What would it take to fire Bylsma?

[Jer Flip]

I'm not saying he should get fired. I'm just wondering what kind of season would warrant firing him, and when.

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[Ugene Magic]

I'm not saying he should get fired. I'm just wondering what kind of season would warrant firing him, and when.

I would say not making the playoffs.

 

[GeoffreyPaul]

I would say not making the playoffs.

Or, making the playoffs, but falling out early all while while having subpar years by Malkin and Fleury...

Martin and Michalek were brought in to win now, anything short of a strong playoff performance, and I could see Disco Dan going into next season on the hot-seat.

Should he be is a different question...

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

He's safe unless we miss the playoffs, sadly.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

He's safe unless we miss the playoffs, sadly.

I don't know. I mean, if the team goes into a tailspin and is on the brink of falling out of playoff contention (like they were when Therrien got canned), that might be enough to cost Bylsma his job. Especially if our team goals against is a big cause of that, after Shero spent all that money in the off-season to upgrade that area.

 

[td_ice]

Missing playoffs. Maybe being swept in the first round.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I don't know. I mean, if the team goes into a tailspin and is on the brink of falling out of playoff contention (like they were when Therrien got canned), that might be enough to cost Bylsma his job. Especially if our team goals against is a big cause of that, after Shero spent all that money in the off-season to upgrade that area.

Bylsma's got the injury excuse going for him, though. Even if we go into a tailspin, he'll finish out the season.

 

[Vyruz Reaper]

I would say if we are at the bottom of the division right before the all start break maybe his ass gets fired in hopes that a new coach will jolt us back into the playoff picture

 

[MtlPenFan]

If he doesn't make the playoffs.

Even if he gets knocked out in the first round, he'll stay on, but the second they go into any kind of tailspin the first quarter of the following season, he's gone.

 

[bigd]

I know they like to promote from within but Reirdon is certainly not the answer.

 

[SkullSplitter]

I'd rather have Fleury turn it around, the power play to start clicking at a 30% pace, and for Malkin to finish the year with 100+ points.

 

[cassius]

If we're in danger of missing the playoffs in January/Febuary, Bylsma will definitely get canned. That's not gonna happen.

 

[eXile59]

I don't think there is any reason to think about firing this guy. He has some problems with putting the best lines out there and using his assests right but he does a lot of other things well.

I think one of his best assests as a coach is that he will adjust and adapt. I think he will get better. Lets not forget that there are a lot of injuries and Shero hasn't given him the most balanced line up

 

[Fraction Jackson]

I don't think there is any reason to think about firing this guy. He has some problems with putting the best lines out there and using his assests right but he does a lot of other things well.

I think one of his best assests as a coach is that he will adjust and adapt. I think he will get better. Lets not forget that there are a lot of injuries and Shero hasn't given him the most balanced line up

I'm not sure that I can agree with that, and in fact I imagine you'll get a lot of flak for this. It seems pretty clear that tactically, he can't/refuses to adjust and adapt. He's willing to try new things in terms of who plays where in the lineup, but that isn't the same as being adaptable. We pretty much play the exact same tactical setup every game, with essentially no adjustments based on the opposing lineup and system. The system we play clearly has deficiencies against certain teams but he doesn't change things up.

I'm willing to give him more time, but it seems like even our good games are won in spite of our system. He needs to learn to actually be adaptable and flexible tactically or he is not going to be able to take this team where it deserves to go. I may have mentioned this before, but sometimes I wonder how much of the system we ran during the Cup run was actually his system, and how much was Tom Fitzgerald's system? Because the shift happened right away the next season after Fitzgerald was no longer an assistant...food for thought, I guess.

 

[Dupree13]

He could potentially get the ax during this season if things go badly enough. How bad, hard to say. Probably similar to 09. If MT could get the ax less than a year after the Finals, than Bylsma isn't safe either.

NHL coaches obviously have short shelf lives. Look at Jersey, one of the most consistent franchises over the past 15 years and they change coaches like underwear.

 

[MtlPenFan]

I'm not sure that I can agree with that, and in fact I imagine you'll get a lot of flak for this. It seems pretty clear that tactically, he can't/refuses to adjust and adapt. He's willing to try new things in terms of who plays where in the lineup, but that isn't the same as being adaptable. We pretty much play the exact same tactical setup every game, with essentially no adjustments based on the opposing lineup and system. The system we play clearly has deficiencies against certain teams but he doesn't change things up.

I'm willing to give him more time, but it seems like even our good games are won in spite of our system. He needs to learn to actually be adaptable and flexible tactically or he is not going to be able to take this team where it deserves to go. I may have mentioned this before, but sometimes I wonder how much of the system we ran during the Cup run was actually his system, and how much was Tom Fitzgerald's system? Because the shift happened right away the next season after Fitzgerald was no longer an assistant...food for thought, I guess.

The Fitzgerald thing is a big myth. Go back on that '09 Cup run and if you have a good half an hour to kill (as I sadly did) you'll see Geno wasn't "ridden" as hard as some believe.

Geno's as good as Geno wants to be, and most of whatever plagues him is in his head.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

If they're in the tank mid-December, meaning 2-4 points out of the playoffs, I think he would get the axe. Injuries SHOULD make no difference since Therrien got the boot without Gonchar being there the whole year up to that point.

Realistically I would say January or February if they're still up and down and the team discipline still sucks the big one his chances of being fired go up a good bit. Plus it's that much closer to Therrien's contract being over with, which I think is still in play.

 

[Captain Hook]

We'd have to be outside of a playoff spot around February for him to be fired. Pretty much like we were with MT.

Personally, I don't think he's the problem. I go around the boards and almost every team's fans complain about their system and the coach. The real issues are bad goal-tending, lack of skilled/scoring wingers and injuries. He can't control injuries. There's no system that will stop the puck for Fleury. MAF has to stop it himself and he can't right now. Wingers? You find wingers for Sid/Geno out of that group on our roster right now. It's not easy. He's got to try and move guys around and manufacture production on the wing these days.

Anyway, I think we'll see more stability with the lineup when Staal returns. I think they'll ride the Staalkin combo for a while. Sid will be stuck with Kunitz and Duper. Letestu will center Asham and Cooke. Comrie will probably be in the press box. Dude got benched after about 5 minutes last night. It just ain't working out with him. I think Talbot might need to go as well. The guy's been living off that game 7 for a while now. He doesn't look like he has it anymore. I think I'd call-up Jeffrey and give him a look in a bottom 6 role in the not too distant future if Max keeps struggling. Comrie doesn't really fit that role if he can't play in the top 6.

 

[ComplianceBuyout]

Who could we bring in to replace him though?

 

[MtlPenFan]

We'd have to be outside of a playoff spot around February for him to be fired. Pretty much like we were with MT.

Personally, I don't think he's the problem. I go around the boards and almost every team's fans complain about their system and the coach. The real issues are bad goal-tending, lack of skilled/scoring wingers and injuries. He can't control injuries. There's no system that will stop the puck for Fleury. MAF has to stop it himself and he can't right now. Wingers? You find wingers for Sid/Geno out of that group on our roster right now. It's not easy. He's got to try and move guys around and manufacture production on the wing these days.

Anyway, I think we'll see more stability with the lineup when Staal returns. I think they'll ride the Staalkin combo for a while. Sid will be stuck with Kunitz and Duper. Letestu will center Asham and Cooke. Comrie will probably be in the press box. Dude got benched after about 5 minutes last night. It just ain't working out with him. I think Talbot might need to go as well. The guy's been living off that game 7 for a while now. He doesn't look like he has it anymore. I think I'd call-up Jeffrey and give him a look in a bottom 6 role in the not too distant future if Max keeps struggling. Comrie doesn't really fit that role if he can't play in the top 6.

And it always coincides with a bad streak. I listen to the Montreal shows all day at work, and alllll year they were complaining about Martin's system, which is basically sit back, hope your goalie makes 35+ saves, and pray for opportunistic scoring. Then Halak plays out of his mind for two series, and suddenly Martin's a genius and it just took a while for the team to "get used to his system"

Then along comes Philly and Halak comes down to earth, then it's "Man we'll never win with this guy as coach, look how often Ottawa choked!!!"

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

He could potentially get the ax during this season if things go badly enough. How bad, hard to say. Probably similar to 09. If MT could get the ax less than a year after the Finals, than Bylsma isn't safe either.

NHL coaches obviously have short shelf lives. Look at Jersey, one of the most consistent franchises over the past 15 years and they change coaches like underwear.

Once every 1-3 years. Yuck.

 

[ColePens]

Realistically - hoping for the worst, is sometimes the best. We need an experienced coach who will take this team to the next level. Bylsma is not that guy. If we are going to sit around .500, I hope we lose the next ten games. That will just put us in a better position to win the Cup as odd as it sounds.

 

[MtlPenFan]

Realistically - hoping for the worst, is sometimes the best. We need an experienced coach who will take this team to the next level. Bylsma is not that guy. If we are going to sit around .500, I hope we lose the next ten games. That will just put us in a better position to win the Cup as odd as it sounds.

The only guy that may make a lick of difference with this bunch already works for Nashville.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

And it always coincides with a bad streak. I listen to the Montreal shows all day at work, and alllll year they were complaining about Martin's system, which is basically sit back, hope your goalie makes 35+ saves, and pray for opportunistic scoring. Then Halak plays out of his mind for two series, and suddenly Martin's a genius and it just took a while for the team to "get used to his system"

Then along comes Philly and Halak comes down to earth, then it's "Man we'll never win with this guy as coach, look how often Ottawa choked!!!"

I do agree people pile on when there's a loss, they do that pretty much in general though not just with the coach. If we win everything's rosy and guys that didn't really do much get a free pass. We lose by a goal and a bunch of guys didn't show up.

That being said, since the Cup run I've seen far too many games where the Penguins are simply getting stuffed. It also has to do with the top heavy lineup, but too often this team just looks like it's running into a brick wall for 60 minutes. To me that's on Bylsma without question. Also, and this is threaded through a lot of my other posts, the team is just undisciplined. I don't mean taking penalties I mean being where you're supposed to be and limiting mistakes. Last game was prime example.

 

[MtlPenFan]

I do agree people pile on when there's a loss, they do that pretty much in general though not just with the coach. If we win everything's rosy and guys that didn't really do much get a free pass. We lose by a goal and a bunch of guys didn't show up.

That being said, since the Cup run I've seen far too many games where the Penguins are simply getting stuffed. It also has to do with the top heavy lineup, but too often this team just looks like it's running into a brick wall for 60 minutes. To me that's on Bylsma without question. Also, and this is threaded through a lot of my other posts, the team is just undisciplined. I don't mean taking penalties I mean being where you're supposed to be and limiting mistakes. Last game was prime example.

But isn't that one sentence a big part of why we're going around in circles on this debate?

I mean how can a top heavy team not get stuffed at times? Add to that, "top heavy" in most cases usually means one line and not much after, we can't even boast that as long as Sid and Geno are not playing together (which they shouldn't)

You need talent to win, and having all of two guys, no matter how good they can be, simply isn't enough. Montreal gleefully swarmed Malkin and Crosby last year because they knew that any dish either to their right or left would result in absolutely nothing.

You add Fleury's god awful, maddeningly inconsistent play that either jumpstarts the opposing team at the start of a game or lets them back into one (Purcell's Ovechkin snipe from last night), and I don't see how coaching is going to make any tangible difference.