When general manager Jim Rutherford took over his position, he had a long of work to do in overhauling the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had a front office to rearrange, a new coaching staff to hire and he had to do something with the team on the ice that blew a first-round series to the New York Rangers last spring.
The jury is still out on some of those moves. Several efforts to reinvigorate the team’s bottom-six forwards seem to have mostly failed, while a contract extension to goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury looks like a steal considering his play since signing the deal in November.
One move that has flown under the radar was the hiring of assistant coach Gary Agnew. Agnew came to Pittsburgh with little fanfare. Mike Johnston had originally sought after Utica Comets (AHL) head coach Travis Green to be his second assistant alongside Rick Tocchet.
When Green decided to remain in the Vancouver organization, it seemed as if the Penguins had hired the first coach they found laying around in Agnew. Honestly, I had never heard of him.
Looking over his resume, he certainly seemed qualified. Angew was a head coach with London, Kingston and Oshawa in the OHL and Syracuse in the AHL before stints as an NHL assistant in Columbus and St. Louis.
But he was far from a sexy pick, and so his expectations for success, at least in my eyes, were low.
Boy, has he exceeded them. Agnew has completely revitalized the Penguins defensive corps. They are currently fifth in the NHL with 2.42 goals against per game. That would be the Penguins’ best mark since 2010-11, when they finished with a 2.39.
The penalty kill, which Agnew also manages, was already a strength of the club, but it has seen even greater heights, and are now second in the league with an 85.4% success rate.
Kris Letang has already set a career high with 54 points and has garnered serious national attention for the Norris Trophy.
Former first-round draft pick Derrick Pouliot has seen his share of ups and downs, but with the season coming to a head, and the team needing his contributions more than ever, he’s played his best hockey.
“He’s trending in the right direction,” Agnew said of his young defenseman. “Certainly, watching guys like Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi play and learning from those guys both on the ice and on the bench. There’s a lot of communication to try to help him out.”
Agnew, of course, wouldn’t take more credit for Pouliot’s success. With Coach Johnston in Canada attending his mother’s funeral, it was Agnew that took the reigns for the team’s practice on Tuesday. If the Penguins defense continues their strong play, that’s a position he may get more accustomed to in the future.
Photo credit: Pittsburgh Penguins
