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

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Shady Machine

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Aug 6, 2010
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crosby's still healthy though. proof is in the pudding. i'll take an OTL for a healthy crosby. keep adams in the lineup i say

What relevance does that have with Adams' fight? Do you honestly believe if Adams didn't fit Crosby would be injured?
 

Terrapin

Registered User
Mar 6, 2007
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It says a lot that if a fight is to be had, the best the Pens can send out is a 37 year old scrub with a career 0-40 fight record.
 

Fordy

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May 28, 2008
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crosby's still healthy though. proof is in the pudding. i'll take an OTL for a healthy crosby. keep adams in the lineup i say

lol do you use this logic in your day to day life? do you do rain dances too? proof is in the pudding
 

MtlPenFan

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Apr 14, 2010
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Steve Kolbe may literally be the worst.

What a vanilla, wiener shill apologist. Defending Kunitz at every turn.
 

billybudd

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Feb 1, 2012
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http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/03/27/friday-insider-maatta-over-mind-by-a-landslide/

Johnston’s continued support of Chris Kunitz shouldn’t be misconstrued as anything other than what it appears, I’m told. The coach isn’t being influenced on this count at all. In fact, there’s a very good chance the head coach is getting increasingly isolated.

My bull**** detector's going off with this.

While it's possible Johnston believes Kunitz still has a gear that I (and most outside observers) no longer think he does, this seems to me like more groundwork being laid in the (likely) event the Penguins flame out quick.

Kunitz makes a lot of correct decisions (execution is an entirely different matter), so it's not far-fetched that a coach would overvalue him because of that. What is far-fetched is that he'd be isolated from the other coaches in that opinion.

Seems like more of a message strategy to paint this picture in the (increasingly likely, imo) event that Johnston is fired after the season. It's just been tied by someone to DK together with the "Chris Kunitz wants out" narrative that's been floated earlier on.

"Well, us and {assistant coach(es) we kept} didn't share {sacrificial lamb's} opinion on {player that customer base turned on}. But {SL} and {ptcbto} are gone now, so the future's looking bright, bright, bright! Renew your tickets!"
 

Honour Over Glory

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Jan 30, 2012
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http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2015/03/27/friday-insider-maatta-over-mind-by-a-landslide/



My bull**** detector's going off with this.

While it's possible Johnston believes Kunitz still has a gear that I (and most outside observers) no longer think he does, this seems to me like more groundwork being laid in the (likely) event the Penguins flame out quick.

Kunitz makes a lot of correct decisions (execution is an entirely different matter), so it's not far-fetched that a coach would overvalue him because of that. What is far-fetched is that he'd be isolated from the other coaches in that opinion.

Seems like more of a message strategy to paint this picture in the (increasingly likely, imo) event that Johnston is fired after the season. It's just been tied by someone to DK together with the "Chris Kunitz wants out" narrative that's been floated earlier on.

"Well, us and {assistant coach(es) we kept} didn't share {sacrificial lamb's} opinion on {player that customer base turned on}. But {SL} and {ptcbto} are gone now, so the future's looking bright, bright, bright! Renew your tickets!"

I don't see Johnston lasting past this season anymore.

I am on board the Mike Keenan wagon.
 

Honour Over Glory

Fire Sully
Jan 30, 2012
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love watchin those big burly boys wrestle around and grapplin at each other's meaty bodies...

0ZLw3wk.gif
 

billybudd

Registered User
Feb 1, 2012
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I don't see Johnston lasting past this season anymore.

I am on board the Mike Keenan wagon.

Forbes had the Pens with some ridiculous operating income (not including arena revenue, which they get the largest cut from). Idea that "already paying Dan" (floated by the radio, not by you) will keep Johnston safe is not compelling to me.

So yeah, I can't see him back short of astounding playoff success, which I also can't see happening. One of the stipulations of his hiring was that he "play a puck possession style." Well, we haven't been doing that since Christmas.

Whether the decision not to play that style is tactically correct or not tactically correct is up in the air, but if I was cutting checks to a guy who, for example, told me he'd "never take Fridays off" and then started taking every Friday off, I'd personally be looking for an excuse to move on to someone else.

But eff Keenan. Not him. If he'd won a cup in 94 with the Tampa Bay Lightning instead of the New York Rangers and the rest of his career was the same, he'd not even be a consideration for a coaching gig at this point in time.
 

Honour Over Glory

Fire Sully
Jan 30, 2012
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HF Pens Board is going to war this May. Mike Keenan vs. John Hynes. Choose your camp.

I feel like Hynes won't fix the problems this team has, Keenan comes with an illustrious resume that Hynes and Johnston combined, can only wish to ever have some day.

Babcock would be ideal, but it would mean the Pens have to give up power in management and they like to meddle too much to do that.
 

Sidney the Kidney

One last time
Jun 29, 2009
55,518
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Forbes had the Pens with some ridiculous operating income (not including arena revenue, which they get the largest cut from). Idea that "already paying Dan" (floated by the radio, not by you) will keep Johnston safe is not compelling to me.

So yeah, I can't see him back short of astounding playoff success, which I also can't see happening. One of the stipulations of his hiring was that he "play a puck possession style." Well, we haven't been doing that since Christmas.

Whether the decision not to play that style is tactically correct or not tactically correct is up in the air, but if I was cutting checks to a guy who, for example, told me he'd "never take Fridays off" and then started taking every Friday off, I'd personally be looking for an excuse to move on to someone else.

But eff Keenan. Not him. If he'd won a cup in 94 with the Tampa Bay Lightning instead of the New York Rangers and the rest of his career was the same, he'd not even be a consideration for a coaching gig at this point in time.

Not that I give a damn if Johnston's back (in fact, I'm leaning toward wanting him gone after seeing some of his personnel decisions this year), but the organization's going to look silly if it fires its second coach in two seasons. Particularly because the same sort of issues remain that were never addressed.
 

Honour Over Glory

Fire Sully
Jan 30, 2012
77,316
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Forbes had the Pens with some ridiculous operating income (not including arena revenue, which they get the largest cut from). Idea that "already paying Dan" (floated by the radio, not by you) will keep Johnston safe is not compelling to me.

So yeah, I can't see him back short of astounding playoff success, which I also can't see happening. One of the stipulations of his hiring was that he "play a puck possession style." Well, we haven't been doing that since Christmas.

Whether the decision not to play that style is tactically correct or not tactically correct is up in the air, but if I was cutting checks to a guy who, for example, told me he'd "never take Fridays off" and then started taking every Friday off, I'd personally be looking for an excuse to move on to someone else.

But eff Keenan. Not him. If he'd won a cup in 94 with the Tampa Bay Lightning instead of the New York Rangers and the rest of his career was the same, he'd not even be a consideration for a coaching gig at this point in time.

I feel like any other coach that doesn't have a solid resume in the NHL, won't do well with this team. Mike Babcock is on everyone's list, but I think the Leafs are the only ones that would give him the kind of power he wants to run things his way because they're insanely desperate and the clout Babcock brings is massive to win over the fans and bring some hype back to the team.

Penguins don't seem like the type to be that way. The GM, President, Ownership (Mario) all seem to want to have a say in how things are run...most teams like to let the GM and Coach sort that out with the GM letting the coach figure it out more so. This team is so ass backwards in that sense.

Johnston was everything we thought he would be.

For all of 3 months.
 

Honour Over Glory

Fire Sully
Jan 30, 2012
77,316
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Not that I give a damn if Johnston's back (in fact, I'm leaning toward wanting him gone after seeing some of his personnel decisions this year), but the organization's going to look silly if it fires its second coach in two seasons. Particularly because the same sort of issues remain that were never addressed.

Be that as it may...they also can't afford to keep Johnston on and waste another year of Sid & Geno's prime years.

JR can rationalize that he got Johnston wingers that can play his style, but his style was suddenly absent and the team needed more of what it say early in the season, not after December.

Unless he has an amazing playoffs...I think even he knows, he might not have a job much longer in Pittsburgh when it's late June.
 

billybudd

Registered User
Feb 1, 2012
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I feel like any other coach that doesn't have a solid resume in the NHL, won't do well with this team. Mike Babcock is on everyone's list, but I think the Leafs are the only ones that would give him the kind of power he wants to run things his way because they're insanely desperate and the clout Babcock brings is massive to win over the fans and bring some hype back to the team.

Penguins don't seem like the type to be that way. The GM, President, Ownership (Mario) all seem to want to have a say in how things are run...most teams like to let the GM and Coach sort that out with the GM letting the coach figure it out more so. This team is so ass backwards in that sense.

Johnston was everything we thought he would be.

For all of 3 months.

Given the (bad) choice between Ron Wilson and Keenan, I'd swallow the lump in my throat and say Hello to USA hockey again.
 

Honour Over Glory

Fire Sully
Jan 30, 2012
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Hynes may be great, or he may be just as infuriating. How is he with player usage anyway?

Hynes has kept the WBS team respectable in the defensive and goaltending category (going hand in hand with a solid team defense) largely due to the Pens giving him solid defense prospects, he hasn't had any good offensive weapons to play with at all. Absolutely none.

I want Kapanen to head over there as soon as possible. Just to see how the team adapts to a new toy that makes the red light flash a little more. The Baby Pens are an insanely low scoring team.

I feel like you can't judge how he'd handle a team like this when he hasn't even had toys for offense to tinker with. He would be a fantastic AC though. Nas too.
 

billybudd

Registered User
Feb 1, 2012
22,049
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Not that I give a damn if Johnston's back (in fact, I'm leaning toward wanting him gone after seeing some of his personnel decisions this year), but the organization's going to look silly if it fires its second coach in two seasons. Particularly because the same sort of issues remain that were never addressed.

You'll get a Burkle interview with DK where he'll be like "well, we do this in business all the time...blah blah blah...Apple went through 3 directors of something or other between 200x and 200y" and that minor PR hiccup will be forgotten.

Mike Johnston isn't beloved the way DB was. He's a stranger from another country with a thin resume and a cold demeanor who has no personal relationships with the people covering the team or covering the league on an international level. Competent or not (and I think he is competent, if a bit common), he won't be missed.

The narrative painted by the media will be "It was time for Dan to go...fine...but you didn't get the right guy, so make sure you get the right guy this time. Clock's ticking."
 
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