News Article: Article on Iginla Debacle

[Ogrezilla]

I highly doubt that Mario or Shero were telling DB to keep Duper happy and mismanage Iggy.

And this is all dependent on the unproven idea that Sid wanted it. There is one quote where Sid said he likes playing with Duper that started this whole "Sid demanded to play with Dupuis" theory.

I think it's bull**** TBH.

and the quote was when Sid was asked the question of whether he likes playing with Dupuis. It wasn't even something he brought up.

Sid, do you enjoy eating Apple Pie?

Yes I do.

REPORT: Sidney Crosby refuses to eat any dessert other than Apple Pie.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

-If Sid wants to play with Dupuis than he is his own worst enemy but I really doubt he ignores all Dupuis mistakes & wouldn't want to play with Iginla.

-If Bylsma really did promise Dupuis that spot it is an organizational failure and completely re-affirms the idea that Bylsma is more one of the guys than a coach.

Honestly with Dupuis in his contract year it would make complete sense if he was afraid to lose that spot.

And, now that he has his cushy four-year contract, and Iginla is gone, Dupuis feels absolutely no pressure. No competition.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

and the quote was when Sid was asked the question of whether he likes playing with Dupuis. It wasn't even something he brought up.

Sid, do you enjoy eating Apple Pie?

Yes I do.

REPORT: Sidney Crosby refuses to eat any dessert other than Apple Pie.

Yeah, if I recall, the question was a leading one where the only answer other than "yes" would have been for Sid to basically throw Dupuis under the bus by saying no, he hates playing with him because he's useless.

 

[madinsomniac]

I don't think Sid has a track record of running the team. If this was the case, why isn't Armstrong a lifetime pen? why isn't locker room favorite Talbot still here? I know the team has a country club atmosphere since the 90's, but Im pretty sure its not as far as the Rossi suggests

 

[cheesedanish87]

You don't know what you're talking about.

A good coach makes decisions that are best for the team, even if they go against their star player's wishes.

Do you think Bill Belichick would not have scratched Stevan Ridley is Brady asked him not to?

I doubt Brady cares which one of there rb plays, that would be like Sid caring what 4th liner is playing, but if Brady wanted to throw the ball more then Brady would throw it more, heck Brady and Manning call lots of there own plays when there running no huddle.

If you think players like Sid and OV have the same amount of say and power as 4th liners then i dunno what to tell you.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I doubt Brady cares which one of there rb plays, that would be like Sid caring what 4th liner is playing, but if Brady wanted to throw the ball more then Brady would throw it more, heck Brady and Manning call lots of there own plays when there running no huddle.

If you think players like Sid and OV have the same amount of say and power as 4th liners then i dunno what to tell you.

they shouldn't have as much say as the coach though. And I don't think he does.

 

[cheesedanish87]

they shouldn't have as much say as the coach though. And I don't think he does.

None of us know how much input Sid gives to the coaches, but Sid has the power to play with whoever he wants to play with, maybe hes wanted to play with KD, maybe hes never requested that, but Sid definitely has the power to decide, we just don't know if he uses that power.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

I doubt Brady cares which one of there rb plays, that would be like Sid caring what 4th liner is playing, but if Brady wanted to throw the ball more then Brady would throw it more, heck Brady and Manning call lots of there own plays when there running no huddle.

If you think players like Sid and OV have the same amount of say and power as 4th liners then i dunno what to tell you.

You're right.

QBs totally don't care who their running backs are!

And Brady and Manning are constantly going against their coach's wishes by calling plays!

 

[billybudd]

Two is 100% false. Iginla is actually known for being a workout warrior and in great condition after every off-season.

That's usually the case, but not always.

Tennis, for example, is a sport that's rife with examples of people who do more off-match work gassing prior to people who do less of that.

The current mens' #2 is a guy who is noteworthy for both an extreme level of work put into his fitness and poor endurance relative his peers (due to either an allergy or a heart problem, depending on who you believe).

Ton of examples in combat sports as well. Nobody ever accused Joe Calzaghe of spending too much time at the gym (he literally didn't do a damn thing between the end of one fight and fight prep for another), but he worked gym rat Mikkel Kessler to death during an actual contest.

All that said, I'm not saying Jarome Iginla is poorly conditioned and I don't actually think that.

Just giving plausible explanations for his usage based on spitball supposition, which is what I believe everybody's favorite Trib writer is doing as well.

 

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

Same.

Controversial topic.

A hell of a lot of speculation (which makes me wonder why this thread is even open given HF's rules).

And therefore, hard to make any real judgement or come to any justifiable conclusions.

 

[JTG]

Sidney Crosby's wish was not to play with Pascal Dupuis, but Jarome Iginla...or so I have been told.

 

[eXile59]

There is way too much speculation at this point and Rossi is far from a legit source. If any of it is true it's pretty damning of the staff.

 

[#66]

I don't think Sid has a track record of running the team. If this was the case, why isn't Armstrong a lifetime pen? why isn't locker room favorite Talbot still here? I know the team has a country club atmosphere since the 90's, but Im pretty sure its not as far as the Rossi suggests

I'm pretty sure on that. IMO its not about Sid or Malkin, its about how the Pens feel the need to treat their stars. They spoil them to a moronic degree. Its not a Disco thing... its a Penguins thing. Its been around FOREVER! Along with a win sloppy, lose badly attitude.

Get rid of that horse **** and the idea that systems are so rigid that they squash creativity.

 

[KIRK]

There is way too much speculation at this point and Rossi is far from a legit source. If any of it is true it's pretty damning of the staff.

We already know some of it is true. ****, we know a lot of it is true. What we don't know is who is to blame for Iginla on Malkin's LW.

Think about it, it took 1 period in which DCI and KMN ONLY scored 1 goal against Ottawa to break it up, and yet there was no inclination to go back to it against Boston, even for a period.

Somebody REALLY wanted Dupuis with Sid. Maybe it was Bylsma's idea. Maybe Sid wanted it.

It definitely was Bylsma's idea to keep Iginla on Malkin and Neal's LW, even though he was such a cluster**** there that he could barely take an outlet pass cleanly at times.

Whatever the reason truly was (and it's something we won't know for a long time, if ever), it stinks to high heaven.

It's not about Rossi. It's not about Iginla. It's about articles like this, whether 30% or 100% true, feeding the increasingly justified perception that the Pens organization has devolved into a country club and that the singular drive for Sid and Shero to win cups ended when they won one.

Note: I want to be clear. I'm not BLAMING Sid. He's a smart kid. And, you can see how badly he wants to win. Once upon a time, he wanted it so badly that he was o'k with his BFF being traded (heck, the GM didn't even ask him first). Anyone here think his reaction to Dupuis being traded would be the same as it was to his BFF being dealt for Hossa if, say, we dealt Dupuis as part of a package for Bobby Ryan? Anyone think it's equally certain that Ray wouldn't ask Sid's thoughts on trading Dupuis now? I'm not sure that he hasn't become, on some level or in some measure, complacent in the comfort that this whole 'we are a family' brings.

I do. IMO its not about Sid or Malkin, its about how the Pens feel the need to treat their stars. They spoil them to a moronic degree. Its not a Disco thing... its a Penguins thing. Its been around FOREVER! Along with a win sloppy, lose badly attitude.

Get rid of that horse **** and the idea that systems are so rigid that they squash creativity.

I can't speak for Sid, but I'm pretty sure Geno couldn't give a ****. Didn't ***** with Iginla on his LW. The linemate issues before Neal came to town and the LW issues all of last year. Coach plays him less than Dupuis. No PK time. All you ever hear from him is how he wants another cup. He's from a culture where coaches coach and players do what they're told. If you told him that skating with Gladams was best for the team, then he'd skate with Gladams. Having spoken of how winning one cup can be luck, he speaks like someone who knows that HIS hockey legacy will or should in good part be measured by whether the Pens win another cup.

 

[KIRK]

cartilage - rarely breaks and you can get by just fine without it.

Story checks out.

Well done . . .

"Crosby is the captain, the Penguins’ heart.

Malkin, the top alternate, is the soul.

Brooks Orpik, a second alternate, is the conscience.

Kunitz, also a second alternate, is the blood and the guts.

Dupuis – and this, as much as his performance last season, was why removing him from the top line was never an option – had become the cartilage."

Fleury is the gastrointestinal tract.

Adams, the ear lobe.

Letang, the brain.

Bylsma, the funny bone.

Shero, the balls.

Have we covered everyone from the franchise that last demonstrated that it knows how to win together?

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Get rid of that horse **** and the idea that systems are so rigid that they squash creativity.

Unfortunately, there are a myriad of examples of systems that are too rigid, who DO squash creativity. Disco's isn't one of them, he just is a boob who would rather grind, grind, grind in open ice than either light teams up offensively or shut things down defensively. I suppose he's a pioneer of sorts.

As for the rest, few organizations have ever had as much star power. So it is somewhat understandable why the 'star treatment' is in effect in this organization.

It's when NON-stars like Pascal Dupuis get preferential treatment, when stiffs like Craig Adams get placed on a pedestal...THAT becomes a major problem.

 

[gordie]

What it comes down to is that 36 year old Jarome Iginla is now in Boston and 21 year old Tyler Seguin is in Dallas, so I like that trade-off as a Pens fan.

 

[Freeptop]

"Malkin, as people tend to forget, was also hurt during the month of March that Crosby missed because of a broken ankle."

Another great example of Full Rossi in action here

 

[mpp9]

**** what Iginla felt about being on a third line. Any number of players would have been better fits with Geno/Neal.

KCD kept being rolled out there despite Sid goin into meltdown mode for half the Boston series.

I have as little faith in Letang being a guy you build your defense around as I do DB being a coach who can get the most out of Sid/Geno. He did our star players no favors in that series.

 

[eXile59]

What it comes down to is that 36 year old Jarome Iginla is now in Boston and 21 year old Tyler Seguin is in Dallas, so I like that trade-off as a Pens fan.

Yeah and Iginla was obviously not the same player he was in Calgary a couple years ago. Part of that was Bylsma but part of it was Iginla's age.

I don't think that's the bigger picture here though. The bigger picture is that Bylsma looks to be protecting players because he doesn't want to be the bad guy & a coach has to be the bad guy sometimes.

Like I said before though, none of this has been proven to my knowledge so it's all speculation.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

This is spot on, RRP. DB's promise may have cost this team a trip to the SCF.

TBH, I don't see how you feel this way about his decision making last year then defend him every chance you get since the POs ended.

There are a lot of times I don't agree with DB's personnel decisions, but I can usually see the rationale behind them, and believe he's much more of a net positive than most people here do.

As much as we'd have liked to see Iggy tried on Sid's wing, there's not much about his production this year in an optimal role that suggests he'd have been the difference between being swept and moving on to the Finals. I think his reputation and particulars (RH shot, "skill") are more appealing than the reality of the player Iginla is at this point in his career. I understand people being upset that it wasn't attempted, though.

 

[Shockmaster]

I highly doubt that Mario or Shero were telling DB to keep Duper happy and mismanage Iggy.

And this is all dependent on the unproven idea that Sid wanted it. There is one quote where Sid said he likes playing with Duper that started this whole "Sid demanded to play with Dupuis" theory.

I think it's bull**** TBH.

But it's fair to ask why Shero didn't tell Bylsma to use Iginla better.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

But it's fair to ask why Shero didn't tell Bylsma to use Iginla better.

Who said he didn't?

I hope the stupidity of Iggy on LW starts and ends with DB, but with how terrible he's been since the 20112 TDL I wouldn't be surprised if Shero endorsed it.

 

[Shockmaster]

Who said he didn't?

I hope the stupidity of Iggy on LW starts and ends with DB, but with how terrible he's been since the 20112 TDL I wouldn't be surprised if Shero endorsed it.

If I recall correctly during Shero's press conference when he announced the Bylsma contract extension, he was asked about the use of Iginla on the LW. I believe Shero's answer was something along the lines of "It was the only place he fit on the team." I also remember a lot of softball questions from the media in that press conference.

As for the end of DB, Shero said in that same press conference he extended Bylsma because he wanted the same kind of "consistency" that the Red Wings have had. Can't say I understand why Shero thinks the Penguins have anything to do with a slowly fading team in the Red Wings. I'd rather he worry about winning than emulating Detroit.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

If I recall correctly during Shero's press conference when he announced the Bylsma contract extension, he was asked about the use of Iginla on the LW. I believe Shero's answer was something along the lines of "It was the only place he fit on the team." I also remember a lot of softball questions from the media in that press conference.

As for the end of DB, Shero said in that same press conference he extended Bylsma because he wanted the same kind of "consistency" that the Red Wings have had. Can't say I understand why Shero thinks the Penguins have anything to do with a slowly fading team in the Red Wings. I'd rather he worry about winning than emulating Detroit.

That's the same team that has the longest consecutive streak of making the playoffs and took the eventual Cup champs to a Game 7 OT last year, right?