Concern-O-Meter: Which Penguins Problems are Worrisome?
EDMONTON, Alberta — Three wins in eight games, a surly locker room, and the ignominious appearance of some old and unsightly habits have scarred or scared the beginning of the Pittsburgh Penguins season.
On the plus side, the Penguins power play has some snap. Sometimes, it has snap. However, even the power play alternated between successful and the trainwreck version that coughed up glorious shorthanded chances.
Some issues come and go, some issues can be fixed, and others are permanent. So, which issues put the concern-o-meter in the red and which should be ignored?
Sidney Crosby: 0 of 10
Crosby is 37 years old, and most players are about ready to hang up the skates, but they’re not Crosby. No, he isn’t losing it, and he isn’t a concern. Crosby is in one of the worst stretches of play in recent memory, with 13 turnovers and only one goal. He also has seven points in eight games.
If Crosby has seven points, just wait for the “boom” when he dials it in.
Erik Karlsson: 7 of 10
Karlsson has never been a defensive stalwart and a shutdown rearguard, but there is a chicken-or-egg situation going down with the flightless birds. His gaffes this season are indicative or a cause of the Penguins’ irresponsibility. Too many times in this early season, they’ve bolted forward without puck possession. Too many times, Karlsson’s man has been gifted a scoring chance, and his partners have struggled universally.
At 34 years old, Karlsson isn’t going to change his game, but assistant coach David Quinn was hired in part to help with Karlsson. Perhaps coach Mike Sullivan can find more sheltered minutes to expose Karlsson’s extraordinary offensive talent and lessen the exposure of his improv defense.
Kris Letang: 5 of 10
Letang’s struggles this season are a legitimate concern, but whether they are a blip or the start of worries is a cliffhanger that could have much larger ramifications or be part of the Penguins’ surge.
As former general manager said, Letang is the straw that stirs the Penguins’ drink. If Letang clicks, the team could take off. If he continues to scuffle, the team will continue to tread water or hover below .500.
Despite the uptick in the Penguins power play, Letang has only three points (1-2-3) and is a minus-5. Age is unlikely a factor, but he, too, seems to be caught in the defensive disorganization or a cause of it. He’s had plenty of bad stretches over the years; given his conditioning, the physical is unlikely the primary cause of the trouble, so a quick solution is quite possible.
Nevertheless, eight games into the season is not the ideal time to struggle, especially when the team placed a key emphasis on a strong start.
Defense: 10 of 10
The forwards scatter shot coverage combined with defensemen missing assignments. It’s a team-wide issue that has affected all three defense pairs and all four lines.
Teams that struggle with the basics are in for a painful season. A veteran team shouldn’t struggle this badly, and the locker room hasn’t had any answers. Coach Mike Sullivan had already pulled the fire alarm when he swapped nearly every combination and line last Sunday in Winnipeg.
If things don’t improve immediately, their hopes will be dashed quickly. Very quickly.
Michael Bunting: 9 of 10
Bunting is a scrappy net-front winger who can amass goals in the gritty areas and–using the Penguins’ vernacular–drag others into the fight. However, this season, he’s become Jack Griffin, the Invisible Man.
Sullivan made him a healthy scratch against Winnipeg, but it didn’t seem to do the trick, as Bunting was still largely irrelevant when he returned to the lineup against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
The Penguins badly need another top-six winger to chip in goals.
Bunting priced himself out of Toronto but never fit in Carolina. He seemed to be a perfect winger for Evgeni Malkin. Still, Bunting’s disappearance creates a hole in the Penguins lineup for which there probably isn’t an internal solution (at least until Rutger McGroarty is ready).
Mike Sullivan: ?
Yes, many fans have staked a position beyond 10 out of 10. There’s no doubt the head coach must shoulder some of the responsibility for the chaotic defensive problems. The team has lacked motivation in only one of the games, so that’s an improvement over last season, but horrible mistakes and three wins in eight games do not reflect well on those at the top of the food chain.
Sullivan’s great skill has been fixing problems, except last season, when the team was terminally broken. It seems the only people who didn’t spot it early on were Sullivan and GM Kyle Dubas. Perhaps they did, too, but holding the line for far too long caused the prolonged mediocrity.
Sullivan had no intention of repeating that mistake this season, but can he herd cats in the defensive zone? His “presence” instead of “positional” defensive scheme is for a dynamic team, but that designation for these Penguins is now in doubt. The Sullivan issue is probably a 1 of 10, but if the losing and trouble persist, changes need to follow, or the trouble will multiply like rabbits.
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How you defend the coach is insane. How many coaches in the salary cap era have gone 7 years in a row without winning a single playoff series and still remain coach? Only Sullivan. How many coaches are on their 3rd GM? Only Sullivan. How many NHL teams have fired their coach while they won a playoff round more recently than the Penguins? Over 20 teams!. We have changed out every player minus Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Rust since winning a round. We have changed the GM multiple times, and his assistant coaches multiple times. There is no fact based… Read more »
I think many people, yourself included, mistake a lack of anger or sharp criticism as defending.
“Its time for a change” is that your fact based approach?
Tons of teams have rolled through lots of coaches witn no differing result. Fans who have a surface level understanding of the game tend to gravitate towards coaches and goalies and usually one scapegoat roster player.
Yes
Have some courage, Dan! “C’mon, give us a number!” 🙂
I really don’t know. I’d say 1-3
Perception is that Teflon Mike is not part of the problem. Reality is that he is at 12 of 10. Antiquated system, lack of leadership, handling the underperforming core 3 and EK with kid gloves and too much respect. You wanna get the entire team’s attention\? Send 1 of the 4 up to the press box for a helping of nachos. Not for 1 game, for 2 or 3 consecutive games. It’s called letting all 23 know who’s in charge. But he doesn’t have the sac to do that. He has just about lost the locker room 8 games into… Read more »
When Sullivan is inevitably fired and the penguins still stink, Who is going to be blamed? The players not playing well are the problem.
Changing the coach without a change in performance proves it must be the players and does so without a doubt. If that change isn’t motivation enough, then tank. Apparently it wouldn’t take much to tank since the D is so bad and several of the other players aren’t good either. And we’re not even ten games in. (Or maybe they could practice immediately after their next home loss with fans still in attendance since there aren’t any U2 concerts coming up.) Tanking, by simply playing like they are, opens up better picks and may even drive some veterans to leave,… Read more »
You always make sense
Whose job is it to prepare the players to play, to develop the strategy for success and to improve skills/correct faults of the players? Player performance is a symptom. The disease is higher up. Not going to state a new coach will solve everything, but I do not think that Sullivan appears capable of righting the ship. I hope I am wrong.
Crosby will struggle to average a point/game for the first time in his career. At 37, he no longer can do it alone, and he doesn’t have enough support from those around him. (Lookin’ at you, Bryan Rust.)
I can’t speak for anyone else but for me the most frustrating aspect of this entire situation is the insanely stubborn refusal of Sullivan to truly accept what this group of players really is and what they are truly capable of – and then refusing to adopt a system that would actually benefit and maximize said realities of the current roster. His refusal to adjust the defensive sysyem/philosophy to match the talent, skill, age, and ability of his current roster is beyond maddening. Someone in this organization needs to tell the emperor he’s naked and then force him to get… Read more »
He’s not a very good coach. A good coach would do just what you said. Keep Sully keep losing. 6 years without a playoff series win. I guess they wanna go for 12. There are plenty of hockey coaches with good defensive systems. Bring one in and can any player that cant/wont play D.
FSG disagrees with you…
“He’s one of the two or three best coaches in hockey,” Werner said.
I’m sorry, this argument that it’s Sullivan’s system that is to blame reflects a lack of hockey playing knowledge. Do you think a D not covering his man in front has anything to do with the system? Do you think a D pinching without forward support has anything to do with the system? If your answer is yes to either one of those, then all you are looking to do is blindly place blame on Sullivan. We give up too many odd man rushes against and are continually outmuscled in front of our net. Blame Sullivan for not getting through… Read more »
This is 100% accurate
Sullivan continuing to go with the “Presence” vs “Positional” schematic as his preferred defensive philosophy is most certainly his fault. It is the equivalent of an NFL defense constantly using an aggressive man-to-man cover scheme when their corners are too old and too slow to run with the other team’s receivers. It is a coaches job to put his players in the greatest position to be successful – can you honestly say he is doing that on a regular basis? Perhaps the reason these players constantly fail to properly execute their defensive assignments and pinches is due to the fact… Read more »
Sullivan fixing problems.. Sullivan fixing problems? The powerplay the powerplay??…..the defense the defense??? Are you serious?? Seriously??
You are right on about Sulli fixing anything.
Based on recent events, I guess Jarry is an 11.
Jarry might be but they’re getting solid goaltending from Blomqvist and Nedeljkpvic, so goaltending itself isn’t really a problem, at least as i see it
Dan, in your opinion what is going on with Bunting? We saw last year what he was capable of an able to do on Gino’s line but now he’s invisible. This Hass to be a locker room chemistry issue?
If i knew, I think the Penguins would pay me to tell them! It’s a walkabout similar to his down year in Carolina. He’s just not in sync with the game.
The main Pen’s #1 objective this season should be to secure a top 10 draft pick center. From that POV things are looking great.