SteelCityCannon
Registered User
- Mar 25, 2017
- 667
- 1,286
You really think Jake says no if Pittsburgh offers him the same deal? I have to disagree.
The Rise And Fall Of Mike Sullivan...
- Thread starter DitchMarner
- Start date
RedRocking
Registered User
Well, it’s been over Five Years since he won a playoff series. But, ya know It Ain’t Easy staying on top in the NHL. Crosby is a Starman, and Sully is his Soul Love, so they’ll go on forever in their Moonage Daydream, ooh yea!
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ClydeLee
Registered User
- Mar 23, 2012
- 12,227
- 5,722
So the lesson of the Hawks and Quenneville was what in your mind?
Because the team was bad and spiraled worse without him. Fans claiming he holding them back for years weren't validated. The same things happened with the Kings and Sutter.
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Luigi Lemieux
Registered User
- Sep 26, 2003
- 22,131
- 10,638
Good, it's time the experts show everyone how a tank is really done.
Honour Over Glory
#firesully
- Jan 30, 2012
- 81,443
- 45,840
MeinerEiner
Registered User
Sullivan is not a good coach to say the least. His game plan is more than outdated and his utilization of players is more than questionable. For those who still think he is good at what he does, the month of February will be an eye opener. I dare to predict that Team US will be very disappointing in the 4 Nations.
BallardEra
Leafs&Caps Since 1982™
Losing to the Sharks tonight would certainly be rock bottom for them.
They now have the second worst GAA in the league and the team looked like they quit last night.
They now have the second worst GAA in the league and the team looked like they quit last night.
Pens x
Registered User
- Oct 8, 2016
- 16,390
- 8,175
I was told the play in playoff round against Montreal (24th best regular season team) was a fluke and attacked when I said it was time to move on from Sully in 2020.
Why are people just now realizing he sucks?
Why are people just now realizing he sucks?
The Shrike
Registered User
hotpaws
Registered User
- Nov 21, 2009
- 22,063
- 6,652
they're presently 28th in the league in pts % so it doesn't really matter what FSG is down for
zappa4ever
Music is the Best!
It's funny when the talk turns to which head coaches are on the hot seat and Sullivan is the 'He Who Must Not Be Named' amongst the talking heads 
Night Shift
Registered User
Every October, the Great Mike Sullivan rises out of the Pumpkin Patch bearing gifts to all men, woman and children of Pittsburgh
SomeDude
Registered User
I love how the organization called up 2 of the teams top prospects and Sullivan scratched both to play Matt Nieto and Ryan Shea. It worked so well we only lost by 4 to Columbus. Imagine how much more lopsided it would have been had he dared to play youth.
What a brilliant tactician. We are truly blessed to be able to watch this man coach.
What a brilliant tactician. We are truly blessed to be able to watch this man coach.
BallardEra
Leafs&Caps Since 1982™
This is him telling management you didn't provide me the correct players for this season so I'm going to use the guys you've given me.
Not saying he is right but I think that's him sending Dubas and management a message.
SomeDude
Registered User
Oh, yes, this excuse again. Let’s ignore that this roster has essentially been built in Sully’s image since JR rage quit on the organization, probably because he was fed up with how much say the coach had in hockey ops.
Never his fault. We just need 3 more roster turnovers, 4 more coaching staff changes, and then he’ll have what he needs.
BallardEra
Leafs&Caps Since 1982™
I'm with you man. I just get the feeling he's pushing back, almost like he is daring them to fire him.
Maybe he thinks FSG won't fire him?
SomeDude
Registered User
They hang out all summer in Boston together. He has a better chance of being promoted to GM than being fired by these trust fund idiots.
Empoleon8771
Registered User
No they didn't?
2017-2018: 76 points under Quenneville
2018-2019: 84 points under Quenneville and Colliton
2019-2020: 72 points in 70 games under Colliton
2020-2021: 55 points in 56 games under Colliton
They were effectively the same team under Colliton as they were under Quenneville, up until they fell off in 2021 3 years after Quenneville was fired. And that decline was much more about Toews falling off a cliff, guys like Saad, Keith and Seabrook being gone and just a general decline due to the age of the roster.
The point of what I was saying is that pointing out that no modern NHL coach has had the insane levels of undeserved job security that Mike Sullivan has had with the Penguins. Firing him won't magically solve all of their issues, but anyone who actually watches the team can easily see how he's a massive problem for the team.
The Penguins have a poor roster right now that should probably be around 18th-20th in the league, maybe a bit higher if the core can step up and drag them to a wildcard team. But because of Mike Sullivan forcing the team to play a system that they simply do not have the personnel to run with, they're a lottery team that looks more likely to be picking top-3 than sniffing a playoff spot. Sullivan is intentionally tanking this team by forcing them to run "his system" rather than a system that actually fits the roster. Any sane organization would fire Sullivan and bring in a coach with a new system that actually fits the older roster, but the Penguins see Sullivan as this masterclass coach and would rather lose with him than even consider bringing in someone new.
LevelingSolo
Registered User
- Jan 15, 2012
- 4,712
- 6,364
Big McLargehuge
Fragile Traveler
The most mind-blowing thing is that the Penguins won those cups in 2016 & 2017 with Sullivan doing whatever it took to win - they were comfortable playing any type of hockey necessary to win the game. Need tight defense? The defense tightened up. Need more offense? Things would loosen up. These past ~5 years, though, it's the same damn system that hasn't worked with seemingly no thought given to the tools he has to work with even though his fingerprints are all over the damn roster.
He succeeded because of flexibility and fails because of rigidness. A prime example of why every coach has a shelf life.
He succeeded because of flexibility and fails because of rigidness. A prime example of why every coach has a shelf life.
Empoleon8771
Registered User
Yeah the reality is that the core loves Sullivan just like Dubas and FSG does. Sullivan is sadly going nowhere and will continue to drag this team down.
The "big guys" aren't even top 20 players at this point. I've loved watching Sid and Geno and would like to have them retire as Penguins but it's getting to the point where this team needs to stop catering to them like this. I never thought I would ever feel this way but if Crosby wants to play for 1 team his whole career he needs to accept reality and stop pressuring management into hurting this team's future so they can "compete". No 1 player should ever be bigger than the team or get to dictate the franchise's future they way they are letting him.
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