Sullivan to Buffalo?

[tpeg1]

Any chance Pittsburgh lets Sullivan go if they are swept by the Islanders?

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[Flash20]

He stinks too

 

[Chainshot]

Enough with the Pittsburgh retreads.

 

[Beauner]

no.

 

[molon labe]

Any chance Pittsburgh lets Sullivan go if they are swept by the Islanders?

Our fanbase is split on Sully. On this site I would say he gets a LOT of crap; about a much as Maatta. I recognize the man can only do so much with what he's got though (on defense). That said, Sully makes mind boggling lineup decisions and we're left wondering if it's player personalities or his own stubbornness. We lean towards his stubbornness based on his chasing away Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves - and utilizing Hornqvist about as logically as driving to the mud pit in an Alfa Romeo.

We need more turnover than a coach though. If it were my team, I'd start with management, then players, then the coaching staff - in that order. Making a note that there is not one coach in the league that has not received - or will not receive hell from their fanbase.

 

[MartyOwns]

i would imagine pittsburgh is a very difficult place to coach, i would hang onto sullivan if i were rutherford

 

[Khelandros]

Our fanbase is split on Sully. On this site I would say he gets a LOT of crap; about a much as Maatta. I recognize the man can only do so much with what he's got though (on defense). That said, Sully makes mind boggling lineup decisions and we're left wondering if it's player personalities or his own stubbornness. We lean towards his stubbornness based on his chasing away Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves - and utilizing Hornqvist about as logically as driving to the mud pit in an Alfa Romeo.

We need more turnover than a coach though. If it were my team, I'd start with management, then players, then the coaching staff - in that order. Making a note that there is not one coach in the league that has not received - or will not receive hell from their fanbase.

The line up is the starangest part of all of this. Why does he have Simon playing with Crosby? Why is Malkin playing with Hornqvist? Why is Wilson playing with Bleuger sitting in the press box? At times it seems like he has no idea what he is doing.

Simon wants the puck, thrives with the puck, and makes others better when he is doing his thing along the boards. Why is he on a line with a guy that wants the puck, thrives with the puck, and makes others better when he is doing his thing along the boards.

Malkin and Hornqvist have never worked good together. Malkin wants to be all fancy and do laps around the zone. Hornqvist wants to get in, get the puck to the next and cause f***ing confusion.

Lines should be:

Guentzel - Crosby - McCann
Kessel - Malkin -ZAR (before he got hurt, this line was ripping it up)
Simon - Bjudstad - Hornqvist
Bleuger - Cullen - Rust

Letang - Johnson
Dumoulin - Schultz
Gudrannson - Petterson

 

[John Price]

How quickly the mob turns on Sullivan. Despite him being a bitter rival, letting him go would be a mistake. He would instantly make the Sabres better.

This guy lost his first playoff series last year with Pittsburgh. He won 2 stanley Cups before that. That gets you some leeway.

If this becomes a regular pattern, then fire him. But I venture to say Sullivan has earned some leeway from the team because of his work in the past. Plus I doubt the team's terrible defense has anything to do with him. He didn't build that team. He has to do the best with what he's given.

 

[Pens x]

I’m over Sullivan. The team has looked lost over the last two years. He doesn’t seem to excel at in-game adjustments and he makes several questionable lineup decisions every single game.

Send him off to Buffalo and let him fail just like Danny Bylsma.

 

[BlueDream]

2 Cups in 4 years isn't a recipe for a firing...

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Who the hell would the pens replace Sullivan with? That's the problem, there just aren't any quality coaches out there.

 

[GarbageGoal]

A coach with a team that's been inconsistent all season getting beaten by a higher seeded team equals firing.

I can't...just can't....

 

[PensPlz]

Lol poor Sheary

 

[Son Goku]

missed the boat with quennville

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

They should fire him halfway through the season next year so they can win the Stanley Cup with the new guy

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

The overreaction on HF is something else

 

[mikeyp24]

The guy won 2 cups in his 1st 2 years jesus christ the fans there. Hes a top 5 coach in the league and you want who?? Who would be better... Its a legit joke right now.

 

[Sprague Cleghorn]

The line up is the starangest part of all of this. Why does he have Simon playing with Crosby? Why is Malkin playing with Hornqvist? Why is Wilson playing with Bleuger sitting in the press box? At times it seems like he has no idea what he is doing.

Simon wants the puck, thrives with the puck, and makes others better when he is doing his thing along the boards. Why is he on a line with a guy that wants the puck, thrives with the puck, and makes others better when he is doing his thing along the boards.

Malkin and Hornqvist have never worked good together. Malkin wants to be all fancy and do laps around the zone. Hornqvist wants to get in, get the puck to the next and cause ****ing confusion.

Lines should be:

Guentzel - Crosby - McCann
Kessel - Malkin -ZAR (before he got hurt, this line was ripping it up)
Simon - Bjudstad - Hornqvist
Bleuger - Cullen - Rust

Letang - Johnson
Dumoulin - Schultz
Gudrannson - Petterson

Criticizes Sullivan for strange lineup decisions. Puts letang and johnson together...

 

[orby]

Normally I'd say this is an overreaction, but the last time the Pens gave a coach the benefit of the doubt due to proximity to cup wins, we ended up with the awful last few Bylsma years. I think Sullivan should be on a short leash. He's making a lot of baffling decisions.

 

[Empoleon8771]

There is about a 0.000001% chance that they fire Sullivan, and that's me being generous. The overreaction of Penguins fans isn't at all indicative of reality.

 

[Howie Hodge]

Sullivan is getting fired.
Kucherov is getting traded.
Kessel is getting traded.
Nasim Kadri is getting traded.
Stamkos is getting traded.....

Tough crowd on HF Boards I tells ya......

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

How quickly the mob turns on Sullivan. Despite him being a bitter rival, letting him go would be a mistake. He would instantly make the Sabres better.

This guy lost his first playoff series last year with Pittsburgh. He won 2 stanley Cups before that. That gets you some leeway.

If this becomes a regular pattern, then fire him. But I venture to say Sullivan has earned some leeway from the team because of his work in the past. Plus I doubt the team's terrible defense has anything to do with him. He didn't build that team. He has to do the best with what he's given.

Except he hasn't. In fact, the line combos he opted for to start the series and has been painfully slow to rectify have played a huge part in the Pens struggles.

If it seems like the Pens lines have no cohesion, the fact that he went with an ice-cold Rust on Crosby's line (in place of McCann, with whom Crosby had been tearing it up at ES) and constructed 2nd and 3rd lines that hadn't ever played together before probably goes a long way to explain it.

I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but if Sullivan's not gone, his toys need to be taken away.

 

[Jtown]

being an nhl coach is such an unenviable job . " Oh you only won 2 cups in 4 years, time to fire you"

 

[John Price]

Except he hasn't. In fact, the line combos he opted for to start the series and has been painfully slow to rectify have played a huge part in the Pens struggles.

If it seems like the Pens lines have no cohesion, the fact that he went with an ice-cold Rust on Crosby's line (in place of McCann, with whom Crosby had been tearing it up at ES) and constructed 2nd and 3rd lines that hadn't ever played together before probably goes a long way to explain it.

I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but if Sullivan's not gone, his toys need to be taken away.

the blame is more on jr and the fo for not building a good playoff team. the defense isn't that good. I mean every one of our caps pens games were like 7-6

Maybe after another year at least you start pondering about firing him. Another first round exit in 2020 would not be very good for PGH fans. But there is no way IMO he is fired after this series. Pittsburgh fired Mike Johnston rather fast though, but Sullivan is much better than he was.

From an outsider perspective the Penguins have no tolerance for failure, again Johnston was fired really fast. Bylsma was given a leash but years of underachieving led to his downfall. I would be surprised though if they had enough of Sullivan and fired him if they got swept.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

If he gets fired it I’d think it would be mid season next year if the team really struggles. Even then I’m not sure. Doing what he did in buys you a ton of rope (as it should).

Regardless, do believe he’s a good coach.