Randy Butternubs
Registered User
Last few posts:
i dont think you should undersell what happened with ian cole... cole filled an essential role on those early sully teams... he was very good at clogging shot lanes and forcing shots from the outside or blocking shots and he played physical... he wasn’t a great defenseman by any stretch, but he filled a role that was immediately missed upon his trade... replacing his role was exactly why Jack Johnson was brought in... and JJ just didn’t mesh right despite having similar traits...
I get that the guy mouthed off a bunch, but frankly coaches in general are extremely flawed individuals that need reality checks way more often... its a shame most are thin skinned and cannot handle being called out...
I really think cole was one of a half dozen players they got rid of then realized they had no good fill in for their roles...
The same coach that beefed with Ian Cole also presented an argument to the GM for why the team should sign Jack Johnson.
And none of that is made up. It hurts my soul.
Cole struggled but he formed a good second pair with Schultz when he did get back to his game. The loss of Tocchet also had the team looking and playing different but we didn't understand it until a year after that season. The Pens were trying to find a way to add more Cole types with the Oleksiak deal and then when they moved him it was Gudbranson and JJ. Both bad fits.
The team essentially never has found a replacement. I think it was @Gurglesons that had mentioned Gudas and I liked the idea of Riikola/Matheson/Pettersson, Gudas as a pair.
Cole was walking. As much as people want to make it about Sully, the reality was we were never going to invest 4 mil into our 3rd pairing D.
That being said, we should've given Schultz's money to Cole.
Coaching, apparently, can never fail. It can only be failed.
A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of [coaches bearing any sort of responsibility]. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Pope and Tsar, Metternich and Guizot, French Radicals and German police-spies.
I don't hate the idea of giving Zucker-Crosby-Kapanen a try, but on what basis do you say that Zucker and Crosby played well together?
Last game thread was closed before I could respond to @The Old Master suggesting that Malkin is moved to the wing.
.... which is probably for the better...
Byegones.
Please read a post before you type another one out.
Haha why bother with that guy? It’s JR’s burner account.
right now the brass is watching the team play and getting a feel for what is here. It takes time to see some of the little things and interactions of players as to chemistry, fit ect. But I do think they see some isseus here is lacking needed size and grit. How they address that for this year is to me limited as to flexibility. But I just don't think with Sid and Geno not in beast mode anymore Pens need more space makers than smaller skill wingers.