If You're Mike Johnston...

[AquaticBirdman]

How are you feeling right now? I mean, not to throw the guy under a bus or anything, however it would be pretty hard to dispute that the coaching change didn't have a major direct impact on how much this team has excelled over the past 6 months. Granted, some of JR's moves has a huge impact as well, however the over-all appearance of the on-ice product can be attributed directly to Sullivan's coaching philosophy.

Kind of a tough spot for a well respected hockey guy like Johnston to be put in if you ask me...

Click to read more...

 

[Asuna]

I'm sure it stings, but he has a new job now, I doubt he's worrying much about it.

 

[djt153]

rich

 

[Whale Mingo]

I'd be surprised if he isn't rooting for the team to win. He was in a rough spot here and just wasn't the right fit. He's a stand up guy and I'm sure he wasn't having a good time with the team failing under his direction.

Nobody wants fired, I'm sure, but I don't think he's sitting at home putting pins in an Iceburgh voodoo doll or anything.

 

[Night Shift]

I wonder if he'd consider another NHL job (even as an assistant) even though he got rehired at Portland as vp,gm, and coach.

 

[orby]

I think, judging by body language, he knew he was in over his head in the NHL the entire time, so I doubt he's really seething. I bet he's comfortable where he is, to be honest.

rich

 

[Gold Diamond]

So he actually did go back to juniors. Good for him, it's where he was most successful.

 

[plaidchuck]

It's a business and he always seemed life a professional, so I'd think he's not taking anything personal.

Doubt he's like eddie olcyzk who's still upset that he was fired.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Good.

He's back at his old job and he got a huge 2 year pay raise.

It probably stings a bit to watch, though, but oh well.

 

[Corvidae]

I wonder if he'd consider another NHL job (even as an assistant) even though he got rehired at Portland as vp,gm, and coach.

It doesn't matter because no one should even consider him.

He's a junior coach.

 

[ImporterExporter]

He's back where he belongs. Coaching kids. No offense to the guy, but he had absolutely no clue. Zero. Was so far in over his head, you could see it in his body language alone. And he lost the team very early on.

Trying to incorporate a defensive first approach to the group he had was far more idiotic than anything Bylsma ever did.

 

[TNT87]

I wish him all the best. He just simply wasn't a good coach for the Pens.

 

[Gunnar Staal]

Eh, I wasn't really that pissed at Johnston. He was the wrong coach for the wrong team. There were a lot of things I didn't get (the extreme sheltering of the defense by the forward core, the treatment of Sprong, Scuderi being the equivalent of the Secretary of Defense, etc.), but the team in general was a total mess at the time to begin with. That and he's back where he was to begin with.

As for how he's reacting...

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

 

[Ziggyjoe21]

He's a great junior coach, and he's back in junior. He's where he excels.

If nothing else, this stint here made him realize he's not an NHL coach.

 

[Shockmaster]

He might've been a good coach in New Jersey.

 

[Jacob]

I can't help but think he'd have had at least a little more success if he had Hags & Daley instead of Scuderi & Perron from the start of camp.

Johnston's a great hockey mind but he just wasn't the right coach for this team.

 

[tom_servo]

I can't help but think he'd have had at least a little more success if he had Hags & Daley instead of Scuderi & Perron from the start of camp.

Johnston's a great hockey mind but he just wasn't the right coach for this team.

Yeah, it's hard to tell because they fired the coach... and upended the roster.

 

[KIRK]

Good.

He's back at his old job and he got a huge 2 year pay raise.

It probably stings a bit to watch, though, but oh well.

I suspect 2009 stung Therrien more.

 

[Darth Vitale]

I'm sure he doesn't have any regrets. Coaches know the routine. Sometimes your system resonates with a group and they play well, sometimes not. And if he made any mistakes in his own mind I'm sure he learned from them.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The guy was in way over his head at the NHL level, and subsequently told his speed oriented, star-laden lineup to play a slow, suffocating, prevent defense style all game long.

He was coaching to not get fired. That was his entire focus. At no point was he thinking about how to get the most out of Sid, Geno, Kessel, etc., he was purely focused on trying to win games in the simplest way possible to save his job. If you're winning games, even if they're painfully awful to watch and neuter your team's biggest stars and greatest strengths, it's tough to fire a coach.

 

[vodeni]

He was an awful NHL coach. I knew he had to go when he was shocked at Yohe's quastion, how he explained that Pens lost straight at that time I think it was 12 games after trailing after two periods. He stuttered, because he did not even know about that, he was sujrprised to hear that his friggin team folds up if trailing after two....

 

[ColePens]

I don't know if MJ's system works or doesn't work in the NHL, but I can tell you that his ability to coach a team does not work past the Juniors level. Junior kids listen no matter what. NHL guys are so talented that they might not take what MJ's saying because most likely it doesn't work.

I think you see with Coop and Sully, I think the culture/identity of the team means more than the x's and o's.

 

[Pens17]

He's back where he belongs. Coaching kids. No offense to the guy, but he had absolutely no clue. Zero. Was so far in over his head, you could see it in his body language alone. And he lost the team very early on.

Trying to incorporate a defensive first approach to the group he had was far more idiotic than anything Bylsma ever did.

Additionally, Mike grossed substantive coin for his Pen's misadventure. Consistent with this thought and as the late Alex Karras opined, "It is hard to be hungry with a ham on your back."

 

[Harv]

This is what happens when you settle for your 3rd/4th choice in hiring a coach. You get this.