"Fire Hextall" chant took over the arena in Pitt last night
- Thread starter UrbanImpact
- Start date
I ain't surprised.
They got blown out 7-2 to a team that has lost to the Habs, Ducks and Blue Jackets.
They got blown out 7-2 to a team that has lost to the Habs, Ducks and Blue Jackets.
Satoru Gojo
Registered User
- Jan 15, 2012
- 4,282
- 5,342
I think Sullivan is a great coach but why does he seem to walk on water there?
Could be time for a management overhaul though
Could be time for a management overhaul though
Part of the cycle, Penguins were one of the leagues best teams for damn near 20 years now. It has to come to an end eventually. Not that I disagree with the fans, but that's just how sports works.
TheGoldenJet
Registered User
beedee
Registered User
- Jan 13, 2014
- 752
- 1,070
Nothing to see here, they were chanting about Leah.
SomeDude
Registered User
Because the local media has thrown Hextall under the bus while acting like Mike Sullivan is the 2nd coming of Scotty Bowman. Sullivan needs to go. Hextall's moves have not worked out, but I'm not convinced he's a big problem at this point. Get a new coach in there and see what happens.
HockeyVirus
Woll stan.
- Nov 15, 2020
- 16,198
- 23,722
I better not see any Jersey tosses or other shenanigans. Penguins fans have to suck at some point it's part of sports an you guys just had an epic 20 year run
tfwnogf
Registered User
- Dec 15, 2013
- 1,929
- 3,123
why would they hire an ex-flyer to be GM in the first place.......
Aww, poor Pitt fans 
. It’s gotta be tough “only” being in the wildcard race and constantly having generational talents in the lineup for the past 40 years.
. It’s gotta be tough “only” being in the wildcard race and constantly having generational talents in the lineup for the past 40 years.
GrumpyKoala
Registered User
- Aug 11, 2020
- 2,909
- 3,115
orby
Registered User
This is the first time since the very early part of the Crosby era that the Pens have been legitimately mediocre. I think the coach and GM are both to blame here - Sullivan is out of answers, and Hextall has been entirely too tentative with the roster and overall direction of the team.
Luigi Lemieux
Registered User
- Sep 26, 2003
- 21,576
- 9,461
Hextall is too patient. He's literally done nothing all year while the penguins have been spiraling. They're the worst team in the league since Christmas which is impressive considering there's teams out there openly tanking.
KingsFan7824
Registered User
It's all about subversion over the long term. It all started with the Tocchet trade. It worked out great for the Pens, which gets them comfortable with the idea of a Flyer in the organization. Then, when the time is right...
Yes fans are upset when they thought they’re team could win and it can’t. Doesn’t matter what the last 17 years were like.
Anyone saying they wouldn’t be mad in a similar situation is lying.
Anyone saying they wouldn’t be mad in a similar situation is lying.
KingsFan7824
Registered User
You don't trade your way out of a slump in a hard cap league.
orby
Registered User
If anything Hextall's mistakes were made over the summer IMO. The Malkin and Letang deals were great...but then he used the cap savings to make the rest of the team older too. If the Pens are going to be competitive in these last few years of the 87/71 era, they have to round out the roster with young, fast, hungry players - especially in the bottom 6 - and Hextall hasn't shown any inclination to do that.
SomeDude
Registered User
Pens fans are just used to Jim Rutherford hemorrhaging assets to try to fill a hole he created last month while trying to plug another hole. Hextall made a sizable error by signing Kapanen to his deal and entering the season with 32 cents in cap space, but you can't fix the Pens problems on the fly mid-season at this point.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa
Registered User
- May 16, 2009
- 12,252
- 1,585
When your best players are in their mid to late thirties, you know you have a problem. It's tough to stock the team when you have poor draft positions for a decade and a half. The Pens have always been bad at moving in and keeping quality players, though. It's not easy when you are so top loaded with talent and the only pieces you can move are guys kept around because they work with the cap space you have left.
Signing Malkin was a big mistake in my opinion. It was an emotional decision, not a business one. He has not been a player you go to war with for a long time. He is a steady producer, but if you are looking to rebuild you can't do it with a guy past his prime who takes bad penalties and floats a lot of the time. They could have used that money more wisely.
Hextall deserves to be fired for that alone imo.
Signing Malkin was a big mistake in my opinion. It was an emotional decision, not a business one. He has not been a player you go to war with for a long time. He is a steady producer, but if you are looking to rebuild you can't do it with a guy past his prime who takes bad penalties and floats a lot of the time. They could have used that money more wisely.
Hextall deserves to be fired for that alone imo.
What's the issue with the Pens?
On paper they look like they should still be a playoff team.
Still some high-end talent, decent depth, and decent defense, average goaltending.
Should they not have re-signed Letang and Malkin?
What should Hextall be doing?
On paper they look like they should still be a playoff team.
Still some high-end talent, decent depth, and decent defense, average goaltending.
Should they not have re-signed Letang and Malkin?
What should Hextall be doing?
WarriorofTime
Registered User
- Jul 3, 2010
- 28,980
- 17,148
If Crosby is willing to waive for a contender (2 years on his deal following this one) I bet they could still get a big return. I'm sure he'd love Cup Number 4 for his own personal legacy given that his days of individual hardware are behind him.
SomeDude
Registered User
I'm pretty sure he values the legacy of only playing for 1 franchise more than adding another Cup as a mercenary. That's something he's talked about since his first day here.
Malkin is making $6m this season. He's FAR from being any kind of problem.
You won't find nearly many other center producing at a PPG pace for $6m. He is currently an absolute steal for this season (it's the seasons when he regresses hard that will be hard, but this season he's still productive).
What other $6m Free Agent would you have wanted instead? Do you think the Pens would have been better to let Malkin walk for Cirelli?
Kapanen is only making $3.2m and he's good for 11-20 goals.
That's VERY fair value for that production. Hard to imagine why he would be targeted as the scapegoat for why they're not in the playoffs.
What other player signed for $3million would you have wanted instead? Athanasiou? Max Domi?
Would the Penguins be in the playoffs if you traded Kapanen for Athanasiou?
Last edited:
DickSmehlik
Registered User
I disagree.
I don't see why people are shocked that a geriatric team that got bounced in the first round the past 5 seasons, got older this offseason, is a borderline playoff team now.
It's been a long slow decline.
SomeDude
Registered User
He's not a scapegoat by the fanbase as much as he is by the coach. The coach clearly gave up on him last year. I'm not saying he's a bad player, but he needs to move on. He's not worth what little cap space the Pens had left after all the other deals they made. A bigger issue to me was the Petry deal, but I'm sure I'll get jumped on by a certain few posters for even mentioning Petry in any negative light.
