Don't overthink this.
1. Somebody said if Sullivan goes with JJ and Schultz again it's the equivalent of rolling over and dying. They did it!
2. Jack Johnson is a great person and an ok player who was successful in a slower more physical era. We've been out of that era for years now. It isn't his fault he was put in a position to fail.
3. Marleau was a hollow choker on San Jose and he was never going to help this team. This team has Crosby and Malkin in their 30s, they don't need a f***ing sage to help.
4. Schultz was casual all year, and never should have been played the way he was.
5. The PP has been bad all year, trying everything possible to overcomplicate and apparently stroke egos than do what needs to be done. Different variations of Malkin on the left side, Malkin on the top have never worked and never will. One of the best shooters in NHL history used a decoy was and is ridiculous and it's absurd it went on so long.
6. Murray was good, he wasn't the reason they lost.
7. All of this leads to the only point that matters. Mike Sullivan caught lightning in a bottle and then managed to do it again with good decision-making and being willing to listen. Somewhere along the line, that changed. He actively hampered this team at every turn and his decisions were mind-boggling. The less-astute here will blame players like Malkin because it feels good to rag on the stars for not scoring. A better discussion is how on earth did this coach manage to take a superstar having his best season in years and make him into his third choice on the ice? Wow. Mike Sullivan and Evgeni Malkin cannot co-exist, there is no reason to have Malkin here if Sullivan is going to treat him the way he does. It hurts our team to have a 9MIL player trusted less than Teddy Blueger. My God. This team was rolling when Malkin was rolling, and it did it for months, and it was the only time they were rolling. A smart coach would take notice. He didn't, because he doesn't trust Malkin and never has. So part ways with one or both.
Anybody blaming the players (beyond a few poor performers) for this doesn't have a clue. Rutherford assembled a talented team. This coach has lost it and if he isn't willing to change, he needs to be gone. Recchi too. What does he do here, again?