Post-mortem on the season

[ColePens]

As I was out, I'm sorry I missed the Sully open letter thread. Honestly that makes me love and respect the man that much more. His heart is in it. His passion is in it. And he's willing to learn from anything he can take away. He's not stubborn at all.

Mad love for Sully.

 

[Allie Kitsune]

As I was out, I'm sorry I missed the Sully open letter thread. Honestly that makes me love and respect the man that much more. His heart is in it. His passion is in it. And he's willing to learn from anything he can take away. He's not stubborn at all.

Mad love for Sully.

It's frustrating that after the run we had, people are still climbing all over each other to decide who to point the finger at.

I get being disappointed at how it all ended, especially at the hands of Washington, where you can look back and see turning points where we could have pulled it out (and how Big Bad Boston choked against Tampa).

But I'm a little disappointed in how quickly people want to throw Sully under the bus, and getting into "Show him the door before he can turn into Disco Dan!!!" mode.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

It's a little odd to suggest people watching on tv "wanted it" more than the guys playing through injuries.

Well not odd, more stupid.

In fairness, the players have their millions and supermodel wives/girlfriends to fall back on. WHAT DO WE HAVE?!

 

[ColePens]

It's frustrating that after the run we had, people are still climbing all over each other to decide who to point the finger at.

I get being disappointed at how it all ended, especially at the hands of Washington, where you can look back and see turning points where we could have pulled it out (and how Big Bad Boston choked against Tampa).

But I'm a little disappointed in how quickly people want to throw Sully under the bus, and getting into "Show him the door before he can turn into Disco Dan!!!" mode.

Amen. The more I step away and just take in the Sully era so far, the more I'm 99.9% sure this team just hit a wall and unfortunately couldn't get around yet another obstacle. They hit a wall and things didn't go their way. That is freaking hockey. It's actually just that simple. They got beat by a better team, and when I say a better team I mean they were playing better hockey. It happens. Oh well. What they did was insane.

So many people need to find a defining blame. It's simple. They hit a wall and unfortunately that happens. And they didn't even play poorly. They just didn't have that next gear to get to.

 

[Allie Kitsune]

Amen. The more I step away and just take in the Sully era so far, the more I'm 99.9% sure this team just hit a wall and unfortunately couldn't get around yet another obstacle. They hit a wall and things didn't go their way. That is freaking hockey. It's actually just that simple. They got beat by a better team, and when I say a better team I mean they were playing better hockey. It happens. Oh well. What they did was insane.

So many people need to find a defining blame. It's simple. They hit a wall and unfortunately that happens. And they didn't even play poorly. They just didn't have that next gear to get to.

It always hurts to lose to a team you could have beat.

But sometimes it happens.

That's just the NHL.

 

[The Old Master]

always hurts to lose to a team you could have beat.

But sometimes it happens.

That's just the NHL.

at least our "b" team is doing well. go knights.

 

[JackFr]

Sully's a good coach. JR's a good GM. Murray is a good goalie. Phil is a good winger. Brassard is a good centre.

We're in a damn good spot right now. We got unlucky with some injuries and bounces, but we could win pretty much for the next three years. This is not 2014 or 2010. Get everyone rested, maybe shake things up a little and bolster our bottom six and let's do this again next year.

 

[ArcticFox]

Reasons the Penguins lost:

1. The defense sucked all year and it continued to suck in the playoffs. The top pair was especially prone to this, they made no adjustments in the entire Capitals series. The 1st goal of the series and the last goal of the series were virtually identical with the same players on the ice.
2. Murray had a sophomore slump when he needed to be lights out for this team to do deep.
3. The depth scoring absolutely disappeared for seemingly no reason.
4. A lot of players were playing either injured or fatigued.
5. A lot of the new players the Penguins got this year performed worse than the players they lost last year.
6. Rutherford's horrendous 2017 offseason caused him to have to spend the entire season trying to fix the issues that he created in the offseason, rather than actually improving the team.

There's plenty of blame to go around, the only players I wouldn't blame are Guentzel and Crosby.

Good post, agreed on most.
1. Not sure why most people are not pinning our sucky season on this. Just terrible D
2. He wasn't bad, but he was not as amazing as the previous two cup runs.
3. I am a firm believer that with a near flawless goalie and great D you get great offense, see point 1. and 2. to explain this one.
4. Meh, that goes for every team. Just an excuse.
5. See point 3
6. YUOP!

 

[Ogrezilla]

Good post, agreed on most.
1. Not sure why most people are not pinning our sucky season on this. Just terrible D
2. He wasn't bad, but he was not as amazing as the previous two cup runs.
3. I am a firm believer that with a near flawless goalie and great D you get great offense, see point 1. and 2. to explain this one.
4. Meh, that goes for every team. Just an excuse.
5. See point 3
6. YUOP!

really disagree with 6. He had an uneventful off-season so that he could avoid making any horrendous signings. It would have been REALLY easy to make some moves that hurt us going forward. Instead, he waited and got us better centers than were available prior to the season who are also still here next season. Sure, Reaves didn't work out and Hunwick was bad, but calling that offseason horrendous is a huge huge overstatement. He handled the center situation very very well. He handled a 4th line wing and #6D spots poorly. If that's the worst moves he makes here, he's doing a damn good job.

 

[Shady Machine]

really disagree with 6. He had an uneventful off-season so that he could avoid making any horrendous signings. It would have been REALLY easy to make some moves that hurt us going forward. Instead, he waited and got us better centers than were available prior to the season who are also still here next season. Sure, Reaves didn't work out and Hunwick was bad, but calling that offseason horrendous is a huge huge overstatement. He handled the center situation very very well. He handled a 4th line wing and #6D spots poorly. If that's the worst moves he makes here, he's doing a damn good job.

I think the off-season was misguided. He spent money, time, and resources on the wrong things. He did a great job filling the center hole later on and he’s willing to admit he made a mistake and move on, but he needs to have a better off-season this summer.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I think the off-season was misguided. He spent money, time, and resources on the wrong things. He did a great job filling the center hole later on and he’s willing to admit he made a mistake and move on, but he needs to have a better off-season this summer.

But he has a much easier off-season this summer because of how he slow played last summer. That's what I'm getting at I guess. He could have gone out and signed Bones or Hanzal with Moore as 4C and it would have looked like a better off-season, but we'd be a worse team today for it.

Like I said, the Reaves and Hunwick moves were bad. But I think he handled the center situation damn near flawlessly.

edit: and I'm not saying Bones would be bad to have here. But he's certainly not as good as Brassard, who we also have for cheaper. I am saying Hanzal would have been a legitimately terrible signing though. That's the kind of move that makes an off-season horrendous. What we got was somewhere near neutral.

 

[Gurglesons]

But he has a much easier off-season this summer because of how he slow played last summer. That's what I'm getting at I guess. He could have gone out and signed Bones or Hanzal with Moore as 4C and it would have looked like a better off-season, but we'd be a worse team today for it.

Like I said, the Reaves and Hunwick moves were bad. But I think he handled the center situation damn near flawlessly.

edit: and I'm not saying Bones would be bad to have here. But he's certainly not as good as Brassard, who we also have for cheaper. I am saying Hanzal would have been a legitimately terrible signing though. That's the kind of move that makes an off-season horrendous. What we got was somewhere near neutral.

While I do share you sentiments, there is a chance that Brassard can’t handle the defensive role our 3C has played in our three cup wins and Sheahan is just too soft in the playoffs.

That being said I don’t want to play prospective games that are completely up to imagination.

I’ll just say the Perron deal looked like a slam dunk.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Or they did want it, but so did the caps. The other team plays the games too. The Cup doesn't go to the team who wants it the most, it goes to the team that wins the most hockey games.

Yeah I'm just mad af still.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

While I do share you sentiments, there is a chance that Brassard can’t handle the defensive role our 3C has played in our three cup wins and Sheahan is just too soft in the playoffs.

That being said I don’t want to play prospective games that are completely up to imagination.

I’ll just say the Perron deal looked like a slam dunk.

Sheahan is too soft? Did you f***ing sleep through his shifts in the playoffs? He was probably one of our best forwards outside of Jake and Sid.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Sheahan's overall performance was fine. I have no issue with him as the 4C going into next year, so long as the other three lines work themselves out and the coach doesn't saddle Sheahan with Kuhnhackl, Rowney, or ZAR and expect him to produce.

 

[Gurglesons]

Sheahan is too soft? Did you ****ing sleep through his shifts in the playoffs? He was probably one of our best forwards outside of Jake and Sid.

It’s funny. I think he is the opposite of Letang.

He had one really, really good game in Game 6 of the Flyers series and then got eaten alive in the Caps series.

 

[Peat]

Amen. The more I step away and just take in the Sully era so far, the more I'm 99.9% sure this team just hit a wall and unfortunately couldn't get around yet another obstacle. They hit a wall and things didn't go their way. That is freaking hockey. It's actually just that simple. They got beat by a better team, and when I say a better team I mean they were playing better hockey. It happens. Oh well. What they did was insane.

So many people need to find a defining blame. It's simple. They hit a wall and unfortunately that happens. And they didn't even play poorly. They just didn't have that next gear to get to.

I thought we played better hockey in terms of generating chances and should have won it tbh (although I concede the argument that the team taking chances better is playing better hockey is valid). There's at least two games where it felt like we threw it away. That feeling of being just a few bounces away is part of what's making some people so disappointed, I think.

But the Caps would have said the exact same thing last year. And that feeling of just hitting a wall sounds right to me.

I think we're still a remarkably lucky fanbase in terms of our potential to be a contender for the next 2-3 years and that we have the right people in the right places to make it.

 

[StutzlesTapeJob]

Good write up by OP. Hit on a lot of areas of team analysis without having a winey butt hurt twang.

And I agree with blame being the wrong avenue to go down. We were bounces and a few tough calls away. (Not blaming refs but these were tight one goal games, so how decisions on goals shake out matters).

I give the caps credit. Their front office, coach, players. They outperformed us and won. We didn't fail. We didn't suck. We turned in a B+ to their A. Some players didn't perform where they needed to. But hey that's why the games are played.

Overall I felt like we missed Cole and Daley a good amount. And lines 2-4 needed more health and bigger bodies who can play with speed but also create space and forecheck with more damage.

Looking back at the series, we just didn't seem to be able to dump and Chase to get them out of position. We weren't establishing position inside the box on offense. And our skill players weren't having the space they need to be dangerous in high % areas (again line 2-4).

We're in a good spot moving forward. We should be able to find guys who address these kind of gaps within budget.

 

[Gold Diamond]

Good write up by OP. Hit on a lot of areas of team analysis without having a winey butt hurt twang.

And I agree with blame being the wrong avenue to go down. We were bounces and a few tough calls away. (Not blaming refs but these were tight one goal games, so how decisions on goals shake out matters).

I give the caps credit. Their front office, coach, players. They outperformed us and won. We didn't fail. We didn't suck. We turned in a B+ to their A. Some players didn't perform where they needed to. But hey that's why the games are played.

Overall I felt like we missed Cole and Daley a good amount. And lines 2-4 needed more health and bigger bodies who can play with speed but also create space and forecheck with more damage.

Looking back at the series, we just didn't seem to be able to dump and Chase to get them out of position. We weren't establishing position inside the box on offense. And our skill players weren't having the space they need to be dangerous in high % areas (again line 2-4).

We're in a good spot moving forward. We should be able to find guys who address these kind of gaps within budget.

The Caps won because they owned the big moments more than the Pens did. They took those moments in games 3, 5, and 6, and combined with their solid win in game 2 and viola, there's the series.

 

[EightyOne]

And I agree with blame being the wrong avenue to go down. We were bounces and a few tough calls away. (Not blaming refs but these were tight one goal games, so how decisions on goals shake out matters).
.

How many bounces are we talking?

I'm thinking nothing short of a million....Pens are out but it has almost nothing to do with puck luck.

Attributing the year to "they did all they could..Just unlucky" ignores what they could have improved. Which was like, uh, everything. If the players go into next year feeling they did enough in 2017-18, there won't be success at the end of it.

 

[SouthGeorge]

The Caps won because they owned the big moments more than the Pens did. They took those moments in games 3, 5, and 6, and combined with their solid win in game 2 and viola, there's the series.

Letang was their best player too. Don't forget that.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

There's a Post Gazette article where JR apparently blasts Wilson for not fighting in Game 3. I have no clue if it has been posted since I have so many people ignored.

 

[AjaxTelamon]

Amen. The more I step away and just take in the Sully era so far, the more I'm 99.9% sure this team just hit a wall and unfortunately couldn't get around yet another obstacle. They hit a wall and things didn't go their way. That is freaking hockey. It's actually just that simple. They got beat by a better team, and when I say a better team I mean they were playing better hockey. It happens. Oh well. What they did was insane.

So many people need to find a defining blame. It's simple. They hit a wall and unfortunately that happens. And they didn't even play poorly. They just didn't have that next gear to get to.

It's pretty clear Phil hit a wall too, and I imagine Sully was mad at him because he wouldn't take games off down the stretch. But I understand Phil's point of view too, the guy is a competitor, and at various critical times, like the last Columbus game, came up big for us.

All the complaining about Phil or anyone else isn't productive. The team accomplished amazing things, they deserve some rest and some respect.

 

[ColePens]

It's pretty clear Phil hit a wall too, and I imagine Sully was mad at him because he wouldn't take games off down the stretch. But I understand Phil's point of view too, the guy is a competitor, and at various critical times, like the last Columbus game, came up big for us.

All the complaining about Phil or anyone else isn't productive. The team accomplished amazing things, they deserve some rest and some respect.

Hell even Sid, of all people, sounded like he needed to get away from the game just for a tad. And that guy is addicted to hockey more than anyone. So i think you are right, for sure.

 

[Shady Machine]

There's a Post Gazette article where JR apparently blasts Wilson for not fighting in Game 3. I have no clue if it has been posted since I have so many people ignored.

I love JR