Rebuild the Penguins
Posted 6:51 PM ET | Comments 0
In the midst of another injury plagued season through which the Pittsburgh Penguins have been subject to their own internal flaws as much as the improvement of the rest of the Eastern Conference, I must once again assert my position from 2013 that it is more than past time to abandon the core and model of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The underachievement of the Penguins is unique in that it is the fatuous culture of the players whom management has been the most loyal to whom have punished the organization.
The Penguins aren't a team without an identity. It's true that the Penguins aren't good enough at anything to have a 'team' identity, such as one of having defensive details nailed down, or a team that is praised for their work ethic. It would be nice if the team had a feared power play, but they do not. More on that later.
The Penguins' identity is one of a team who can be repeatedly instigated into penalties. A team who becomes frustrated when it's customary shortcut tactics fail. A team that for all its age and experience doesn't posses poise. The Penguins are a team that is excellent at being rattled and furthermore broadcast their rattled state to the opponent.
The Penguins are also a team that has not developed. I don't have to point further than the power play. We're ten years into the careers of Crosby and Malkin being on the same team. Through their careers there was constant pining for elite wingers to allow the two centers to fulfill their potential. It's often ignored that they have always had each other. Yet, when it is suggested that those two take an even strength shift together, the fan base cringes. The power play is not feared. Those two players haven't worked out, in ten years, how to work together on the power play and no coach has been able to force them into more suitable roles.
Having depth at center is important. Having overwhelming depth at center is not necessary. Trading one of Crosby or Malkin is one of the only ways to be able for the Penguins to have the strength at other positions to compete for a championship during their time in the NHL.
They could go on to win more scoring titles and MVP trophies as Penguins and sell tickets, but the model which has won only four playoff rounds since 2009 and has very much been done 'the superstar preferred' way is a story of wasted potential.
There are those who are saying things such as 'the Penguins will never get equal value' for either payer. Those two and Kris Letang, the one-way defender. His return will likely be 1/3 of what it would have been in 2013 but his tenure as the Penguins' #1D has been painful. The Kings traded Jack Johnson and were much better for it. The Blackhawks traded Brian Campbell and were much better off for it. The return on 'star' players does not need to be equal to be the best thing for the team.
It's become very fashionable to point to Tyler Seguin as an example of an all-star C being traded and backfiring.
Trading Tyler Seguin - who was 21 - is not the same as trading Sid Crosby when he is going to enter the 2015-16 season at age 28.
I ask if the Rangers are worse off having traded Marion Gaborik? Captain Callahan? Are the Flames worse off for trading Jarome Iginla? Aren't the cultures of those teams much better having turned the page from a team which is merely associated with a few stars?
What those who blame injuries and/or the incapable nature of the forwards who play less than 12 minutes are merely agents of reassurance. They expect me to concede my position after a good-looking three game road trip and ignore three Game 7 losses in Pittsburgh, Fleury's career sub-.900 playoff save%, or the recent string of collapses involving allowing multiple unanswered goals. I still don't think the Penguins have a come from behind victory on the season. IN short, the team is getting what it deserves for seeking a 'business as usual' culture.
What has happened to the Penguins this season is not a setback. It is a very measurable decline in the competitiveness of the team. The reasons (discipline, defense, and dignity) that Pitts burgh has been so humiliated in the playoffs is now trickling into the regular season and has been exploited by the teams who know them best (The Metropolitan). It's now the trend that every deficiency the Penguins possess is exploited in every game as though it were the playoffs.
Objectivity is not negativity. Objectivity is the pursuit of truth even if it leads to unwelcome conclusions. So spare me the consensus 'root for the home team or git out' nonsense. I don't need to wait until the end of the season to arrive at the following conclusion: that Pittsburgh needs to get young, learn how to defend, and become a team psychologically which is entirely different than its current form. It was evident in 2012 and proven again in 2013.
I ask for discussion about how to go about gaining control of the spiral the Penguins have been riding and what kind of culture and identity you, the fans, would appreciate.
Thanks for reading ~ Johnny
The Penguins aren't a team without an identity. It's true that the Penguins aren't good enough at anything to have a 'team' identity, such as one of having defensive details nailed down, or a team that is praised for their work ethic. It would be nice if the team had a feared power play, but they do not. More on that later.
The Penguins' identity is one of a team who can be repeatedly instigated into penalties. A team who becomes frustrated when it's customary shortcut tactics fail. A team that for all its age and experience doesn't posses poise. The Penguins are a team that is excellent at being rattled and furthermore broadcast their rattled state to the opponent.
The Penguins are also a team that has not developed. I don't have to point further than the power play. We're ten years into the careers of Crosby and Malkin being on the same team. Through their careers there was constant pining for elite wingers to allow the two centers to fulfill their potential. It's often ignored that they have always had each other. Yet, when it is suggested that those two take an even strength shift together, the fan base cringes. The power play is not feared. Those two players haven't worked out, in ten years, how to work together on the power play and no coach has been able to force them into more suitable roles.
Having depth at center is important. Having overwhelming depth at center is not necessary. Trading one of Crosby or Malkin is one of the only ways to be able for the Penguins to have the strength at other positions to compete for a championship during their time in the NHL.
They could go on to win more scoring titles and MVP trophies as Penguins and sell tickets, but the model which has won only four playoff rounds since 2009 and has very much been done 'the superstar preferred' way is a story of wasted potential.
There are those who are saying things such as 'the Penguins will never get equal value' for either payer. Those two and Kris Letang, the one-way defender. His return will likely be 1/3 of what it would have been in 2013 but his tenure as the Penguins' #1D has been painful. The Kings traded Jack Johnson and were much better for it. The Blackhawks traded Brian Campbell and were much better off for it. The return on 'star' players does not need to be equal to be the best thing for the team.
It's become very fashionable to point to Tyler Seguin as an example of an all-star C being traded and backfiring.
Trading Tyler Seguin - who was 21 - is not the same as trading Sid Crosby when he is going to enter the 2015-16 season at age 28.
I ask if the Rangers are worse off having traded Marion Gaborik? Captain Callahan? Are the Flames worse off for trading Jarome Iginla? Aren't the cultures of those teams much better having turned the page from a team which is merely associated with a few stars?
What those who blame injuries and/or the incapable nature of the forwards who play less than 12 minutes are merely agents of reassurance. They expect me to concede my position after a good-looking three game road trip and ignore three Game 7 losses in Pittsburgh, Fleury's career sub-.900 playoff save%, or the recent string of collapses involving allowing multiple unanswered goals. I still don't think the Penguins have a come from behind victory on the season. IN short, the team is getting what it deserves for seeking a 'business as usual' culture.
What has happened to the Penguins this season is not a setback. It is a very measurable decline in the competitiveness of the team. The reasons (discipline, defense, and dignity) that Pitts burgh has been so humiliated in the playoffs is now trickling into the regular season and has been exploited by the teams who know them best (The Metropolitan). It's now the trend that every deficiency the Penguins possess is exploited in every game as though it were the playoffs.
Objectivity is not negativity. Objectivity is the pursuit of truth even if it leads to unwelcome conclusions. So spare me the consensus 'root for the home team or git out' nonsense. I don't need to wait until the end of the season to arrive at the following conclusion: that Pittsburgh needs to get young, learn how to defend, and become a team psychologically which is entirely different than its current form. It was evident in 2012 and proven again in 2013.
I ask for discussion about how to go about gaining control of the spiral the Penguins have been riding and what kind of culture and identity you, the fans, would appreciate.
Thanks for reading ~ Johnny