News Article: Rutherford and Johnston are staying. Both of them.

[Sidney the Kidney]

Talk to wings fans about Cleary before this year lol. He was their Adams. Although not nearly as bad

Every coach has their little pet project favorite. The difference seems to be the Pens coaches utilize multiple useless veterans, while other teams maybe have one guy like that (ie. Cleary in Detroit, Handzus in Chicago).

I'll take Mike Babcock, even if it means a Dan Cleary fetish, over the two we've had these past two years with their Adams, Glass, Kunitz, Scuderi fetishes.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

One of the main reasons Babcock and Holland have butted heads is the vets vs. youth thing. But it's hard to figure out which one prefers which. I mean, if Holland really really really didn't want Babcock to play Cleary over Tatar, Nyquist, Jurco, etc., why did he keep re-signing him year after year? Then again, a good GM keeps his coach happy, especially a talented one.

Then again, it's Babcock who has gone from Howard to Mrazek late this season and it seems to be paying off handsomely.

At this point, it's really hard to tell what Babcock would do with THIS franchise if given full control...but I sure as hell would want to find out.

 

[td_ice]

I just don't think Mario and Burkle would spend the money necessary to get Babcock, pay Blysma for another year, and also pay Johnston another year. Paying for three coaches? That would be a ton of money. I don't see it happening. But I hope I am wrong. Can't see Johnston not being the coach, unless Sid and Geno demand it.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

For anyone here that watched Calgary/Vancouver this evening, you feel the pain of realizing how damn boring our favorite team is.

That was a real hockey game. Speed, passes that connect and the puck actually went in the net!

Yes, I know this has nothing to do with the topic but I don't care.

Our team is the oldest team in the league. Watch these other teams and they have youth + speed.

We have a bunch of ****ing tanks from world war 2 thinking this is how the game was won 6-7 years ago. Even the Kings were considered huge and had a ton of tanks on their team but they also had a bunch of guys with speed too like Toffoli, Pearson, Gaborik, etc. Who is our fastest forward? The guy with the blood clot issues. Who is our fastest defenseman? The guy with concussion issues.

Our team skates in quicksand. We can't keep up. It's like a senior league hockey team playing a bunch of under 21s. They can't keep up. How many times did we witness Scuderi and ****joy get burned on D? Even Cole by guys like Hagelin. We had nothing for that. It's not just this one series either. It's been all season.

 

[PKV Jungle Friends]

Our team is the oldest team in the league. Watch these other teams and they have youth + speed.

We have a bunch of ****ing tanks from world war 2 thinking this is how the game was won 6-7 years ago. Even the Kings were considered huge and had a ton of tanks on their team but they also had a bunch of guys with speed too like Toffoli, Pearson, Gaborik, etc. Who is our fastest forward? The guy with the blood clot issues. Who is our fastest defenseman? The guy with concussion issues.

Our team skates in quicksand. We can't keep up. It's like a senior league hockey team playing a bunch of under 21s. They can't keep up. How many times did we witness Scuderi and ****joy get burned on D? Even Cole by guys like Hagelin. We had nothing for that. It's not just this one series either. It's been all season.

Perfect summary.

I like Cole though, even though he's not super fast.

 

[66-30-33]

Our team is the oldest team in the league. Watch these other teams and they have youth + speed.

We have a bunch of ****ing tanks from world war 2 thinking this is how the game was won 6-7 years ago. Even the Kings were considered huge and had a ton of tanks on their team but they also had a bunch of guys with speed too like Toffoli, Pearson, Gaborik, etc. Who is our fastest forward? The guy with the blood clot issues. Who is our fastest defenseman? The guy with concussion issues.

Our team skates in quicksand. We can't keep up. It's like a senior league hockey team playing a bunch of under 21s. They can't keep up. How many times did we witness Scuderi and ****joy get burned on D? Even Cole by guys like Hagelin. We had nothing for that. It's not just this one series either. It's been all season.

We will just have to like it, they aren't changing their ways.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

I just don't think Mario and Burkle would spend the money necessary to get Babcock, pay Blysma for another year, and also pay Johnston another year. Paying for three coaches? That would be a ton of money. I don't see it happening. But I hope I am wrong. Can't see Johnston not being the coach, unless Sid and Geno demand it.

I think they would absolutely spend the money but I don't think they will.

I think the paying 3 coaches thing is overrated reason to not sign Babcock.

This is my MBA here speaking. The Pens will lose a lot more $ if interest in the team wanes and we've already seen it with season ticket holders (reportedly 5k of them) not signing up for playoff tickets, supposedly a significant amount of people left the season ticket holder list, and so on. Personally I go to about 90% of the games when I'm not traveling and the team stores were ghost towns compared to previous years. I have club tickets and couldn't even give them away when I couldn't go. I'd have to ask 5 or more people.

If signing Babcock generates a large amount of interest/marketing in the team, it will drive sales. It's a no brainer from a business point of view. You write off the other guys and will generate more revenue from bringing in Babcock because of the interest it will bring the team.

Also, if Bylsma and Shero get jobs, the Pens aren't responsible for their salaries anymore and receive a 3rd round pick in return if I read what someone reported about that being correct too.

Trust me, if the Pens **** up this offseason, they are going to playing a lot more commercials trying to sell tickets.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

We will just have to like it, they aren't changing their ways.

Whelp, you know what they say. If you don't adapt to the environment, you'll die.

Can you tell me Calgary has more talent than we do? Overall, no. They have a great mix of vets and kids who are hungry. They never stop moving. Ferland and Monahan cause havoc out there.

 

[td_ice]

I think they would absolutely spend the money but I don't think they will.

I think the paying 3 coaches thing is overrated reason to not sign Babcock.

This is my MBA here speaking. The Pens will lose a lot more $ if interest in the team wanes and we've already seen it with season ticket holders (reportedly 5k of them) not signing up for playoff tickets, supposedly a significant amount of people left the season ticket holder list, and so on. Personally I go to about 90% of the games when I'm not traveling and the team stores were ghost towns compared to previous years. I have club tickets and couldn't even give them away when I couldn't go. I'd have to ask 5 or more people.

If signing Babcock generates a large amount of interest/marketing in the team, it will drive sales. It's a no brainer from a business point of view. You write off the other guys and will generate more revenue from bringing in Babcock because of the interest it will bring the team.

Also, if Bylsma and Shero get jobs, the Pens aren't responsible for their salaries anymore and receive a 3rd round pick in return if I read what someone reported about that being correct too.

Trust me, if the Pens **** up this offseason, they are going to playing a lot more commercials trying to sell tickets.

I'll take your club seats for free.


I think that is a bit of hyperbole on the tickets. I am the opposite of you. I have season tickets and don't go to 90% of the games and I never had a problem getting rid of the tickets. Mind you it was usually face value, but didn't get stuck with any. But yeah, "SELLING" your club seats is another story. How many people can afford those seats? Not many. The entire lower bowl is greatly overpriced for the current product.

I hope you are right on the Babcock thing. But I don't know about the Babcock being a draw for people. Or getting people excited to buy tickets. Hardcore fans, maybe, but I doubt the average fan would suddenly get excited because of him.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I just don't think Mario and Burkle would spend the money necessary to get Babcock, pay Blysma for another year, and also pay Johnston another year. Paying for three coaches? That would be a ton of money. I don't see it happening. But I hope I am wrong. Can't see Johnston not being the coach, unless Sid and Geno demand it.

I think there would be only ONE possible way...and that's if we fire the GM as well (and do not replace him).

IOW, Babcock gets the dual title...and he lets the minions handle the day-to-day managerial tasks. But he has final say on all player personnel.

It's DAMN risky, and a big head like Babcock could get even bigger. But it's the only way to get Babcock now.

Say Edmonton now has the best shot at Babcock, with Nicholson, Chiarelli and McDavid all aligned for them. The ONLY thing we can offer him that they can't is full control of the entire hockey operation.

 

[td_ice]

I think there would be only ONE possible way...and that's if we fire the GM as well (and do not replace him).

IOW, Babcock gets the dual title...and he lets the minions handle the day-to-day managerial tasks. But he has final say on all player personnel.

It's DAMN risky, and a big head like Babcock could get even bigger. But it's the only way to get Babcock now.

Say Edmonton now has the best shot at Babcock, with Nicholson, Chiarelli and McDavid all aligned for them. The ONLY thing we can offer him that they can't is full control of the entire hockey operation.

I would love to see it. Even if it means giving him the GM job.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

I'll take your club seats for free.


I think that is a bit of hyperbole on the tickets. I am the opposite of you. I have season tickets and don't go to 90% of the games and I never had a problem getting rid of the tickets. Mind you it was usually face value, but didn't get stuck with any. But yeah, "SELLING" your club seats is another story. How many people can afford those seats? Not many. The entire lower bowl is greatly overpriced for the current product.

I hope you are right on the Babcock thing. But I don't know about the Babcock being a draw for people. Or getting people excited. Hardcore fans, maybe, but I doubt the average fan would suddenly get excited because of him.

I don't sell my club seats. I give them to co-workers. Even giving away seats at center ice wasn't so easy and I work with a lot of Pens/hockey fans. Also, I'm not the only person in the club that has had this same issue. Another business owner I know has 4 seats in the club and he couldn't give them away easy to friends/family as well. The hockey wasn't entertaining, the team was only giving effort for 20 minutes a game, and so on. We heard it all. I can't disagree with a lot of it either. I love the Pens but I'm analytical about them. They had a lot of reasons to not like them this year for much of the season.

I don't give the tickets to people who will re-sell them

I think the average fan knows about Babcock. All you have to do is read FB and Twitter and see the dregs of non-smart fans putting their hope on it. It would generate a ton of interest in the team IMO. Team Canada's head coach, best coach in the league, closest HC to a legend in the league, doesn't take **** from the refs, knows how to manage stars, etc.

That said, I don't think it will happen but from a business point of view, it'd be great for the Pens...depending on what Babcock really wants and if it's not much more than a HC.

 

[td_ice]

I don't sell my club seats. I give them to co-workers. Even giving away seats at center ice wasn't so easy and I work with a lot of Pens/hockey fans. Also, I'm not the only person in the club that has had this same issue. Another business owner I know has 4 seats in the club and he couldn't give them away easy to friends/family as well. The hockey wasn't entertaining, the team was only giving effort for 20 minutes a game, and so on. We heard it all. I can't disagree with a lot of it either. I love the Pens but I'm analytical about them. They had a lot of reasons to not like them this year for much of the season.

I don't give the tickets to people who will re-sell them

I think the average fan knows about Babcock. All you have to do is read FB and Twitter and see the dregs of non-smart fans putting their hope on it. It would generate a ton of interest in the team IMO. Team Canada's head coach, best coach in the league, closest HC to a legend in the league, doesn't take **** from the refs, knows how to manage stars, etc.

That said, I don't think it will happen but from a business point of view, it'd be great for the Pens...depending on what Babcock really wants and if it's not much more than a HC.

Well that is strange about the club seats. I have upper bowl seats and I could name about 20 people I know that would take my free tickets in a heartbeat. Hmm......weird.

I definitely wouldn't resell your tickets, I would use them. Send them my way next time if your friends don't want them.

 

[bradshaw06]

I could see, in typical pens fashion, Babcock becoming available. Pens fire MJ and JR to get babcock. Babcock goes to a team like the Flyers and the pens are left scrambling.

 

[canadianguy77]

I don't sell my club seats. I give them to co-workers. Even giving away seats at center ice wasn't so easy and I work with a lot of Pens/hockey fans. Also, I'm not the only person in the club that has had this same issue. Another business owner I know has 4 seats in the club and he couldn't give them away easy to friends/family as well. The hockey wasn't entertaining, the team was only giving effort for 20 minutes a game, and so on. We heard it all. I can't disagree with a lot of it either. I love the Pens but I'm analytical about them. They had a lot of reasons to not like them this year for much of the season.

I don't give the tickets to people who will re-sell them

I think the average fan knows about Babcock. All you have to do is read FB and Twitter and see the dregs of non-smart fans putting their hope on it. It would generate a ton of interest in the team IMO. Team Canada's head coach, best coach in the league, closest HC to a legend in the league, doesn't take **** from the refs, knows how to manage stars, etc.

That said, I don't think it will happen but from a business point of view, it'd be great for the Pens...depending on what Babcock really wants and if it's not much more than a HC.

You're giving way too much credit here to STH's, imo. He wouldn't be a draw.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

You're giving way too much credit here to STH's, imo. He wouldn't be a draw.

Yeah. Most people don't really care who the coach is, and no one pays money to watch "Babcock's team." Winning draws fans, not coaches.

 

[billybudd]

I could see, in typical pens fashion, Babcock becoming available. Pens fire MJ and JR to get babcock. Babcock goes to a team like the Flyers and the pens are left scrambling.

Definitely the worst case scenario.

However, Babcock, to my knowledge, has no ties to Flyer personnel or the Eastern PA region. The opposite is true of Pittsburgh in both cases.

 

[SchultzSquared*]

With Lowe and MacT gone in Edmonton Burkle/Lemieux Rutherford and Desjardins are the next on my management/coaching crap list... you folks do not deserve to be saddled with them especially with the best player in the world on your team... oh and Crosby too ( )... here is hoping a clean comes out of the blue like the Oilers did and your team returns to being viable contenders

 

[JTG]

I just don't think Mario and Burkle would spend the money necessary to get Babcock, pay Blysma for another year, and also pay Johnston another year. Paying for three coaches? That would be a ton of money. I don't see it happening. But I hope I am wrong. Can't see Johnston not being the coach, unless Sid and Geno demand it.

If you let him coach and GM and pay him one salary, I'm sure they'd make some money up there.

 

[Darth Vitale]

For anyone here that watched Calgary/Vancouver this evening, you feel the pain of realizing how damn boring our favorite team is.

That was a real hockey game. Speed, passes that connect and the puck actually went in the net!

Yes, I know this has nothing to do with the topic but I don't care.

Heyyy, is that.... Bob Hartley coaching the small market, young talent Flames past the big bad Vancouver Canucks? The coach many people said would be a terrible choice in recent years past when Bylsmagic was driving us up a wall?

My point is not so much that Hartley was the right guy for us (he may not have been) but that he's not the terrible coach some people made him out to be. He's a pretty good coach on balance. Not winning in Atlanta doesn't count -- nobody was going to win in Atlanta.

And now back to your regularly scheduled senility and iron rich diets with Jim "Where Are My Glasses" Rutherford and Mike "Liver Eating" Johnston.

 

[IcedCapp]

Babcock saves money in the long run, because you eliminate 8 positions by hiring him.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Babcock saves money in the long run, because you eliminate 8 positions by hiring him.

So true. He'd probably have a Director of N. American Scouting, Director of European Scouting, a Director of Player Personnel (whose job it would be to do all the things Babcock doesn't want to deal with), and a guy who stands outside his door to make sure David Morehouse never gets in.

 

[td_ice]

If you let him coach and GM and pay him one salary, I'm sure they'd make some money up there.

I'm all for it.

Would also be great to see the angst it would cause the Penguins hating Red Wings fans.

 

[SEALBound]

One of the main reasons Babcock and Holland have butted heads is the vets vs. youth thing. But it's hard to figure out which one prefers which. I mean, if Holland really really really didn't want Babcock to play Cleary over Tatar, Nyquist, Jurco, etc., why did he keep re-signing him year after year? Then again, a good GM keeps his coach happy, especially a talented one.

Then again, it's Babcock who has gone from Howard to Mrazek late this season and it seems to be paying off handsomely.

At this point, it's really hard to tell what Babcock would do with THIS franchise if given full control...but I sure as hell would want to find out.

Yeah if you're going to hitch your wagon to a horse to take you through the dark tunnel that could be ahead...Babcock is one heck of a horse to use.

I just don't think Mario and Burkle would spend the money necessary to get Babcock, pay Blysma for another year, and also pay Johnston another year. Paying for three coaches? That would be a ton of money. I don't see it happening. But I hope I am wrong. Can't see Johnston not being the coach, unless Sid and Geno demand it.

You don't have to fire MJ. Babcock as head coach, MJ as the assistant, get rid of Agnew. Not that hard. MJ is actually a smart hockey guy I believe. I just think he was a little overmatched being handed the keys to a Ferrari on his 15th birthday so to speak.

Nice work with the politician-speak, jerk-ball. Please punch yourself in the face for me. Never once considered = past tense, no bearing on current or future considerations. Then stating what everyone knows as if it's news. This is like having David Axelrod or Karl Rove as our CEO. Good times.

Dude, if we could Karl Rove as our CEO...that would be beautiful. Ideally he could snag Dick Cheney as a VP of hockey operations. Not only would we see lop sided trades in our favor, but they would see record revenue. Best part...you think the referees would dare call one more biased game against the Penguins...or one more biased call against Steve Downie? That **** would stop immediately.

I would not be surprised if Guerin is the AGM with the most influence by far.

I believe this to be the case. And as much as I like Guerin, he is a relic of the old NHL. The one that may have worked in 09 but not one that works now. If I had my guess, it would be that he wants to build what he saw in 2009 when he was there rather than the 2008 team that they should be trying to model.

For anyone here that watched Calgary/Vancouver this evening, you feel the pain of realizing how damn boring our favorite team is.

That was a real hockey game. Speed, passes that connect and the puck actually went in the net!

Yes, I know this has nothing to do with the topic but I don't care.

Watching Monahan, Johnny Hockey, and Bennett...that speed, that energy, that quickness...that fight. Makes me sad we will likely not see that again for quite awhile.

 

[Coastal Kev]

Dude, if we could Karl Rove as our CEO...that would be beautiful. Ideally he could snag Dick Cheney as a VP of hockey operations. Not only would we see lop sided trades in our favor, but they would see record revenue. Best part...you think the referees would dare call one more biased game against the Penguins...or one more biased call against Steve Downie? That **** would stop immediately.



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