Pittsburgh Sports Media Gibberish - Part X (Rossi explains it all)

[roquay]

The NHL should think about implementing something similar to the NBA's rule about only being allowed to be in the paint for a specific amount of time. Maybe some rule about not being allowed to have X number of players in the neutral zone when the puck is in the opposition's zone.

Or just make the damn nets bigger.

There is enough smart people in the coaching division to come up with something. Let the game evolve. Adding extra rules makes the refs jobs harder. They cant even enforce the ones we have now.

The only other suggestion would be to make the ice bigger.

 

[eXile59]

His understanding of the NHL game is absolutely there. He's a good coach of a team who will listen. However we have the worst ****ing locker room right now. Those kids don't listen. If you take podcasts of what Tocchet said about the powerplay and MJ said about the system - all of HF would be standing up saying "YES.. THAT IS WHAT WE WANT!" But you can have the best systems in the world and have it not matter if you cannot get the kids to listen.

The reason he isn't an NHL coach is because he didn't take ownership/accountability.

Wait so he said all the right things during a interview? Kind of sounds like what I said. If he can't get the players do what he draws up on the marker board then he's just a face behind the bench.

 

[ColePens]

Wait so he said all the right things during a interview? Kind of sounds like what I said. If he can't get the players do what he draws up on the marker board then he's just a face behind the bench.

That's a step above, DB, isn't it?

Ultimately I think it comes down to the organization. Coach coaches, players don't listen, coaches don't hold players accountable, players don't hold players accountable, ownership doesn't hold anyone accountable as long as we are having fun, etc.

Endless cycle.

 

[IcedCapp]

The organization will NEVER, and I mean eeeeeeeevvvveeeer, give Babcock full reigns. Too many jagoffs up there who want power.

Whatever organization takes on Babcock basically gives him full power/reign/etc. Pens organization will never do that because that means so many of their "family members" will be kicked out.

I know, but that's my point. If they fire Bylsma and say and do the things they say and do, then fire MJ after the things they've said and done this year, it's going to look like a clown show.

 

[KIRK]

I know, but that's my point. If they fire Bylsma and say and do the things they say and do, then fire MJ after the things they've said and done this year, it's going to look like a clown show.

It already looks like a clown show.

 

[ColePens]

Better to have a quiet clown show than a loud one, eh? That'd be fitting for our organization.

 

[KIRK]

Better to have a quiet clown show than a loud one, eh? That'd be fitting for our organization.

I don't think it's quiet anymore. I really don't.

The whispers started a few years ago, but whenever someone would pipe up-- says Torts with the arrogance comment-- it was always easy to dismiss it.

Last year is when you first start to hear it a lot more, and where it was too hard to say to the accuser 'oh he's an idiot'.

How the whole GM and coaching searches were handled IMO titled it permanently in the direction of 'it's a clown show' in the eyes of people outside Pittsburgh, and events in the last 3-4 months have solidified that.

At this point, people outside think it's a clown show. The only thing that's going to change that isn't going to be not firing Johnston with a week remaining in the season a la Devil Lou. It's going to be winning.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I don't care how our organization looks to the rest of the NHL or its fans. I just want the team to do what it needs to do in order to fix things. If that means gutting the coaching staff this summer and sending a Brinks truck's worth of money to Babcock, even after the supposed paradigm shift last summer, so be it.

 

[KIRK]

I don't care how our organization looks to the rest of the NHL or its fans. I just want the team to do what it needs to do in order to fix things. If that means gutting the coaching staff this summer and sending a Brinks truck's worth of money to Babcock, even after the supposed paradigm shift last summer, so be it.

You know, I was just in like 4 hours Sid will take the scoring lead as the Pens pound Arizona 5-1, and the PR machine will be chirpring 'see, patience'.

But, my god, imagine if they lay an egg tonight and lose.

 

[Kristopher Letang]

Lol, you guys think Babs is going to get us where we want? You are kidding me right? This organisation has cancer, Babcock isn't a way to cure it.

 

[iamjs]

Did you guys hear this? Holy cow. It's Rossi completely going off about the Pens. Says some really candid stuff. Says the organization is arrogant, they're being punished for the petulance with the refs, takes joy in the Penguins' poor play, lashes out at people who have criticized him in the past, and on and on. Boy is he bitter. I can't believe some of the things he says. He even talks some smack about Mario.

http://blog.triblive.com/robrossi/2015/03/18/rossi-audio-comeuppance-for-penguins/

Starts at 27:45.

that's all you need to know about Rossi.

 

[Freeptop]

Read the post you quoted again. I promise you, the answer you seek is already in there. I'll give you a hint, it was directed at a specific time frame that has absolutely zero to do with what you responded.

You mean the timeframe of Jagr and Kovalev together, the entirety of which Craig Patrick already had Tom Barrasso for, so didn't need to go out and get another goaltender? That timeframe? How does that show that Craig Patrick placed goaltending in the backseat to building around Jagr and Kovalev?

 

[Pens1566]

You mean the timeframe of Jagr and Kovalev together, the entirety of which Craig Patrick already had Tom Barrasso for, so didn't need to go out and get another goaltender? That timeframe? How does that show that Craig Patrick placed goaltending in the backseat to building around Jagr and Kovalev?

Try again. The late 90s, you know, when Barrasso played all of one full season for this team in a year when the conditions of the original post that you quoted still don't apply.

Really, you waited this long and that is what you come up with?

 

[Darth Vitale]

Lol, you guys think Babs is going to get us where we want? You are kidding me right? This organisation has cancer, Babcock isn't a way to cure it.

I disagree for only one reason: Babcock would most likely not take the job without having temporary GM powers, because there's no ****ing way he'd come in here and work for old man Rutherford or his merry band of 17 co/asst GMs, and keep all their coaches. At the very least, he would demand to be the one and only Asst GM / the only other person in the organization who can advise Rutherford on trades and picks.

He will want the power to clean house or he simply won't come here, because he can't be successful without putting the kind of people around him that he wants. And because someone else WILL give him that power if we don't. Babcock is a no-BS old-school-minded coach. He would stand for 0 country club crap, zero old guard "keep em around to make the boys feel comfortable" BS.

"Hi I'm your new coach Mike Babcock and for this season, GM. You want to play for me, act like you belong on an NHL starting roster looking to win a Cup. Otherwise give me your agent's number and I'll find a solution for you real quick."

 

[cassius]

Babcock is a pipe dream.

There's a reason why the only coach we had a serious shot at landing was a 50-something journeyman coach with little to no experience at the NHL level.

Prospective coaches know this organization is a total dumpster fire and want no part of it.

That's what happens when you have a career politician running a pro hockey team, a senile GM, 100000 assistant GM's, a flawed roster, and years of underperformance. Toss in unrealistic expectations and it's a big old hot mess that most coaches want no part of.

 

[Freeptop]

Try again. The late 90s, you know, when Barrasso played all of one full season for this team in a year when the conditions of the original post that you quoted still don't apply.

Really, you waited this long and that is what you come up with?

I "waited that long" because I wasn't even logged into HFBoards in the meantime? Sorry I don't login 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, just to respond to posts here...

Anyway, let's examine the original assertion:

He took every penny he had and built the best team he could around his team's one advantage . . . he had the two best RW's in hockey.

He worried about his bottom six, his defense, even his goalie after that, because he figured if he could set up Jagr and Kovalev as best he could, then they could mask a lot of deficiencies elsewhere.

Let's look at how Craig Patrick spent his money in the late 90's, when Jagr and Kovalev were on the team. Kovalev was on the team for 98-03, but since Jagr was traded in the 2001 offseason, that leaves us with just the 98/99, 99/00 and 00/01 seasons. I originally l was counting more of the "late 90s" than just three years (and wasn't counting 00/01 as "late 90s" for that matter), so fine, Barrasso was only there for 1 and a fraction years when both Jagr and Kovalev were on the team. So let's examine the original assertion: did Craig Patrick spend his money on supporting Jagr and Kovalev?

98/99, The highest paid players on the team were, in order, Jagr, Kevin Hatcher, then Barrasso, with Kovalev and Stu Barnes tied for fourth. The next highest paid player was Kasparaitis.

99/00, Until he was traded, Barrasso was the second-highest paid player behind only Jagr. Third was Kovalev, and fourth was Straka. Fifth was Kasparaitis.

00/01, Highest paid players on the team: Jagr, Kovalev, Straka, Kasparaitis, then Lemieux. Sixth highest paid was defenseman Jiri Slegr.

Salaries after the above listed pretty much dropped off pretty quick.

That doesn't exactly support KIRK's assertion that Craig Patrick "took every penny he had and built the best team he could around his team's one advantage."

Over his entire time as GM of the Penguins, Craig Patrick was not terribly inclined to ignore goaltending or defense. The only time he ignored positions were when he basically had no budget to work with, and even then, he didn't particularly focus on one area to the detriment of others (at least in terms of spending money, at least).

 

[Wes C Addle]

I read this article via Nichols' Notes, thought about putting this in the Despres thread but since there is some discussion about Babcock going on I'll put it in here. Certainly nothing novel about what he says, and Hedman being a former #2 overall comes with more pedigree than Despres or Bennett, but I thought it was a good quote on a concept that seems to be lost within the Pens organization.

Hedman said he had some "flaws" defensively coming into the league, but he has continually improved, putting it all together last season, his fifth, which was the best of his career.

"Doesn't matter how good you are, it takes a long time to become what you're projected to be," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I think that's a message for all of us. Sometimes we get a little impatient with our kids. Unless you're a super-superstar, it takes you a while in this league to be good. Just goes to show you how tough the league is. Obviously Hedman is a good player."

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/hockey/lightning/hedman-puts-the-jump-in-lightning/2222326

 

[StutzlesTapeJob]

I don't think it's quiet anymore. I really don't.

The whispers started a few years ago, but whenever someone would pipe up-- says Torts with the arrogance comment-- it was always easy to dismiss it.

Last year is when you first start to hear it a lot more, and where it was too hard to say to the accuser 'oh he's an idiot'.

How the whole GM and coaching searches were handled IMO titled it permanently in the direction of 'it's a clown show' in the eyes of people outside Pittsburgh, and events in the last 3-4 months have solidified that.

At this point, people outside think it's a clown show. The only thing that's going to change that isn't going to be not firing Johnston with a week remaining in the season a la Devil Lou. It's going to be winning.

I think these are all great points. I don't know if our org is seen as clowns (we do have success, facilities, and other positives). As a mets fan in baseball, the mets a re a true clown show. But i think the league sees us in a correctly negative light regarding our attitude and approach.

I bet so much of it goes back to us campaigning for the "new nhl" while having two players who so clearly benefit from it. Specifically owned by Mario, who had is own reputation as a guy who could do anything he committed to but seemingly took some easy ways out. I think perceptioms of Mario from his playing days have MUCH less to do with it. But when you have a skilled owner and two generational talents arguing to make the league ideal (aka easier) for skilled guys its bound to be viewed as self serving.

I bet some really relish going against the pens with big, classic NHL style teams, snuffing out the skill, and winning with a "classic hard workin" effort. And i in no way blame for that.

 

[gopens66]

People are saying it would look bad if they fired Johnston/gutted the coaching staff, but last summer many here were saying that they thought MJ was a stop-gap until Babcock was available.

 

[gordie]

Babcock is a pipe dream.

There's a reason why the only coach we had a serious shot at landing was a 50-something journeyman coach with little to no experience at the NHL level.

Prospective coaches know this organization is a total dumpster fire and want no part of it.

That's what happens when you have a career politician running a pro hockey team, a senile GM, 100000 assistant GM's, a flawed roster, and years of underperformance. Toss in unrealistic expectations and it's a big old hot mess that most coaches want no part of.

The reason for Johnston is the picking his assistant (Tocchet) before he was hired, something Desjardins wanted no part. Babcock is by no means a pipe dream and why do you believe he would come here and only coach? The temp hiring of Rutherford would open up the position of GM and give Babcock something he wants in Detroit and that is complete control and not to mention the chance to coach Sidney Crosby. In fact the only team Red Wings fans are worried about Babcock jumping ship for is the Pens.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

The reason for Johnston is the picking his assistant (Tocchet) before he was hired, something Desjardins wanted no part. Babcock is by no means a pipe dream and why do you believe he would come here and only coach? The temp hiring of Rutherford would open up the position of GM and give Babcock something he wants in Detroit and that is complete control and not to mention the chance to coach Sidney Crosby. In fact the only team Red Wings fans are worried about Babcock jumping ship for is the Pens.

Why would Babcock want to come to the Pens? He's got to have heard all the same (and likely more) rumblings we the fans have heard about the meddling and weird shenanigans from this organization. Why would a guy who can pick and choose his destination, choose to come to that type of situation?

The Pens might be an appealing team to a coach who is just trying to break into the league and earn his stripes, because as long as Sid and Geno are healthy, it's a 100 point playoff team. So for a coach (like Johnston) who simply wants to get a couple of decent regular seasons on their resume, the Pens are desirable. For a coach that's already made his reputation in the league, however, and doesn't need a couple of decent regular season records to pad his resume, what's the appeal?

 

[MrBurghundy]

I read this article via Nichols' Notes, thought about putting this in the Despres thread but since there is some discussion about Babcock going on I'll put it in here. Certainly nothing novel about what he says, and Hedman being a former #2 overall comes with more pedigree than Despres or Bennett, but I thought it was a good quote on a concept that seems to be lost within the Pens organization.




http://www.tampabay.com/sports/hockey/lightning/hedman-puts-the-jump-in-lightning/2222326

What a crock of ****. Either a player is awesome right away, or they suck and should be traded for whatever measly scraps you are lucky to receive. I mean this is common sense here people.

On a related note, how nice would it be to actually have somebody running this team that understood that simple fact in the quote...

 

[Asuna]

Why would Babcock want to come to the Pens?

It may be appealing to want to coach arguably the best player in the game. Build a legendary legacy with him.

 

[eXile59]

I agree the Pen's won't do anything because of appearances but that doesn't mean they still shouldn't do it.

I feel like given the drafting and trades it shouldn't only be the coach but a serious gut job. The whole way down to scouting.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I agree the Pen's won't do anything because of appearances but that doesn't mean they still shouldn't do it.

I feel like given the drafting and trades it shouldn't only be the coach but a serious gut job. The whole way down to scouting.

Our scouting's been pretty good, it's just woefully short on forwards. Hell, look at how good our 2012 class is shaping up to be. Arguably the best of any team in the league that year.