Confirmed with Link: Penguins Agree To Terms With Matt Cullen (1 year | $800k)

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

Yeah you're probably right.

 

[MurphyDump]

Cullen's better suited to be an X factor on your 4th line. He still has wheels and some skill to burn a team occasionally. He's just not a guy who should be your 3C at this point if you plan on being a good team.

Exactly, we have two great options for 3C and people want to start vaulting our 38 year old 4C to the third line?

 

[Terrapin]

Those late 2000s teams had less skill depth than our current team but they had the kind of swagger good teams have. They would initiate and instigate, they could run people over and back it up with the gloves off, too. And they had opponents worried about more than just getting scored on. Scary Gary beating the **** out of Eager, Kunitz nailing Timonen into the end boards again and again, Talbot losing a fight but firing up his teammates with the "Shhh" gesture, Orpik blowing up people, Ruutu and Cooke hitting everything in sight, Laraque playing regular 4th line mins and trolling Cryers fans. All of that is infectious and you could see everyone on those teams bought into it. Those were guys that were both able and willing to go to battle, and not just against Philly.

Even disregarding playoff results it was something that made those Pens teams very likeable and easy to root for. I've been really missing this attitude for a few years now. We should push back in that direction a little but the roster just hasn't been built for it. Our current team will be better at puck possession but IMO they have nowhere near enough aggression. And simply hoping for powerplays isn't a good strategy in this day and age of refereeing.

I do realize that hockey is more of a global game (fans and players from other countries, etc), so this may or may not resonate with some people. But for me, and a lot of people from Pittsburgh, we enjoy the tough, physical, blue collar teams. The Steelers of the 70s weren't just popular because they were good. Their style of play represented the city well. We laughed at the pretty-boy finesse teams like Dallas.

I think winning will always be the #1 determining factor in popularity, but tickets are easier to come by now than 5 years ago and fans seem to be not as interested in the Pens. That may or may not be due to the decline in physicality, (and ultimately likeability) of the team, but IMO it does.

 

[Shady Machine]

I do realize that hockey is more of a global game (fans and players from other countries, etc), so this may or may not resonate with some people. But for me, and a lot of people from Pittsburgh, we enjoy the tough, physical, blue collar teams. The Steelers of the 70s weren't just popular because they were good. Their style of play represented the city well. We laughed at the pretty-boy finesse teams like Dallas.

I think winning will always be the #1 determining factor in popularity, but tickets are easier to come by now than 5 years ago and fans seem to be not as interested in the Pens. That may or may not be due to the decline in physicality, (and ultimately likeability) of the team, but IMO it does.

The availability of tickets has to do with continued playoff failure. Now if you want to say that a lack of physicality has led to playoff failure, then sure they are related. However, there is no direct link between the decline in ticket demand and physicality. Obviously neither of us can prove it one way or the other, so I guess agree to disagree on that point.

 

[cygnus47]

The likeability factor comes from the fact that even when we were winning under Bylsma we weren't playing well. Last year was a write off from the half-way point or less due to injuries, the year before we played terrible after the first two months under Bylsma but won a reasonable amount due to Sid/Geno. It's hard for fans to keep caring about teams that just don't look like they care (under Bylsma, mostly his fault) or that can't perform for months on end (last year, mostly injuries).

If we play well, dominate games, get on convincing winning streaks and have young players contribute the crowds will come back.

 

[Shady Machine]

The likeability factor comes from the fact that even when we were winning under Bylsma we weren't playing well. Last year was a write off from the half-way point or less due to injuries, the year before we played terrible after the first two months under Bylsma but won a reasonable amount due to Sid/Geno. It's hard for fans to keep caring about teams that just don't look like they care (under Bylsma, mostly his fault) or that can't perform for months on end (last year, mostly injuries).

If we play well, dominate games, get on convincing winning streaks and have young players contribute the crowds will come back.

The crowds never really left (at least not to the level people seem to be insinuating). They still sell out all home games. They just went from a crazy long season ticket waiting list to a smaller one and tickets selling out closer to the game.

 

[plaidchuck]

The crowds could care less about younger players. Kunitz and Dupuis are still some of the most popular players on the team outside the big stars.