Thought of the Day

Just wanted to toss this out here: the more I read about quotes from various Pittsburgh Penguins' players about the post-Therrien period, the more I'm truly starting to believe they threw some games to get him outta there. They were going to do it last year (before they realized some things), so why not this year? Maybe they felt that was the only way to get him out of there. They never liked him, and it wouldn't be the first time a coach was fired that way.

I really, really, really hope that's not the case because the thought of it makes me furious. But I would in no way, shape or form be surprised.

Edit:I was just reading this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and this quote from Sidney Crosby also angered me:

At times before he got here we could all look around the room and see guys who could give more than they were giving ...

You know what? Shame on them. In my eyes, that blame falls straight on the guys who weren't doing what they're capable of. You are professional athletes. You won't find sympathy from the people who don't get to live out their dream of doing the same thing. You won't find sympathy from the people who pay a ridiculous amount of money to go to these NHL games and support their favorite team. Grow up.

I might have to expand on this in a bit.

More Therrien Comments

Regardless of how bumpy Therrien's tenure may have been, it was a highly successful one. He compiled a 135-106-31 record with the club and claimed a division and conference title. His win total is only second to Eddie Johnston's 232. Therrien may not have been universally loved by his player or the team's fans, but there's no denying the success he enjoyed with the franchise. Granted, most coaches throughout the history of the team have been mediocre or just plain awful, but Therrien was one of the best the club has ever had.

- Seth Rorabaugh

And the 'eulogies' continue. Basically everyone else except Shero sees this.

Burnside Gets It

ESPN's Scott Burnside wrote a piece on the Therrien firing and how it was the easy way out for the Penguins.

The whole article is exactly how I feel. It's the truth. Read it.

Therrien Gets Voted Off the Island

Well, Ray Shero and the Pittsburgh Penguins fired Michel Therrien.

Guess what? This will not fix Pittsburgh's problems either. I really don't get it. How is the organization not seeing this? It doesn't matter what coach they bring into the Steel City right now. The Penguins will not miraculously start winning until they move some players around and bring the right guys together.

Do I really have to repeat myself again? Okay. Fine. I will. The players on the Pittsburgh roster right now are individuals. When the Pens started to be good again, they had guys who came up through the system along with a mix of skill players and guys that work hard. It was the right combination. Then Shero and co. got big heads and went after guys like Fedotenko and Satan -- great players, but not right for this team.

Sure, Therrien should have been able to do more with the talented players he had. But talent only goes so far. You need the motivation, work ethic, chemistry ... the list goes on. The Pens just don't have it. Shero has the trade deadline to try and find all that. At this point, I'm not hopeful.

Best wishes to WBS coach, Dan Bylsma, who was named interim coach. This is another puzzling move. I like Bylsma, but he's not ready for an NHL job. He's only been an AHL head coach for a few months now. Why didn't they hand it to Mike Yeo?

Someone stop the bleeding in the Pens organization ASAP.

Solving Pittsburgh's Problems

As Pittsburgh dropped to 9th in the Eastern Conference after an extremely embarrassing 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, people continue to question the coaching of Michel Therrien. My opinion? Pittsburgh's problems don't lie in the coaching. It lies in the team itself.

Think about it. When Pittsburgh began seeing signs of success, the roster had a bunch of guys that had been in the system playing with each other since their minor league days. When Therrien first came to Wilkes-Barre, he took an average hockey team and made it into something special. He coached them to fear losing. In fact, I remember former WBS Penguin, Matt Murley, quoting exactly that. So what did they do? They worked their asses off and found ways to win every night. Maybe they weren't the most skilled players, but they did what they had to do to win. It created a stronger team bond, even if they weren't Therrien's biggest fans.

That is exactly what Pittsburgh is NOT doing. They have gotten rid of guys like Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Ryan Malone and Michel Ouellet. Guys that were raised within the organization. They aren't superstars, but when they worked together they pulled it off. Instead, Pittsburgh brought in guys like Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko and Petr Sykora -- all very talented hockey players who bring a lot of skill to a hockey team. I'm not trying to underestimate their abilities. But Therrien's teams don't come from a star-studded roster. They come from a true 'team' and hard work -- with guys like Max Talbot and Rob Scuderi out on the ice. Unfortunately, the big guys in the organization got stars in their eyes after making it to the finals last year and started taking advantage of how attractive their team now looked to free agents. They transformed the team into one that relies soley on its skill to win hockey games. Watch any of the Bruins vs. Penguins games and you can see a clear difference between a hard working 'team' vs. just skill.

Therrien's recent words truly explain the problem in Pittsburgh right now:

"We have to start thinking about the team concept, not personal agenda. The team concept is the most important thing for any hockey team. The personal agenda on the list of priorities for players should be the last one. Right now, the priority is not at the right place.

And a different coach can't fix that. No matter who he is.


Photo Credit: The Canadian Press

Quote of the Day

Is he talking about the youngest guy to get 100 points in the history of the National Hockey League? Is he talking about the youngest guy to win the Hart Trophy and lead the league in scoring? Is he talking about the youngest captain in the National Hockey League to bring his team to the Stanley Cup Final? That’s all I have to say.

Michel Therrien in response to Alex Semin's earlier comments on Crosby

Couldn't have said it better myself.

He's Not Goin' Anywhere

Pittsburgh and head coach Michel Therrien signed a three year contract today. This is a good move. I wasn't sure what Ray Shero was planning to do with Therrien in the future. Therrien was a guy that was already in place before Shero brought his troops in, and I was often wondering if he would get rid of Therrien at the slightest hint of adversity and replace him with one of his own guys like Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach, Todd Richards (who has been successful in the AHL for awhile now). This proves me wrong.

Most people either love Therrien or they hate him. I'm one that loves him. I watched him come into Wilkes-Barre at a time when his career wasn't going so well and when the Baby Pens had finally gotten rid of a coach that did absolutely nothing for them (if you're wondering who, it was Glenn Patrick). When Therrien came into Wilkes-Barre, he was tough on the guys, but he had to be. They listened to him. Matt Murley once said they were afraid to lose under him, and it showed. Here's a quick look at Therriens 2.25 years in Wilkes-Barre:

• 2003-2004: In his first year, he took WBS all the way to the Calder Cup Finals. The road to the Finals included an amazing first round comeback against the first place Bridgeport Sound Tigers that was sealed in a game 7 OT win. The Baby Pens had been down 3 games to 1 in the series. In the Eastern Conference finals, they defeated Hartford in a game 7 OT as well.
  
• 2004-2005: WBS faced a star-studded Binghamton Senators roster (ie: Jason Spezza) in the first round of the play-offs. They upset them in six games.
  
• 2005-2006: In Therrien's 25 games before getting the call to Pittsburgh, he held a record of 21-2-2-1. Unbelievable.
  

When Therrien got the NHL job, he never forgot about the guys he coached in Wilkes-Barre. That's why you see most of them on the Pittsburgh Roster today. Guys like Max Talbot, Ryan Whitney, Marc-Andre Fleury, Dany Sabourin, Rob Scuderi and before their departures: Colby Armstrong, Alain Nasreddine, Erik Christensen & Michel Ouellet. He knew what those guys could bring to the table, and he gave them a chance to do so. He's not notorious for being well-liked in the locker room (although I do think he's softened up a bit since his days of calling his players out for playing poker and drinking beer until 5 am), but I could care less about that. Most coaches of successful teams aren't the most-liked guys (Randy Carlyle, Ron Wilson). The bottom line is: he's doing his job, and he's doing it well.

Looking forward to three more years and possibly some more snap shows and water bottles thrown across the ice, coach.


Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar, AP