Post-Game Talk: Cats 3, Pens 2 OT | At Least We Got a Point

[Andy99]

I know a lot of people here don’t like RW...but he’s got some complaints about Sullivan too...

HockeyBuzz.com - Ryan Wilson - No Geno, no bueno

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I know a lot of people here don’t like RW...but he’s got some complaints about Sullivan too...

HockeyBuzz.com - Ryan Wilson - No Geno, no bueno

I think this is the first time ever I agree with a lot of what Wilson said.

 

[AverageJoeFan]

Pens need to go 18-9-1 in their remaining games to hit 100 points. Not saying that is the cutoff, but 100 points is a decent year.

However they get there, it needs to start...very very soon.

 

[Shady Machine]

I know a lot of people here don’t like RW...but he’s got some complaints about Sullivan too...

HockeyBuzz.com - Ryan Wilson - No Geno, no bueno

He's spot on with all of that IMO.

 

[ronduguayshair]

Not to be debbie downer, BUT......if they do hit rock bottom, they better restructure the ticket pricing. Cause they are maxed out right now as it is. I know on some nights, the extra pair of seats I have, I can't give away. They won't sell on ticket exchange for $30 a seat, and I paid $45 per. The lower bowl prices are extremely high for this city.

The Pens have a large fan base, but not a large ticket buying fan base. And what there is of it, is getting buyers fatigue. I know I will drop mine for next year and just buy below face value seats online. Another concern is the luxury suites. Will companies still pony up those extraordinary prices they paid to see 2 superstars, for a bunch of lunch pail guys?? And I can also see Mario trying to sell his share once the team bottoms out. But hopefully Burkle remains. People always say, 'wait till they lose Sid and Geno, they will be in trouble', and that could be true. Only because the size of the fan base. Current circumstances, great attendance, spending to the cap, are being buoyed by the current superstars we have. And this era of winning. Without it?? for the reasons mentioned, things could be a lot different. Hopefully Burkle and Mario stay, and that we continue to spend to the cap. But for now, I remain skeptical that they are here just riding out a good thing. I could be wrong on that. I think the main thing will be the lowering of the ticket prices, and if they do that, do we become a bottom of the payroll team, like the Pirates. Mario always said, 'this is a business first'. Right now business is good. It won't always be that way. Want to see what happens when the current era is over.

Yeah we’ve had trouble selling some of our season tickets at face this year.

 

[ColePens]

I think about half, if not more, of current roster wasn’t here when Sully came on board.

Hence, I think on the team core. They are the ones who create toxic vibe between the players and the coaches.

Remember, Mario chased Scotty Bowman (!!!) out of town after just one season. Apparently, he felt that the Cup was entirely on him, and he didn’t need even the best coach in history.

No wonder where this culture comes from in Pens organization.

My brother and I fight all the time. He was a Gretzky fan and I'm the most biased Lemieux fan of all time. He would constantly bring up Bowman. Every argument turns to Lemieux got rid of Bowman.

 

[ColePens]

Not to be debbie downer, BUT......if they do hit rock bottom, they better restructure the ticket pricing. Cause they are maxed out right now as it is. I know on some nights, the extra pair of seats I have, I can't give away. They won't sell on ticket exchange for $30 a seat, and I paid $45 per. The lower bowl prices are extremely high for this city.

The Pens have a large fan base, but not a large ticket buying fan base. And what there is of it, is getting buyers fatigue. I know I will drop mine for next year and just buy below face value seats online. Another concern is the luxury suites. Will companies still pony up those extraordinary prices they paid to see 2 superstars, for a bunch of lunch pail guys?? And I can also see Mario trying to sell his share once the team bottoms out. But hopefully Burkle remains. People always say, 'wait till they lose Sid and Geno, they will be in trouble', and that could be true. Only because the size of the fan base. Current circumstances, great attendance, spending to the cap, are being buoyed by the current superstars we have. And this era of winning. Without it?? for the reasons mentioned, things could be a lot different. Hopefully Burkle and Mario stay, and that we continue to spend to the cap. But for now, I remain skeptical that they are here just riding out a good thing. I could be wrong on that. I think the main thing will be the lowering of the ticket prices, and if they do that, do we become a bottom of the payroll team, like the Pirates. Mario always said, 'this is a business first'. Right now business is good. It won't always be that way. Want to see what happens when the current era is over.

Boy is this post spot on or what, eh? td_ice is playing chess while a lot of people are playing checkers.

 

[Gurglesons]

I know a lot of people here don’t like RW...but he’s got some complaints about Sullivan too...

HockeyBuzz.com - Ryan Wilson - No Geno, no bueno

Don’t really get these complaints at all.

Sullivan isn’t responsible for JJ. Rutherford is.

Sullivan isn’t responsible for our D. Rutherford is.

Cullen has honestly been the best C below Geno and Sid this year. Jugs and McCann are adjusting to a new system.

Seems like typical Ryan Wilson BS which panders to a certain sect of fan. (I.e. blames a coach for issues out of his control)

Like honesty how else would you run our D / centers with Malkin and Schultz out?

 

[Gurglesons]

Boy is this post spot on or what, eh? td_ice is playing chess while a lot of people are playing checkers.

We’ll see how many fans stick around on here once that era hits. You can tell the opinions on here from fans that have only seen a competitive team.

My son probably won’t see a Pens championship until he is in his 20s lol. Probably going to be a Flyers fan tbh.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

When that time comes, I'm planning on enrolling in a community college class so that I can take advantage of student rush again.

 

[ColePens]

We’ll see how many fans stick around on here once that era hits. You can tell the opinions on here from fans that have only seen a competitive team.

My son probably won’t see a Pens championship until he is in his 20s lol. Probably going to be a Flyers fan tbh.

I already see some kids with McDavid jerseys in Pittsburgh. I remember when kids had Lebron jerseys instead of Jordan. It happens, man. It's life. I always said I was fortunate enough to be born in the best year - 1985. My life has been Mario Lemieux and Crosby. The dark ages were a freaking blast as i was in highschool and had no money anyway so going to games for 10-20 bucks was perfect. I was born a hockey fan and I think that's why it's a lot easier to deal with the bad because as you said some people have no clue how bad it can get.

 

[ColePens]

To add - my favorite Penguin fan to discuss hockey with is one who grew up a fan under the Mario era and were anywhere from 15-25 during the x-gen years, and then got to witness the Crosby/Malkin era. Because they've seen the highs, the lows, and the highs from a different perspective. They are usually extremely sarcastic and we all laugh about some of the names from the x-gen years.

But man... the casual fan who still talks about the Steelers of the 70s or the new age fan who only knows 3 Cups and thinks we are failing miserably..... it is rough.

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

My son probably won’t see a Pens championship until he is in his 20s lol. Probably going to be a Flyers fan tbh.

THIS is the reason I dumped $1,600 (plus travel) I really didn't have into two tickets for SCF G3 against the Sharks. Wanted my 10 year old Pens fan son to have a lifetime memory. No one guarantees tomorrow. Lost in overtime, but met PK Subban at our hotel, Joe Pavelski's aunt and uncle, and generally had a blast.

 

[ChaosAgent]

I already see some kids with McDavid jerseys in Pittsburgh. I remember when kids had Lebron jerseys instead of Jordan. It happens, man. It's life. I always said I was fortunate enough to be born in the best year - 1985. My life has been Mario Lemieux and Crosby. The dark ages were a freaking blast as i was in highschool and had no money anyway so going to games for 10-20 bucks was perfect. I was born a hockey fan and I think that's why it's a lot easier to deal with the bad because as you said some people have no clue how bad it can get.

89 for me. I didn't really get the initial cups, but I did take it for granted that we had Jagr & Francis in the late-90s. Then when we had KLS + Mario came back and Jagr was clicking...holy moly was that fun. The dark years weren't so bad as Mario and Kovalev around for most of em: Kovy was my favorite player. Plus, weirdly, Pitt basketball was really good so at least someone was winning during the winter.

Having said that, I'd be lying if I didn't say that those ping-pong balls bouncing the right way in July 2005 didn't ratchet up my interest again. And then that awful Russian death-metal music highlight video of Malkin. Those were the early days of Youtube. I listened to that terrible music every other day thinking we maybe had another player coming that was as good as Sidney Crosby. Those 2006-2008 years were the best time to be a Penguins fan; to see them on the ascendancy. And then for them to fall off and come roaring back in 2016 was amazing as well.

 

[Turin]

I know a lot of people here don’t like RW...but he’s got some complaints about Sullivan too...

HockeyBuzz.com - Ryan Wilson - No Geno, no bueno

Yawn. Peripheral issues. Get a real D and then get back to me about coaching.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I already see some kids with McDavid jerseys in Pittsburgh. I remember when kids had Lebron jerseys instead of Jordan. It happens, man. It's life. I always said I was fortunate enough to be born in the best year - 1985. My life has been Mario Lemieux and Crosby. The dark ages were a freaking blast as i was in highschool and had no money anyway so going to games for 10-20 bucks was perfect. I was born a hockey fan and I think that's why it's a lot easier to deal with the bad because as you said some people have no clue how bad it can get.

I don't generally base fandom on what kids wear because I remember as a kid I was such a casual fan that I basically just cheered for who scored the most at that time. It was only later on, when I started to understand the sport more, that I stopped being a "I like [insert whichever best player was]" and actually had loyalty to a franchise and not an individual player.

 

[heysmilinstrange]

Nah, even Philly isn’t immune. Their team made the playoffs, yet they have sunk to their worst att. per game in decades.

Flyers Attendance: Is it as Bad as it Seems, or are we Missing Something? | Crossing Broad

They were really low in 2015 as well:

Flyers' attendance, even with ESPN.com error, worst since Spectrum days

Their numbers always look high relative to other teams because of the capacity, but there have been thousands of empty seats there for quite some time now.

 

[EightyOne]

I don't generally base fandom on what kids wear because I remember as a kid I was such a casual fan that I basically just cheered for who scored the most at that time. It was only later on, when I started to understand the sport more, that I stopped being a "I like [insert whichever best player was]" and actually had loyalty to a franchise and not an individual player.

I have a Gretzky Oilers jersey and a Lemieux Pens jersey.

Every other jersey I have is a blank crest for a reason. Lol

Also...*sweater for CAN accuracy, lol

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I have a Gretzky Oilers jersey and a Lemieux Pens jersey.

Every other jersey I have is a blank crest for a reason. Lol

Also...*sweater for CAN accuracy, lol

@ColePens wouldn't know whether to kiss you or punch you in the face.

 

[EightyOne]

@ColePens wouldn't know whether to kiss you or punch you in the face.

Haha. We all know who is BETTER. But 99 is a solid top five player in league history

 

[LOGiK]

89 for me. I didn't really get the initial cups, but I did take it for granted that we had Jagr & Francis in the late-90s. Then when we had KLS + Mario came back and Jagr was clicking...holy moly was that fun. The dark years weren't so bad as Mario and Kovalev around for most of em: Kovy was my favorite player. Plus, weirdly, Pitt basketball was really good so at least someone was winning during the winter.

Having said that, I'd be lying if I didn't say that those ping-pong balls bouncing the right way in July 2005 didn't ratchet up my interest again. And then that awful Russian death-metal music highlight video of Malkin. Those were the early days of Youtube. I listened to that terrible music every other day thinking we maybe had another player coming that was as good as Sidney Crosby. Those 2006-2008 years were the best time to be a Penguins fan; to see them on the ascendancy. And then for them to fall off and come roaring back in 2016 was amazing as well.

Man I'm older on here I thought a few of you were older. 82 here. First a Brodeur fan, Devils were the closest home games for me to go to as a kid at the Brynden Byrd. Then a Messier fan cause I mean.. c'mon. Then after being a bandwagon fan and I reached a more post conventional rationale I was a Penguins fan, since what, 96-97? Kovy too way my favorite, cross blue line, cut to center, rip shot, goal... my favorite of his.
Watched into the dark era, and even went to some wbs games to see the up and comers. Hell, even Sid used to come to the WBS penguins arena when they used to play their preseason games there.
I remember being super excited for Malkin too, and then Leclair's big dumb ass had to knock him out with a shoulder injury before the regular season even started.

So many ups and downs being a pens fan.

 

[ColePens]

@ColePens wouldn't know whether to kiss you or punch you in the face.

My brother has a signed gretzky stick at my folks home. I have a lemieux one. I want to break his every time i see it.

 

[Peat]

Don’t we always say that, and then the Pens go out and kick some ass?

I thought this but am too superstitious to post it. We're blaming you if it goes awry.

I think we'll be OK when we become bad simply because of the new building.

But if we were bad for a long time it could get ugly ticket-wise.

This. Increasingly, its the arena that keeps sports organisations going.

For me, the interesting part is how the ownership handle it. Will they try to cling to playoff mediocrity as long as possible? Tell the GM to be ruthless? Try to sell?

With a good GM, proactive attitude and a bit of luck we could be back in business very quickly. Or we could end up very bad for a long time. Fun times!

To add - my favorite Penguin fan to discuss hockey with is one who grew up a fan under the Mario era and were anywhere from 15-25 during the x-gen years, and then got to witness the Crosby/Malkin era. Because they've seen the highs, the lows, and the highs from a different perspective. They are usually extremely sarcastic and we all laugh about some of the names from the x-gen years.

But man... the casual fan who still talks about the Steelers of the 70s or the new age fan who only knows 3 Cups and thinks we are failing miserably..... it is rough.

Pfft. They're not new age fans. New age fans are like me, they only know 2 cups. Hell, I only became a hardcore Pens fan about a month after Sully got the job. Talk about timing...

 

[USMC607]

Boy is this post spot on or what, eh? td_ice is playing chess while a lot of people are playing checkers.

The good news is Bettman loves them so much he will never approved a relocation.

We would luck into another generational player again before that happens.

I am okay with some down yrs after sid and geno. We have been super spoiled as penguins fans. The bandwagoners can go f*** off like they did in the early 2000s.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

My brother has a signed gretzky stick at my folks home. I have a lemieux one. I want to break his every time i see it.

April fools is coming.
You should trace a Lemieux signature on some clear tape and stick it next to 99's.