Salary Cap: Pens Salary Cap Thread: Dr Strangedubas "Tankination" is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face."

[MrBurghundy]

I just hope once all things are said and done with Sullivan in Pittsburgh, people can appreciate how good of a coach he was when he first got here, and all the things he accomplished. He's soured these last few years for sure and got too comfortable/set in his ways. But all coaches have their expiration date, and this organization failed to realize it is all.

 

[Ryder71]

I just hope once all things are said and done with Sullivan in Pittsburgh, people can appreciate how good of a coach he was when he first got here, and all the things he accomplished. He's soured these last few years for sure and got too comfortable/set in his ways. But all coaches have their expiration date, and this organization failed to realize it is all.

Pretty fair statement. He's certainly worn out his welcome. But when Jarry imploded against the Isles, that was on that particular player. Hard to fault the coach there. Jarry was historically brutal, otherwise we win that series.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

I remember the game they lost when Jarry passed it right to Bailey because the OT prior Sorokin made a save on Gaudreau he didn't even see.

 

[MrBurghundy]

Pretty fair statement. He's certainly worn out his welcome. But when Jarry imploded against the Isles, that was on that particular player. Hard to fault the coach there. Jarry was historically brutal, otherwise we win that series.

Yeah, that and he won back to back cups. You don't do that if you're an average/bad coach. I get he had great players, but most coaches that win a Cup have great players. It takes a team to win, coaches included.

We all want him gone because he's clearly not the man for the job at this stage of the era, but I bet he moves on and finds work somewhere else and does well.

 

[Ryder71]

Yeah, that and he won back to back cups. You don't do that if you're an average/bad coach. I get he had great players, but most coaches that win a Cup have great players. It takes a team to win, coaches included.

We all want him gone because he's clearly not the man for the job at this stage of the era, but I bet he moves on and finds work somewhere else and does well.

Very likely, yes. He'll get picked up no question. Although I doubt he leaves here any time soon. No matter how much the masses want him to go.

 

[Andy99]

Comment from another poster on another site…good point imo

“Anyone else notice that we have been leading after 2 periods quite a bit and then something happens in the 3rd period to cause blown leads. Could it possibly be rolling 4 lines and playing players under 30 for 40 minutes and then shortening the bench and playing guys over 30 a lot more while breaking up lines that were at worst being effective at holding a lead is not the best idea?

Hopefully Dubas sees this. He either needs to stop bringing in players over 30 that are accessory players like Carter, Nieto and Acciari so if for some reason Sullivan isn’t fired players like this aren’t available to bench guys like Puustinen and Puljujarvi late in a game.

But these players do have a role on some teams but Sullivan can’t help himself. If you really think players like Carter have something to offer off the ice and in a pinch have the experience to play a limited role in a top 9 due to an injury or they have a specific skill set that’s fine but we need a different coach who knows not to play someone like Carter 10+ minutes on back to back nights while having players under 25 play almost half that or are scratched one of those games.”

 

[Ryder71]

Comment from another poster on another site…good point imo

“Anyone else notice that we have been leading after 2 periods quite a bit and then something happens in the 3rd period to cause blown leads. Could it possibly be rolling 4 lines and playing players under 30 for 40 minutes and then shortening the bench and playing guys over 30 a lot more while breaking up lines that were at worst being effective at holding a lead is not the best idea?

Hopefully Dubas sees this. He either needs to stop bringing in players over 30 that are accessory players like Carter, Nieto and Acciari so if for some reason Sullivan isn’t fired players like this aren’t available to bench guys like Puustinen and Puljujarvi late in a game.

But these players do have a role on some teams but Sullivan can’t help himself. If you really think players like Carter have something to offer off the ice and in a pinch have the experience to play a limited role in a top 9 due to an injury or they have a specific skill set that’s fine but we need a different coach who knows not to play someone like Carter 10+ minutes on back to back nights while having players under 25 play almost half that or are scratched one of those games.”

What site?

 

[SEALBound]

Comment from another poster on another site…good point imo

“Anyone else notice that we have been leading after 2 periods quite a bit and then something happens in the 3rd period to cause blown leads. Could it possibly be rolling 4 lines and playing players under 30 for 40 minutes and then shortening the bench and playing guys over 30 a lot more while breaking up lines that were at worst being effective at holding a lead is not the best idea?

Hopefully Dubas sees this. He either needs to stop bringing in players over 30 that are accessory players like Carter, Nieto and Acciari so if for some reason Sullivan isn’t fired players like this aren’t available to bench guys like Puustinen and Puljujarvi late in a game.

But these players do have a role on some teams but Sullivan can’t help himself. If you really think players like Carter have something to offer off the ice and in a pinch have the experience to play a limited role in a top 9 due to an injury or they have a specific skill set that’s fine but we need a different coach who knows not to play someone like Carter 10+ minutes on back to back nights while having players under 25 play almost half that or are scratched one of those games.”

We do not have a deep roster. The roster, especially the bottom 6, is the weakest link for this team. And when you combine that with Sullivan's biases, yes, of course we are going to see lineup issues in the third.

Sullivan basically double shifted Carter the majority of the Leafs game running Smith-Eller-Carter. That's not a line that's conducive to pushing offensive play. That is the "well, we think that is the Leafs get it in the defensive zone, this line gives us a better chance not to be scored on". And that's not a good strategy for this team. This team does not have the defensive system (or players) that can go into the defensive shell. To borrow a cheesy quote from Miracle and Kurt Russel - you don't defend them, you attack them. Carter is not the man that does that.

Now that said, while I might not agree, I can understand if Sullivan is iffy on the defensive prowness of Puustinen, Bemstrom, and Puljujarvi but to the point the poster was making - that forces them to rely heavily on older players which over the course of a season will certainly have a negative effect. That's on Dubas to give the team a better bottom 6 support staff. And not just one that is "defense only". If he could have constructed: Bemstrom-Eller-Puljujarvi as the 4th line, that is a line you should be able to put out when you're up by one with 10min or 5min left in the 3rd.

I noted in that Toronto game that I could recall when Smith-Eller-Carter had anything of substance going on in the game outside of surviving the shift but I DID notice Smith-Eller-Puustinen several times.

 

[canadianguy77]

We do not have a deep roster. The roster, especially the bottom 6, is the weakest link for this team. And when you combine that with Sullivan's biases, yes, of course we are going to see lineup issues in the third.

Sullivan basically double shifted Carter the majority of the Leafs game running Smith-Eller-Carter. That's not a line that's conducive to pushing offensive play. That is the "well, we think that is the Leafs get it in the defensive zone, this line gives us a better chance not to be scored on". And that's not a good strategy for this team. This team does not have the defensive system (or players) that can go into the defensive shell. To borrow a cheesy quote from Miracle and Kurt Russel - you don't defend them, you attack them. Carter is not the man that does that.

Now that said, while I might not agree, I can understand if Sullivan is iffy on the defensive prowness of Puustinen, Bemstrom, and Puljujarvi but to the point the poster was making - that forces them to rely heavily on older players which over the course of a season will certainly have a negative effect. That's on Dubas to give the team a better bottom 6 support staff. And not just one that is "defense only". If he could have constructed: Bemstrom-Eller-Puljujarvi as the 4th line, that is a line you should be able to put out when you're up by one with 10min or 5min left in the 3rd.

I noted in that Toronto game that I could recall when Smith-Eller-Carter had anything of substance going on in the game outside of surviving the shift but I DID notice Smith-Eller-Puustinen several times.

I think it’s far more sinister than this. I think at times, he tries to put Carter in advantageous positions in order to bolster Carters numbers and analytics. I also think he tries to muddy the numbers of other combinations if they look better with someone he doesn’t prefer.

So for instance, when a line without JC is playing well and JCs line is playing like shit, he’ll switch JC to the line that’s working. Inevitably that line goes to shit and the other line starts gaining some traction, so he switches JC back. And round and round we go.

He did this a lot with ZAR, Simon and to a lesser extent Ruhwedel. With Ruh, he would constantly swap his partners, but never him. It was always insinuated that Ruh was never the problem even though he was a constant.

 

[Andy99]

I think it’s far more sinister than this. I think at times, he tries to put Carter in advantageous positions in order to bolster Carters numbers and analytics. I also think he tries to muddy the numbers of other combinations if they look better with someone he doesn’t prefer.

So for instance, when a line without JC is playing well and JCs line is playing like shit, he’ll switch JC to the line that’s working. Inevitably that line goes to shit and the other line starts gaining some traction, so he switches JC back. And round and round we go.

He did this a lot with ZAR, Simon and to a lesser extent Ruhwedel. With Ruh, he would constantly swap his partners, but never him. It was always insinuated that Ruh was never the problem even though he was a constant.

Why would he do this? Is he getting a cut from Carter's agent? I happen to believe he's just a really risk averse coach playing scared, and he really thinks the experienced vets are a "safer" choice...philosophy of "they might not win you a game, but they won't lose it." Wrong. They do lose it. He's one reason I'll be surprised if we make it to the postseason or win a round

What site?

Top secret. They don't let old cranky guys like you in lol

 

[SEALBound]

I think it’s far more sinister than this. I think at times, he tries to put Carter in advantageous positions in order to bolster Carters numbers and analytics. I also think he tries to muddy the numbers of other combinations if they look better with someone he doesn’t prefer.

So for instance, when a line without JC is playing well and JCs line is playing like shit, he’ll switch JC to the line that’s working. Inevitably that line goes to shit and the other line starts gaining some traction, so he switches JC back. And round and round we go.

He did this a lot with ZAR, Simon and to a lesser extent Ruhwedel. With Ruh, he would constantly swap his partners, but never him. It was always insinuated that Ruh was never the problem even though he was a constant.

Another good example would be riding McGinn-Carter-Kapanen into the f***ing ground until Hextall waived Kapanen. Kapanen would be a great bottom 6 wing to have right now instead of the corpse of Carter. Another Hextall dandy decision.

 

[Coastal Kev]

Another good example would be riding McGinn-Carter-Kapanen into the f***ing ground until Hextall waived Kapanen. Kapanen would be a great bottom 6 wing to have right now instead of the corpse of Carter. Another Hextall dandy decision.

Imagine this roster with McCann and Kap??? And not signing Graves......and a new coach??????????

They might just be the best team in the east..... Don't make me ANGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SEALBound]

Imagine this roster with McCann and Kap??? And not signing Graves......and a new coach??????????

They might just be the best team in the east..... Don't make me ANGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then look at the drafts and think about guy like Forsberg that we could have had

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Then good at the drafts and think about guy like Forsberg that we could have had

Pasta, too. Probably others.

Also... they coulda drafted Harkins and had him and his deceptively great shot this entire time. He was taken right after Sprong

I think it’s far more sinister than this. I think at times, he tries to put Carter in advantageous positions in order to bolster Carters numbers and analytics. I also think he tries to muddy the numbers of other combinations if they look better with someone he doesn’t prefer.

So for instance, when a line without JC is playing well and JCs line is playing like shit, he’ll switch JC to the line that’s working. Inevitably that line goes to shit and the other line starts gaining some traction, so he switches JC back. And round and round we go.

He did this a lot with ZAR, Simon and to a lesser extent Ruhwedel. With Ruh, he would constantly swap his partners, but never him. It was always insinuated that Ruh was never the problem even though he was a constant.

Anyone who thinks this is way out in left field hasn't been paying attention to the rank stupidity and favoritism that is tenured NHL coaching.

 

[Ryder71]

Why would he do this? Is he getting a cut from Carter's agent? I happen to believe he's just a really risk averse coach playing scared, and he really thinks the experienced vets are a "safer" choice...philosophy of "they might not win you a game, but they won't lose it." Wrong. They do lose it. He's one reason I'll be surprised if we make it to the postseason or win a round


Top secret. They don't let old cranky guys like you in lol

Uh, I see. lol

 

[HandshakeLine]

Anyone who thinks this is way out in left field hasn't been paying attention to the rank stupidity and favoritism that is tenured NHL coaching.

It's wild because Occam's razor suggests that Carter plays a lot because Sullivan likes how Carter plays, simple as that.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

It's wild because Occam's razor suggests that Carter plays a lot because Sullivan likes how Carter plays, simple as that.

Not impossible. Which means he's just dumb, of course.

Would explain why the roster is such a trainwreck year after year. Horrific evaluation. Room temp IQ.

 

[Darren McCord]

I just hope once all things are said and done with Sullivan in Pittsburgh, people can appreciate how good of a coach he was when he first got here, and all the things he accomplished. He's soured these last few years for sure and got too comfortable/set in his ways. But all coaches have their expiration date, and this organization failed to realize it is all.

Same could be said about Bylsma. Sullivan is a fine coach but he isn't that great. One could argue Tocchet made just as much if not more of an impact in those first couple years.

Sullivan and Bylsma should be remember for the good but also the bad.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Sullivan's career has been a giant shart aside from two momentous years. Going back to his time as an AC, even.

I no longer believe Mike Sullivan is a great coach whose time is just up.

 

[Pens x]

Sully bounced around a bunch before the cup runs. To me, he’s the Jonathan Cheecho of head coaches - fluky two good seasons.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

I'm open to signing Ned to 3.5 for 3 years.

Trade Jarry for a small asset. Teams need goalies. If you need a goalie Jarry is it.

 

[BusinessGoose]

I'm open to signing Ned to 3.5 for 3 years.

Trade Jarry for a small asset. Teams need goalies. If you need a goalie Jarry is it.

They can keep wasting money on jarry backing up for all I care, just so long as they keep ned and put him as primary

Jarry can be okay, you just can't rely on him as your starter

 

[Ryder71]

Sully bounced around a bunch before the cup runs. To me, he’s the Jonathan Cheecho of head coaches - fluky two good seasons.

In 2018 we lost in the 2hd round being severely banged up and to the eventual cup champs. No shame in that. '21 we lost to the Isles because the goalie single handedly lost it for us.

They can keep wasting money on jarry backing up for all I care, just so long as they keep ned and put him as primary

Jarry can be okay, you just can't rely on him as your starter

What about Blomqvist?

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

In 2018 we lost in the 2hd round being severely banged up and to the eventual cup champs. No shame in that. '21 we lost to the Isles because the goalie single handedly lost it for us.

We used to be so good at 3rd period shutdowns. 2018 we still probably win that series if Kris Letang doesn't lose his mind and give them that breakaway they used to eventually win game 5 and take the series lead.

Same thing in 2022. We've got an AHLer in net and Rags are down one in Game 7. They had, what...1 shot on goal through most of the 3rd period playing for their lives? Then Petts gets his helmet ripped off and doesn't know the rules and that's it.

So yeah...acting like the team has been dead in the water since 2017 due to Sully is...well...Josh Yohe levels of hockey analysis, frankly.

 

[Ryder71]

We used to be so good at 3rd period shutdowns. 2018 we still probably win that series if Kris Letang doesn't lose his mind and give them that breakaway they used to eventually win game 5 and take the series lead.

Same thing in 2022. We've got an AHLer in net and Rags are down one in Game 7. They had, what...1 shot on goal through most of the 3rd period playing for their lives? Then Petts gets his helmet ripped off and doesn't know the rules and that's it.

So yeah...acting like the team has been dead in the water since 2017 due to Sully is...well...Josh Yohe levels of hockey analysis, frankly.

Agree 100%! And I'm no Sully fan, but lets not distort the truth and the past. But we haven't won a series since 2018 be it the coach or the players, so it'd be nice if things changed. They traded Jake so, we'll see.