Kobasew hasn't been one of Bylsma's pets, though. He's been a frequent healthy scratch. He's been playing Gibbons on the top line, and Engelland at forward over putting Kobasew anywhere in the lineup. I'm not sure how that equates to being one of the "pets".
The fact that Kobasew has played as many games as he has, despite being utterly useless for the vast majority of those games, suggests he's a "pet". If he wasn't a pet, the only time he'd ever see the lineup was when the Pens had a half dozen forwards out. But Kobasew continues to play even when the roster is largely intact (minus 1 or 2 guys).
The fact that when Dupuis first went down, it was Kobasew who was penciled in next to Crosby, instead of even trying any of the youngsters first.
The fact that just recently Engelland played defense and Despres sat in the press box so that Kobasew could play suggests he's a "pet".
Is he as entrenched as a guy like Adams? No. But you're being a blind homer if you believe he doesn't get favorable treatment ahead of more deserving youngsters.
Kobe was a UFA on a one-year deal that they wanted to give every opportunity to prove himself. He got hurt, and presumably they wanted to give him some time to round into form. He never did, even when they gave him a last best chance, so they waived him.
Yes, he was favoured over youngsters. No, that's not different from anywhere else.
People who were convinced that he would be a de facto option in the playoffs can rest easy now.
Like I said earlier, I won't rest easy until all Bylsma's pets are removed. I just don't think anyone can argue against Kobasew fitting into that category given his performance didn't justify the playing time he was given. Only "vets" get that kind of rope on the Pens.
so why did my excited gif get deleted? There are at least 10 other gifs that are just as irrelevant. maybe someone just hates friends. Let's try Seinfeld
You won't be resting easy then. Every coach has his pets.
As for Kobasew, I just made an argument as to why he wasn't. He had been injured and the brass wanted to give a vet FA every opportunity to round into form. If you start signing FAs claiming they'll get a real chance to contribute then play rookies over them at the first sign of rust, you're not going to attract many more.
You won't be resting easy then. Every coach has his pets.
As for Kobasew, I just made an argument as to why he wasn't. He had been injured and the brass wanted to give a vet FA every opportunity to round into form. If you start signing FAs claiming they'll get a real chance to contribute then play rookies over them at the first sign of rust, you're not going to attract many more.
You won't be resting easy then. Every coach has his pets.
As for Kobasew, I just made an argument as to why he wasn't. He had been injured and the brass wanted to give a vet FA every opportunity to round into form. If you start signing FAs claiming they'll get a real chance to contribute then play rookies over them at the first sign of rust, you're not going to attract many more.
I think I'll take my chances in not signing dumpster diving free agents in the future if it means they didn't come here because they didn't get to play with Crosby. Somehow I think we'll manage to be ok.
whats silly to me about that theory is that they thought playing him with Sid or Geno was the best chance for him to show something. They set him up to fail by putting him in positions he simply isn't good enough to play in.
We've been there/done that w/ the UFAs like Kobasew. I think we are done. It never goes our way.
Now... 37% faceoff, -11, failed clears on PK, awful 5 on 5 play, 13 minutes a night. Why is Adams one of the "every coach has his pets" thinking?
I don't think we have the forward depth to be that cocky.
People here don't like it, but reputation matters. Cue "family" gags.
Do you honestly think guys just looking for a team will give a **** if they get to play with Crosby or not? They'll be happy to get a contract, just like Kobasew was I'm sure. Don't you see the ridiculous logic of this scenario? Just giving random trash that hasn't found a team a chance with the best player in the game without them earning it? Isn't that part of this team's problem in the first place? You can't seriously be advocating this.
Besides if the guy is highly touted enough, he'll be paid accordingly and will probably get a crack anyway. Not league minimum vets like Kobasew. I'm not too worried about hurting the feelings of guys like that. There's a reason why they're there in the first place. We already have guys in WBS that would be better suited to take their job, and fill a roll while getting paid an NHL contract without being guaranteed top-6 time.
I'm not advocating Kobasew playing with Crosby, I'm advocating him getting a chance on the team. But as it stood, we had a ton of injuries and none of our rookies were blue-chippers, so throwing Kobasew on Crosby's wing for a few games when Dupes and Bennet went down to see if something clicked didn't hurt anything.
Cap beggars can't be choosers. You may not worried about cheap FAs avoiding Pittsburgh, but you don't have anything to lose.
We only had Megna actually producing and looking good, or in other words earning playing time. Then there was Kobasew, doing whatever it was he did that imitated the game of hockey. Again, one of the main issues on this team is that vets get preferential treatment and that's a prime example. Not something you should be holding up as a good thing. You can say other coaches do it til you're blue in the face, but that doesn't make it one bit right.
Why are we cap beggars? There are a ton of moves that could or could not have happened to alleviate that issue.
Again, zero free agents are going to avoid coming here if they see that players the likes of Kobasew don't get first dibs on playing with a guy like Crosby. The message that they should be sending is if you EARN IT, you get a shot. Either way, if they are in Kobasew's situation, they are going to be happy to get a contract period. If you don't think so I have no idea what to tell you. Maybe there wouldn't be a problem if Shero decided to draft a forward once in a while, and we could fill from within, but alas here we are.
If it wouldn't change under another coach, what's the point in fixating on it?
This doesn't need to be explained.
Kobasew didn't have first dibs with Crosby. He played a few games there as a last best chance when our 2 better options went down. He didn't do anything, so now he's been waived.
Because it's wrong? Do we really need to use the friends jumping off a bridge analogy here or are we adult enough to understand this point?
No it doesn't because there are moves that didn't happen and FA signings that shouldn't have happened.
He played there more than a few games, and even the games where he didn't start there, he got regular shifts with him.
There's nothing "adult" about a perspective based in a dream world. In the real world, all of this board's paragons of coaching virtue do the same thing.