Geno and should be the option but because he sees Phillips who has scored a ton in the ahl but jack all in the NHL, as a better option over Puustinen.

This is what Sullivan thinks is trying new things...

Rakell, Crosby, Rust
O'Connor, Malkin, Phillips
Smith, Eller, Puustinen
Harkins, Carter, White

Joseph, Letang
Pettersson, Karlsson
Graves, Ruhwedel

Dubas is allowing this coach to do this right in front of him and doesn't want to make any move to fire the entire coaching staff somehow.

It should be...

Smith, Crosby, Rust
Rakell, Malkin, Puustinen
O'Connor, Eller, Puljujarvi


That would be trying something.

Like, I get the whole Phillips with Geno thing conceptually.

Having a guy like sucker with Malkin was helpful to Geno, zucker got into the zone with speed and aggression, he pulled defenders away from Geno simply due to those factors.

Sullivan diseased brain sees Phillips go fast and is like Yeah Phillips is fast, yeah he is aggressive, he can do what zucker did.

But, zucker could physically make an impact while also having enough skill to be a threat at the NHL level. Phillips can't do either of those things.

At this stage in his career Geno would be best suited at wing with a two way passing center and a psycho on the other wing.

Basically something in the vein of a

Brandon tanev - monahan - Geno

type set up.

It's part of why I'd want to pick up trenin from Nashville if he were avail. I stick him to Genos hip moving forward, let him cause havoc and make room for the old guy.

But, for what's in the current roster, at this point I'm trying

Puusy sid raks
Geno eller rust
Smith O'Connor puljujarvi
Hino gruden Phillips


Given gruden and O'Connor a shot a center at this point and see if they can do the job.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Jesse is good but he has his moments too, he can get pissy at me all he wants, he's nowhere near as bad as Kingerski, Madden, Yohe, or Rossi but those 4 are also some of the worst beat writers for any team other than the Leafs who have the worst in the entirety of sports..

Recently I've gained a ton of respect for Danny Shirey - he's at least got the bollocks to call out Sullivan. The others above, nope. Jesse may allude to it but not outrightly saying it. I mean how does he see the projected line up choices by Sullivan today and not say a f***ing thing about needing a new voice?

Also Bylsma has a better winning percentage as a Penguins coach and this is a bloke those same reporters had no issue saying he lost the room but 99% won't touch on writing about Sullivan in a negative light.

Everyone has moments. We're human.
He has the highest average, by a landslide. I've listened to them all.
Those 4 you mentioned are absolutely not close to his level of analysis. And he compounds his higher intellect with a higher work ethic than all those guys too, doing deep dives.

Marshall actually cares, deeply, about what he puts out. It's very clear.
The other guys often just wing it or care about their ego with their userbase and other bullshit.

Shirey's also solid. At 23 or w/e he is, he is more mature than some beat reporters at 40+. And he's also a hard worker.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Everyone has moments. We're human.
He has the highest average, by a landslide. I've listened to them all.
Those 4 you mentioned are absolutely not close to his level of analysis. And he compounds his higher intellect with a higher work ethic than all those guys too, doing deep dives.

Marshall actually cares, deeply, about what he puts out. It's very clear.
The other guys often just wing it or care about their ego with their userbase and other bullshit.

Shirey's also solid. At 23 or w/e he is, he is more mature than some beat reporters at 40+. And he's also a hard worker.

I didn't say Jesse was near those clowns but as far as the options we have, it's very slim. Jesse And Danny are at least capable of calling shit out and being somewhat impartial even if at times they say some homerish shit. But that's all of us.

Like, I get the whole Phillips with Geno thing conceptually.

Having a guy like sucker with Malkin was helpful to Geno, zucker got into the zone with speed and aggression, he pulled defenders away from Geno simply due to those factors.

Sullivan diseased brain sees Phillips go fast and is like Yeah Phillips is fast, yeah he is aggressive, he can do what zucker did.

But, zucker could physically make an impact while also having enough skill to be a threat at the NHL level. Phillips can't do either of those things.

At this stage in his career Geno would be best suited at wing with a two way passing center and a psycho on the other wing.

Basically something in the vein of a

Brandon tanev - monahan - Geno

type set up.

It's part of why I'd want to pick up trenin from Nashville if he were avail. I stick him to Genos hip moving forward, let him cause havoc and make room for the old guy.

But, for what's in the current roster, at this point I'm trying

Puusy sid raks
Geno eller rust
Smith O'Connor puljujarvi
Hino gruden Phillips


Given gruden and O'Connor a shot a center at this point and see if they can do the job.

I'd flip Puus and Raks but yeah. I mean literally none of us can come up with as brain dead a line up like Sully.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Jesse is good but he has his moments too, he can get pissy at me all he wants, he's nowhere near as bad as Kingerski, Madden, Yohe, or Rossi but those 4 are also some of the worst beat writers for any team other than the Leafs who have the worst in the entirety of sports..

Recently I've gained a ton of respect for Danny Shirey - he's at least got the bollocks to call out Sullivan. The others above, nope. Jesse may allude to it but not outrightly saying it. I mean how does he see the projected line up choices by Sullivan today and not say a f***ing thing about needing a new voice?

Also Bylsma has a better winning percentage as a Penguins coach and this is a bloke those same reporters had no issue saying he lost the room but 99% won't touch on writing about Sullivan in a negative light.

I know it's a broken record, but it is absolutely INSANE to me that this organization doesn't think a coaching change is in order. How many GM changes and roster overhauls will it take to realize the problem is behind the bench? What, exactly, will it take for Sullivan to be fired?

And honestly, if they're hanging on to him because of Sid, then I hope Sid retires this summer. And I'm saying that as a massive Crosby fan. But I cannot watch this team any longer with Sullivan behind the bench. I just can't.

And it's gone even beyond the results/performance on the ice that's making this team unwatchable. It's this absolutely idiotic refusal to point the finger at Sullivan. We lose and we lose and we lose and it's the star players or it's the GM or it's the depth players or it's the goalie or it's ANYONE but that bumbling idiot behind the bench. f*** off already.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

UMMMMMM I have been a Pens fan since before Mario & went to games at Civic Arena where you could have put a bomb off & no one would have gotten hurt

See that .668 average there? He was a strong regular season coach for us, and an average playoff coach.
Sullivan meanwhile has us at .529 right now and is about to miss the playoffs again.

You guys are wonderful at running down Bylsma, but the stats don't really back up how trash you guys say he was.
Sullivan is actual trash right now. Bylsma got us like 104 points with half a season of no Crosby or Malkin.

Gimme a break.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I know it's a broken record, but it is absolutely INSANE to me that this organization doesn't think a coaching change is in order. How many GM changes and roster overhauls will it take to realize the problem is behind the bench? What, exactly, will it take for Sullivan to be fired?

And honestly, if they're hanging on to him because of Sid, then I hope Sid retires this summer. And I'm saying that as a massive Crosby fan. But I cannot watch this team any longer with Sullivan behind the bench. I just can't.

And it's gone even beyond the results/performance on the ice that's making this team unwatchable. It's this absolutely idiotic refusal to point the finger at Sullivan. We lose and we lose and we lose and it's the star players or it's the GM or it's the depth players or it's the goalie or it's ANYONE but that bumbling idiot behind the bench. f*** off already.

What frustrates me the most is them knowing how and when they need to and even more after the Bylsma years dragging on 1yr longer than it should have.

They hired MJ and after a season and a bit, fired him.

Sully wins two cups and then the next 7 seasons wastes everything. Even if you just go by 2018, that's a long time and they didn't even think about changing the coach, they literally f***ing extended him as the highest paid coach. Not after the 2 cups. But after not winning a single playoff series since 2018 he still got an extension.

It's ridiculous.

I don't get what is making them feel Sullivan is still a great coach. Is it because he kept Jake with Sid and both produced? Even when you know Jake produces better with Malkin, their entire belief is "Sid is still amazing under Coach Sullivan" even if literally everyone else is suffering under the idiotic coach.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

View attachment 822610
See that .668 average there? He was a strong regular season coach for us, and an average playoff coach.
Sullivan meanwhile has us at .529 right now and is about to miss the playoffs again.

You guys are wonderful at running down Bylsma, but the stats don't really back up how trash you guys say he was.
Sullivan is actual trash right now. Bylsma got us like 104 points with half a season of no Crosby or Malkin.

Gimme a break.

The only thing Sullivan now has over Bylsma is 1 more cup.

Bylsma now has the better in season and playoff win % and the irony is Sullivan is going to get 3 more years to shit all over it even more which will make the whole tenure look bizarre and idiotic when all is said and done.

This entire tenure is what we will wax poetic about in the Sid And Geno are as....

"They won a cup and after a bad coach pissed away their elite early prime years, they were resurrected by the next coach that also destroyed any chance they had to ever get back to the finals again, after the back to back cups, the Penguins spiral towards mediocrity was immediate after the second cup, Captained by Mike Sullivan for 10 seasons after the 2 cups where the team missed the playoffs multiple times and haven't won a playoff round since 2018, the 12 years Penguins GM Mike Sullivan coached started as the best in the Crosby era and endured the worst for a decade in the Crosby era..."

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

What frustrates me the most is them knowing how and when they need to and even more after the Bylsma years dragging on 1yr longer than it should have.

They hired MJ and after a season and a bit, fired him.

Sully wins two cups and then the next 7 seasons wastes everything. Even if you just go by 2018, that's a long time and they didn't even think about changing the coach, they literally f***ing extended him as the highest paid coach. Not after the 2 cups. But after not winning a single playoff series since 2018 he still got an extension.

It's ridiculous.

I don't get what is making them feel Sullivan is still a great coach. Is it because he kept Jake with Sid and both produced? Even when you know Jake produces better with Malkin, their entire belief is "Sid is still amazing under Coach Sullivan" even if literally everyone else is suffering under the idiotic coach.

The crazy part is Sullivan's team is going to miss the playoffs for the second straight season despite both Sid and Geno not missing games. Like, what's his excuse at this point?

It's one thing if the Penguins under Sullivan since 2018 didn't win the Cup, but they had one year where they made 1st round, another when they won a round, one year where they made it to round 3, etc. But we're literally just watching season after season of either losing in Round 1 or missing altogether.

And it's not even like the team is a well oiled machine that's simply getting bad puck luck.

There's literally no sane reason they (the organization) views Sullivan in such a shining light. None.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The crazy part is Sullivan's team is going to miss the playoffs for the second straight season despite both Sid and Geno not missing games. Like, what's his excuse at this point?

It's one thing if the Penguins under Sullivan since 2018 didn't win the Cup, but they had one year where they made 1st round, another when they won a round, one year where they made it to round 3, etc. But we're literally just watching season after season of either losing in Round 1 or missing altogether.

And it's not even like the team is a well oiled machine that's simply getting bad puck luck.

There's literally no sane reason they (the organization) views Sullivan in such a shining light. None.

For me the one gripe I hate is that the General Managers let him down like Rutherford, Hextall, and now Dubas and that can't be further from the truth. It's not a rumor that Sullivan is well liked by FSG and the same for Mario & Ron. FSG liked Sullivan so much that he influenced moves and Hextall reportedly wasn't a fan of that and paid the price and then the slimeballs of Penguins media wrote hit pieces about Hextall destroying this team and yet the usage of these so called awful players - Sullivan uses them like vital members of the team.

So did a GM get players that the coach refused to use or did a GM get players a coach wanted and continues to use regularly after the GM has been gone?

Sullivan forced out Cole and Kessel and who knows who else. Refuses to play youth, misused countless veteran players in roles that never made sense for the skillset and career they had before the Pens.

Yet in the media even now - "Dubas didn't add the right players..."

No such thing exists when the coach refuses to use the roster correctly. This is a team that has had 3 GM's pander to the type Sullivan wants and have failed because when the coach has no clue, there isn't a right player. I don't think Dubas did a good or bad job. I think he added more depth than last year in some areas and some lateral moves and then improved the D and Goaltending only to see the D used poorly and the great goaltending, wasted.

Then the depth?

He signed/traded for - Smith, Karlsson, Nieto, Acciari, Hinostroza, White, Nedeljkovic, Hellberg, and Eller.

Lads in the AHL that should have had a dozen or more games by now - Poulin, Gruden, Puustinen - barely used.

Waiver pick ups that are 100% Sully types - Harkins and Phillips - he gives them all the rope when they shouldn't. He also signed Puljujaarvi to give a shot and he got hot in WBS and now he's sitting so blokes like Harkins, White, and Phillips can get a shot while proving nothing on the Pens and elsewhere. And Dubas for some reason keeps taking the blame while not saying anything about the usage or even throwing a little heat towards Sullivan.

Some fun Quotes...

But Sullivan is liked by Fenway Sports Group, the Penguins’ owner. He’s from Boston. They’re from Boston. That shouldn’t matter, but it does. Sullivan will have more power than whoever the new GM is.

Mark Madden: If the Rangers want Mike Sullivan, the Penguins should consider a trade

The New York Rangers want Mike Sullivan to be their coach. The New York media that stooges for the Rangers have leaked that. But Sullivan is under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins through 2027. That doesn’t discourage the Rangers’ stooges, who somehow think the Rangers matter despite a...

triblive.com

And this should have disturbed all of us but at the time all anyone gave a shit about was blaming Hextall for everything and anything...

What Brooks didn’t mention is that Sullivan is helping with the hiring process for the new general manager.

The extent that he is helping isn’t exactly known, but no incoming GM would think Sullivan is unfit for the job.

If a GM candidate doesn’t believe Sullivan is worthy of a head coaching position in Pittsburgh, FSG just straight up won’t hire them.

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/pens-talk/pittsburgh-penguins-coach-mike-sullivan-not-going-anywhere

For a piece published Thursday, Rangers reporter Larry Brooks of the New York Post noted that Rob Rossi of The Athletic recently touched upon how former Penguins general manager Ron Hextall "had issues with how close Sullivan had become to the Fenway Sports Group ownership and how much influence the coach had in personnel matters generally left to the executives."

Reporter unconvinced Rangers won't pursue Penguins' Mike Sullivan

At least one noteworthy individual is not buying that the New York Rangers have moved on from pursuing Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.

www.yardbarker.com

The funniest part about the last quote is how Gallant and the Rangers mutually agreed to part ways after blowing a 2-0 series vs the Devils.

Guess which team kept the coach that blew a 3-1 series lead?


I mean no one batted an eye that Sullivan worked out his extension behind the GM's back. FSG and Sullivan, that's the power structure. FSG, then Sully, then Dubas.

 

[canadianguy77]

And honestly, if they're hanging on to him because of Sid, then I hope Sid retires this summer. And I'm saying that as a massive Crosby fan. But I cannot watch this team any longer with Sullivan behind the bench. I just can't.

And it's gone even beyond the results/performance on the ice that's making this team unwatchable. It's this absolutely idiotic refusal to point the finger at Sullivan. We lose and we lose and we lose and it's the star players or it's the GM or it's the depth players or it's the goalie or it's ANYONE but that bumbling idiot behind the bench. f*** off already.

What if he’s here because of Geno? Why is that never an option? Because it has about the same probability of being true: Zero.

If there was any truth to Sid picking his lines, the teams lines, the roster and lineup decisions, the coaching strategies, the coaches and mgmt themselves, I’m sure there would be actual print of it somewhere. One of his ex-teammates or ex-coaches or the wife or family member of an ex-coach or ex-teammate would spill the beans. There are hundreds if not thousands of people who have been close to the inner circle of the team over the last 2 decades. Someone, somewhere would love to drop that tidbit to the media if it were true? Don’t you think?

 

[DearDiary]

View attachment 822610
See that .668 average there? He was a strong regular season coach for us, and an average playoff coach.
Sullivan meanwhile has us at .529 right now and is about to miss the playoffs again.

You guys are wonderful at running down Bylsma, but the stats don't really back up how trash you guys say he was.
Sullivan is actual trash right now. Bylsma got us like 104 points with half a season of no Crosby or Malkin.

Gimme a break.

Bylsma got that record with Staal, Malkin and Crosby missing 40+ games each. Also took Tampa to 7 games in the playoffs without Crosby and Malkin. All with worse rosters than the Pens have now. Bylsma got his players to play hard for him, while Sullivan the players play soft and they're unable to start games until the 2nd period.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

What if he’s here because of Geno? Why is that never an option? Because it has about the same probability of being true: Zero.

If there was any truth to Sid picking his lines, the teams lines, the roster and lineup decisions, the coaching strategies, the coaches and mgmt themselves, I’m sure there would be actual print of it somewhere. One of his ex-teammates or ex-coaches or the wife or family member of an ex-coach or ex-teammate would spill the beans. There are hundreds if not thousands of people who have been close to the inner circle of the team over the last 2 decades. Someone, somewhere would love to drop that tidbit to the media if it were true? Don’t you think?

Crosby and Letang have been reported as saying Sullivan is the coach they want to play for until they retire. The kind of dumb ass comment you wouldn't believe yet TJ Watt said the same about Tomlin so guess what, even the best are f***ing morons about things.

Crosby does seem to get the wingers no matter what. Guentzel literally had the best output of his career with Malkin and it was never done again. Crosby has even had comments about Jake staying on his line "if he had any say" as a joke. A "joke."

Then there's the romance between FSG and Sullivan. Sullivan spoke to FSG about his extension, went around the GM and got that done.

I hate Rossi and hate is a strong word but I f***ing hate that piece of shit and his hit piece for Hextall, while it had some of the dumbest stuff I ever read about the sob stories about Malkin, which I believe to be 100% made up drama horse shit. But there's a few telling comments that have been echoed by everyone.

The strong bond between Sullivan and FSG.
Other NHL executives knowing about it and feeling for Hextall or any GM in a situation like that. And then the fact that Hextall had to waive players that these idiot reporters kept calling out as bad signings (he cleared cap and they whined they needed to and called out these contracts - so he moves them and gave up nothing and they still bitched) - but to get back to the point - Hextall supposedly made a comment that he felt Kapanen would rebound with someone that would know how to use him better. Or something to that extent.

Hextall even knew the track record of Sully.

As for Crosby, the team had left wingers galore playing on their off wing just so he could get Rakell back on his line. You Know, Rickard Rakell? The player most said was struggling and needed to be better, leap frogged right to Sid's LW? Rust was already there. There's only one other winger Sid has rotated on his line and voila.

I think Sid gets away with it because of how tight he is with Sullivan. If we know Sullivan and FSG are super close, Crosby is just as close with Sullivan. No one on that team is going to go against Crosby knowing he holds almost as much power and influence as Sullivan does.

So Karlsson makes thinly veiled comments about coaching and that's as much as he can do. Malkin literally breaks down and says he has to change the way he plays....

I don't buy Malkin being vocal about Sullivan at all. The rift he caused between Phil And Geno, the usage Geno gets where Geno was actually pissed at his minutes, etc. Yeah fat f***ing chance.

The team won't say shit because Sid hearts Sully.

Bylsma got that record with Staal, Malkin and Crosby missing 40+ games each. Also took Tampa to 7 games in the playoffs without Crosby and Malkin. All with worse rosters than the Pens have now. Bylsma got his players to play hard for him, while Sullivan the players play soft and they're unable to start games until the 2nd period.

And the irony is Yohe And Rossi reportedly wrote Bylsma lost the room. I think he lost maybe Sid. That was enough. Because Sid is super tight with Sully and he's done far worse and there's not a peep about him by those two clowns.

Bylsma had some dumb usage issues as well but he got the team to play out of its mind with worse injuries and rosters than Sullivan has ever had to endure and still has a higher win % than Sully.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

For me the one gripe I hate is that the General Managers let him down like Rutherford, Hextall, and now Dubas and that can't be further from the truth. It's not a rumor that Sullivan is well liked by FSG and the same for Mario & Ron. FSG liked Sullivan so much that he influenced moves and Hextall reportedly wasn't a fan of that and paid the price and then the slimeballs of Penguins media wrote hit pieces about Hextall destroying this team and yet the usage of these so called awful players - Sullivan uses them like vital members of the team.

So did a GM get players that the coach refused to use or did a GM get players a coach wanted and continues to use regularly after the GM has been gone?

Sullivan forced out Cole and Kessel and who knows who else. Refuses to play youth, misused countless veteran players in roles that never made sense for the skillset and career they had before the Pens.

Yet in the media even now - "Dubas didn't add the right players..."

No such thing exists when the coach refuses to use the roster correctly. This is a team that has had 3 GM's pander to the type Sullivan wants and have failed because when the coach has no clue, there isn't a right player. I don't think Dubas did a good or bad job. I think he added more depth than last year in some areas and some lateral moves and then improved the D and Goaltending only to see the D used poorly and the great goaltending, wasted.

Then the depth?

He signed/traded for - Smith, Karlsson, Nieto, Acciari, Hinostroza, White, Nedeljkovic, Hellberg, and Eller.

Lads in the AHL that should have had a dozen or more games by now - Poulin, Gruden, Puustinen - barely used.

Waiver pick ups that are 100% Sully types - Harkins and Phillips - he gives them all the rope when they shouldn't. He also signed Puljujaarvi to give a shot and he got hot in WBS and now he's sitting so blokes like Harkins, White, and Phillips can get a shot while proving nothing on the Pens and elsewhere. And Dubas for some reason keeps taking the blame while not saying anything about the usage or even throwing a little heat towards Sullivan.

Some fun Quotes...

Mark Madden: If the Rangers want Mike Sullivan, the Penguins should consider a trade

The New York Rangers want Mike Sullivan to be their coach. The New York media that stooges for the Rangers have leaked that. But Sullivan is under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins through 2027. That doesn’t discourage the Rangers’ stooges, who somehow think the Rangers matter despite a...

triblive.com

And this should have disturbed all of us but at the time all anyone gave a shit about was blaming Hextall for everything and anything...

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/pens-talk/pittsburgh-penguins-coach-mike-sullivan-not-going-anywhere

Reporter unconvinced Rangers won't pursue Penguins' Mike Sullivan

At least one noteworthy individual is not buying that the New York Rangers have moved on from pursuing Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.

www.yardbarker.com

The funniest part about the last quote is how Gallant and the Rangers mutually agreed to part ways after blowing a 2-0 series vs the Devils.

Guess which team kept the coach that blew a 3-1 series lead?


I mean no one batted an eye that Sullivan worked out his extension behind the GM's back. FSG and Sullivan, that's the power structure. FSG, then Sully, then Dubas.

Larry Brooks makes Rossi and Yohe look like Woodward and Bernstein. He was the only one pushing the Rangers/Sullivan nonsense and his evaluation of any situation should be taken with a barge full of salt.

Also, the dude from the Hockey Writers is a blogger with no sources. There are people with more insight on here than what he has.

As for Gallant, he's never been anywhere more than three years. And he was such a a prick in NY that the Rangers couldn't wait to get rid of him. They could've beaten the Devils and he still likely would have been canned.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Larry Brooks makes Rossi and Yohe look like Woodward and Bernstein. He was the only one pushing the Rangers/Sullivan nonsense and his evaluation of any situation should be taken with a barge full of salt.

Also, the dude from the Hockey Writers is a blogger with no sources. There are people with more insight on here than what he has.

As for Gallant, he's never been anywhere more than three years. And he was such a a prick in NY that the Rangers couldn't wait to get rid of him. They could've beaten the Devils and he still likely would have been canned.

Brooks, Rossi, etc are clowns indeed. While most of the other shit they write is fan fic idiocy, the love fest Between Sullivan And FSG is the one thing they're 100% right about for blokes that are 90% wrong about everything else most of the time.

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Brooks, Rossi, etc are clowns indeed. While most of the other shit they write is fan fic idiocy, the love fest Between Sullivan And FSG is the one thing they're 100% right about for blokes that are 90% wrong about everything else most of the time.

No one has disagreed about the strong relationship.

People seem to be forgetting, though, that relationships end all of the time. People fall out of love. Minds change.

What was true in September may not be true in May.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

No one has disagreed about the strong relationship.

People seem to be forgetting, though, that relationships end all of the time. People fall out of love. Minds change.

What was true in September may not be true in May.

Mate we all hope for this with Sullivan and FSG but it seems like it just won't happen. I mean I still think at best what I can see FSG do is take Sullivan out of the HC role and make him one of the Assistant GM's based on how they were looking at him for guidance with WBS (and likely still are).

In that case, is it better? Sure, as long as he doesn't have any more influence at the coaching level, he can maybe see a new approach as an Assistant GM and if luck is really on our side, a team will poach him and he will forever be out of the Pens in any capacity. I mean they can adjust his role, he's hired as a coach and extended as one, but promoting him up with his current salary could also work.

Honestly I know most don't think this is an option, but I kind of feel like that's the change FSG would make, I don't see them wanting to part ways with Sullivan, to say they're in love with the bloke is an under statement, they likely see him as more than a coach as well.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The team really didn't need to claim Matthew Phillips at all, I don't understand what Kyle Dubas is doing and I don't think he does either.

Also the way Mike Sullivan talked about Phillips makes me think this was less Dubas' choice.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Rakell, Crosby, Rust
O'Connor, Malkin, Phillips
Smith, Eller, Puustinen
Harkins, Carter, White

I dont mind that 3rd line to be honest, could bring in some depth scoring. Id put in Pool Party over White on the 4th. Top 6 needs to be completely redone though.

Id probably go:

Smith - Crosby - Phillips
Rakell - Malkin - Rust
Doc - Eller - Puus

Phillips needs a mucker on his line and I dont want Sid or Geno doing that, leaves either Rust or Smith and Rust plays the same position as him. I think Smith could be decent with Sid and there is no time to try and find out like now.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I dont mind that 3rd line to be honest, could bring in some depth scoring. Id put in Pool Party over White on the 4th. Top 6 needs to be completely redone though.

Id probably go:

Smith - Crosby - Phillips
Rakell - Malkin - Rust
Doc - Eller - Puus

Phillips needs a mucker on his line and I dont want Sid or Geno doing that, leaves either Rust or Smith and Rust plays the same position as him. I think Smith could be decent with Sid and there is no time to try and find out like now.

I like Phillips for the 4th line as it brings it back to being an energy line like it should be. I don't think Puljujarvi has been bad, what's been bad is how he's been utilized. The one thing Jesse is good at is creating scoring chances, he's not the best at finishing them himself, but gaining his confidence in creating offense for others is key to getting him back to playing better. The way the third line plays, it's just used like some filler line. There's zero identity to it, the same for the 4th line - where Sullivan kind of does give it an identity to hold a lead after a goal, which is insanely bizarre given the 4th line is atrocious. I'd even argue Phillips for the 3rd line would be fine in that same vein - He's a puck hound, good off the boards and the cycle, he's the kind of player that jump starts a third line in the Tyler Kennedy way, but even smaller.

If he was to play with Malkin, I would rather the LW was Rakell over O'Connor, I think Drew has sort of just stagnated and as much as I hoped he would some how find a way to break through under an epic tit like Sullivan, he's just all over the place because of he's being used. He's a C/W one year, LW another, RW/LW the next, 4th line, 3rd line, 2nd line as the LW or RW on either. He's never had a proper shot at just growing in any role.

I'd try:

Smith, Crosby, Rust
Rakell, Malkin, Phillips
O'Connor, Eller, Puustinen
Gruden, White, Puljujarvi

I don't dislike Phillips, but I think continuing to add waiver fodder and PTO's that aren't worth signing to like Harkins and White when we could have just seen opportunities given to the blokes Dubas did sign for those roles and players like Gruden, Puustinen, etc...it's just frustrating. In both Gruden and Puustinen's case, they fill a much needed role when put into it, if the coach ever dares to try to put the players in roles that help the team, that is.

Puustinen has looked good with Malkin.
Gruden actually is good on the PK while White and Harkins are useless.