On Wednesday during his end of the season press conference, Ray Shero announced that he not only extended Dan Bylsma’s contract for another two seasons, but also the contracts of the rest of the coaching staff featuring Todd Reirden and Tony Granato.
So much for major changes in the coaching staff.
Granted, as much as some of us would have liked to see Dan Bylsma -or any pieces of the coaching staff, for that matter- depart in favor of something new, it seemed pretty obvious Bylsma would be back to coach the Penguins for the 2013-2014 season. A contract extension offers nothing more than a cushion should Bylsma have a bounce-back playoff run in 2014.
Nevertheless, the move is questionable to say the least.
If Bylsma is going to remain the head coach, why would Shero elect to bring back Rierden and Granato? Why not shake things up by adding someone to help on the power play or offer a swift kick in the pants when the team started slow? Instead, it’s more of the same. More relaxation, leading to no tension and no fear of being replaced or defeated.
There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance, and Shero showed everyone which side the Penguins fall on.
“I have faith Dan Bylsma is the coach to move us forward,” said Shero.
That’s quite the confidence in the head coach considering this team has sputtered in their last four playoff runs with Bylsma at the helm. Yes, he won a cup in 2009. So? I thought sports were all about “what have you done for me lately?”
Regardless, if Bylsma is returning, that must mean the burden of this most recent playoff departure falls on the players and their inability to execute, right? Specifically, the big trade acquisitions.
“I believe the trade deadline [players]. I really believe [they] added what I thought they were going to add, on-ice, off-ice.”
Great. So Brenden Morrow was seen as a fourth liner who would contribute four points in fifteen playoff games? Jarome Iginla was seen as a third liner after failing to produce with Evgeni Malkin while playing on the off-wing?
Not that goaltending was a huge issue during these playoffs, the Penguins will certainly have problems if they need to rely on Tomas Vokoun to repeat his performance from these playoffs next season. With the way Marc-Andre Fleury played in the Spring, he has to be on his way out, right Ray?
“I’m not getting rid of Marc-Andre Fleury…provided, he wants to come back here.”
Why?
“I cant replace 40 wins a year.”
You don’t need to. Just replace the 21st best save percentage and the wins will fall into place. Don’t think you can win without a “franchise goaltender?” Corey Crawford and the Chicago Blackhawks would like a word.
So if the coach’s system isn’t wrong, and the players “did their job” in the playoffs, why did this team lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Bruins?
“We made adjustments for Game 3 and [the Bruins] had a tough time keeping up. Lost the game in double overtime that we probably should have won….it’s an ongoing investigation.”
While he went on to talk about adjustments being made between Games 2 and 3, the fact is, the offense NEVER adjusted to what Boston was doing. The team continued to try and score on long shots with little traffic in front of goaltender Tuukka Rask. When all was said and done, the players’ reaction was simply to blame it on bad luck; missed bounces and posts.
The truth is, the organization has developed a reputation for being very stubborn. The coaching staff never adjusts to the other team and the players continue to blame “not getting to their game” for losing. Ray Shero was given a pass, in my book, because he constructed an excellent team to make a run at the cup. But by extending the coaching staff’s contracts, he not only declines to punish them for four embarrassing losses in the playoffs in a row, but he rewards them for doing so, instead.
Roster changes will be made and the Penguins will, once again, compete in the playoffs for a Stanley Cup. But it hardly seems plausible to believe that the coaching staff will go through major adjustments to their system or, at the very least, come up with a Plan B when things head south in a hurry.
Photo courtesy of SI.com
