Post-Game Talk: Pens suck

[Josey Wales]

Sully been the coach longer than any coach besides coop.



Let’s at least try it.

AS I have said Repeatedly you can fire CS yesterday, only thing that will do is expose the "Core"

 

[Kiith Nabaal]

You could bring Scotty Bowman back in his prime & this team not winning anything

Of course. A new coach alone isn't going to win us a cup. We do have some issues on the roster that need to be addressed. Even when Sullivan first came on we were still losing games until the roster improved.

I do think its the minimum difference between us missing or making the playoffs, though.

Sully been the coach longer than any coach besides coop.

I was in the process of making a longer post in another thread about this, but decided against it. Since it is more relevant now:

Joel Quenneville won three cups with the Blackhawks, and was fired just 15 games into his last season after missing the playoffs beforehand.

Darryl Sutter won the cup nearly half the time he was coach in LA and was let go after six seasons.

Las Vegas let go of Gallant during his third season, and he made the finals with them his first year!

It is honestly surprising Sullivan has been around as long as he has been.

 

[ChaosAgent]

So down to fire Sullivan.

He'll get paid $20M to do nothing. Hard to feel bad for him. Actually, impossible.

 

[Ginormousthumbs]

Thems the breaks

 

[Turin]

Of course. A new coach alone isn't going to win us a cup. We do have some issues on the roster that need to be addressed. Even when Sullivan first came on we were still losing games until the roster improved.

I do think its the minimum difference between us missing or making the playoffs, though.



I was in the process of making a longer post in another thread about this, but decided against it. Since it is more relevant now:

Joel Quenneville won three cups with the Blackhawks, and was fired just 15 games into his last season after missing the playoffs beforehand.

Darryl Sutter won the cup nearly half the time he was coach in LA and was let go after six seasons.

Las Vegas let go of Gallant during his third season, and he made the finals with them his first year!

It is honestly surprising Sullivan has been around as long as he has been.

Nevermind the fact that he's on his 3rd Pens GM and 2nd ownership group.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

You can’t tell me the Islander or Caps have a better roster than us. And they are somehow playing better.

Better constructed for the way they're coached--yeah, I think they do have better rosters for what they're trying to do and coaches willing to coach as opposed to writing down the same answers every time and refusing to accept the repeated failing grades.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Of course. A new coach alone isn't going to win us a cup. We do have some issues on the roster that need to be addressed. Even when Sullivan first came on we were still losing games until the roster improved.

I do think its the minimum difference between us missing or making the playoffs, though.



I was in the process of making a longer post in another thread about this, but decided against it. Since it is more relevant now:

Joel Quenneville won three cups with the Blackhawks, and was fired just 15 games into his last season after missing the playoffs beforehand.

Darryl Sutter won the cup nearly half the time he was coach in LA and was let go after six seasons.

Las Vegas let go of Gallant during his third season, and he made the finals with them his first year!

It is honestly surprising Sullivan has been around as long as he has been.

The way two ownership groups have fawned over Sullivan, especially the last three or four years, is baffling. Don't know that I've ever seen anything like it tbh.

The adage used to be NHL coaches are hired to be fired. This dude's immune from criticism--hell, he's showered with obsessive praise--going on six straight years of steeply declining failures now. Weird shit.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Considering the amount of money invested in this roster, as well as the "all in" approach of adding Karlsson as long as Sid/Geno are around, this organization really needs to stop f***ing around with keeping Sullivan until it's way too late.

The fact this team can't hold leads, and it was an issue last year, is all on coaching.

If they don't fire Sullivan, I hope they don't see the playoffs ever again.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Considering the amount of money invested in this roster, as well as the "all in" approach of adding Karlsson as long as Sid/Geno are around, this organization really needs to stop f***ing around with keeping Sullivan until it's way too late.

The fact this team can't hold leads, and it was an issue last year, is all on coaching.

If they don't fire Sullivan, I hope they don't see the playoffs ever again.

I hope they bottom out into a top-5 pick, because losing in *that* embarrassing a fashion leaves no excuses anymore.

It was "JR's slow blueline that couldn't handle the Isles' forecheck in 2019". It was "a weird play-in scenario and all bets were off" in 2020. It was "just Jarry" in 2021. It was "just Domingue" in 2022. It was "a few bounces here and there throughout a season" making them miss the playoffs in 2023. If they hit rock bottom and still don't clean house this summer, then well...

 

[DesertedPenguin]

Yikes.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

Might not be a bad idea to go for Woodcroft. Not always the case you have a good coach just waiting around

So down to fire Sullivan.

He'll get paid $20M to do nothing. Hard to feel bad for him. Actually, impossible.

As a college football fan this just another day of business

 

[Kiith Nabaal]

The way two ownership groups have fawned over Sullivan, especially the last three or four years, is baffling. Don't know that I've ever seen anything like it tbh.

The adage used to be NHL coaches are hired to be fired. This dude's immune from criticism--hell, he's showered with obsessive praise--going on six straight years of steeply declining failures now. Weird shit.

I wonder if he gives them the slideshow where he talks about Neuroscience and how Neurons work + anything involving strategy.

In fairness, I do like that he factored science into his work, or at least used to.

 

[BrookswasHere44]

Why exactly do people want Woodcroft?

Because he's a good coach, not Sully and .....PP

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

I wonder if he gives them the slideshow where he talks about Neuroscience and how Neurons work + anything involving strategy.

View attachment 772983

In fairness, I do like that he factored science into his work, or at least used to.

Genuinely have no clue. I don't think Sullivan's the only problem by any means; the way JR and Hextall f***ed this team up for years is just as big of a problem. But firing a coach is a whole hell of a lot more simple and easy than sorting out a half mediocre/bad roster, zero prospect depth, etc.

No clue why he seems to have immunity after years of worsening results. But I keep pointing to guys like Ruff who coach for 25-30 years only appearing in the Finals once, or guys like Laviolette or Torts or Hitchcock who only win once but get 25 years of coaching jobs. You've got Sully who won two, back to back--dude can accomplish nothing for another 20 years and he'd still have work if he wanted it.

Also, revisiting this little beaut that Andy posted before the game.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Also, revisiting this little beaut that Andy posted before the game.

Bob Grove is amazing at posting little meaningless factoids to drive miniscule engagement.

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Anyway, what a miserable end to the era the final like 7 years of Sid's career will end up being. Gross.

 

[Andy99]

This is from Kan Dingerski article after the game…I agree with this and mentioned this earlier…I’ve never liked the ice times Sullivan doles out to our old players lol

“Center Noel Acciari played 8:25. Matt Nieto played only 8:16. And Jeff Carter played 6:33.

With a 2-0 lead and then a 2-1 lead, shouldn’t the fourth line get more ice time, not less? With Buffalo bringing physicality and trying to unnerve the Penguins’ stars, shouldn’t Acciari be out there?”

Penguins Grades: ‘A Horrible Call,’ Pens’ Meltdown & Exasperation

BUFFALO — It looked like a vintage Pittsburgh Penguins game and a meltdown from the bygone middle 2010s era. A phantom penalty against Evgeni Malkin led to a third-period Buffalo Sabres power play and the Sabres’ first goal to cut the Penguins’ lead to 2-1. Replays were definitive that Buffalo...

pittsburghhockeynow.com

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

It's cool that Acciari's only notable trait is throwing a buncha hits and he's got 24 hits through 19 games with this team. Nice, Sullivan.

 

[tom_servo]

Bob Grove is amazing at posting little meaningless factoids to drive miniscule engagement.

And engage we shall because bless Bob Grove. I don't think he's even employed.

 

[Andy99]

 

[SomeDude]

As Mark Madden has said:

-Sully won’t be fired.

-The power play won’t change, and it’s on the players, NOT the coaches.

So don’t discuss these things. Learn to deal with it.

I prefer to go with something Mark Madden has said a lot more: “of course I want extra gravy.”

 

[Gurglesons]

I told you. Malkin and EK65 are going to eat it this season instead of Mike Sullivan.

 

[ChaosAgent]

He and everyone else needs to pull their head out on the powerplay. Maybe we get a sea change in philosophy with a new coach, but I'm convinced that 87/71/59 can't be part of a successful powerplay together.

Bottom-line is the powerplay has sunk this team for 2 years straight. Both the fault of coaching and the personnel out there, which includes the Core.

 

[Dennis Reynolds]

they really believe it’s just a couple bad bounces lol

Puck luck often dictates how a period goes.

Sometimes it determines an entire game.

It is NEVER to blame for a losing record after 19 games.

And everyone who's played the game knows this. So what's the deal? Is the coaching staff gaslighting them into believing this? How can professionals parrot this nonsense?

 

[ChaosAgent]

Puck luck often dictates how a period goes.
Sometimes it determines an entire game.
It is NEVER to blame for a losing record after 19 games.
And everyone who's played the game knows this. So what's the deal? Is the coaching staff gaslighting them into believing this? How can professionals parrot this nonsense?

The team thinks it's better than it is. Has for years now. So has Sully and his staff.