With the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning next week, its fair to say that many Pens fans seem to await the postseason with a combination of doubt, uncertainty and negativity. Instead of excitement and the prospects of a playoff run, there is an impending sense of doom. When will the proverbial hammer drop, and who will take the blame when it does?
Another playoff year, and many fans are preemptively looking for a scapegoat. That’s of course, before the match ups have been determined, or the games have been played. I’m not saying there is no need for worry, and I am not saying that there should not be lofty expectations for a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins.
However, it seems many can’t wait to drop the blame at the feet of head coach Dan Bylsma. It’s the proverbial low-hanging fruit, fire the coach, because after all in a guaranteed-contract, salary cap league, you can’t fire the players, right?
I’ll be the one to say it, though many will slam me for doing so. It would be insane to fire Dan Bylsma if the Pens come up short in the playoffs. He’s far from perfect, and he is not devoid of accountability when the team fails in the playoffs, but it’s not as simple as some want to make it.
Winning the Stanley Cup is the most difficult thing to do in professional sports. If you don’t believe me, look at how many different teams have done it since all-time great Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the LA Kings in 1988, effectively ending the last true dynasty in the game. Having doubts? You want to bring up the Devils or even some of those great Detroit Red Wings teams of the ’90s and 2000’s?
Go ahead, I dare you. For all the success, there were early playoff exits and failures throughout. In fact, the Devils never repeated as Stanley Cup champions and the Red Wings did it once, in 1998, and they are the only team to repeat other than when the Penguins did it in 1992.
Two repeat champions in nearly 25 years. Most of those years without the restrictions of a salary cap, mind you.
To take it a step further, tell me all about all the Stanley Cup wins Mike Babcock has won in Detroit in his eight seasons at the helm? The mighty Red Wings? The great Mike Babcock?
ONE. Yes, thats right, eight seasons, one Stanley Cup. Roster full of talent, arguably more than the Penguins have had. Don’t believe me? Go back and look at those rosters. Its been a who’s-who of some of the best players in the league, including a number of players likely to be hall of famers. Yet, they have one Cup since Scotty Bowman retired.
Believe me, I understand the frustration. I understand that Bylsma can be questioned for some of his in-game decisions and adjustments when they falter. However, let me ask you, if we hold Bylsma to such a high standard, what about some of the other top coaches in the game?
Just for comparison’s sake, lets look at the playoff winning percentages of the last four Stanley Cup winning coaches since 2008.
Blackhawks Joel Quenneville (.540)
Kings Darryl Sutter (.518)
Bruins Claude Julien (.557)
Penguins Dan Bylsma (.554)
Red Wings Mike Babcock (.595)
The differences between these coaches are nominal at best in terms of percentages, and only Quenneville has more than one title on his resume.
Lets not begin to pretend that these coaches have not had some talent to work with along the way. Another thing that is frustrating when you look at the bigger picture.
In some Penguins fans eyes, you would think the rest of the league is simply talentless fodder to be eliminated with ease. The reality is teams like the Blackhawks and Bruins not only have comparable talent, you could argue they have more of it, and are more complete in terms of depth.
That’s a hard pill to swallow, but it seems to be the truth. The world does not simply revolve around Sidney Crosby and the injured Evgeni Malkin because Pens fans deem that to be the case. A lot of teams have talent. Just ask the Washington Capitals who will be watching the playoffs at home this year.
How in the world can Bylsma not get a little more credit putting this team in position to have success in the playoffs? Well over 500 man-games lost it is really fair to expect that the Pens will not have a significant challenge advancing to the Stanley Cup, let alone winning it? Sure, there have been some disappointments in recent years in the playoffs, but its far from a cakewalk to win a Cup.
Again, i’m not saying Bylsma is devoid of criticism. However, there are a lot of factors at work in determining the success of any given season. Some of them are simply not black and white. I’m going to give more credit than blame to Bylsma at this point, regardless of coming up short in the playoffs in recent years.
