"I think they're uncoachable. I think Babcock might be the only thing that can save the Pittsburgh Penguins." -- Rossi

Postby **Freddy Rumsen** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:50 am

"Get your hot takes! Hot and Fresh! Get your hot takes right here!"

Postby **meow** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:53 am

Rossi = Will not read

Postby **Avyran** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:55 am

Postby **MR25** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:56 am

Can we pose a ban on any Rob Rossi articles on this site?

Postby **meow** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:56 am

Can we pose a ban on any Rob Rossi articles on this site?

Second

Postby **She'sTheFastest** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:59 am

Third. No one here cares what Rossi has to say about the Penguins. We all know it is agenda driven. In all fairness, his Steelers articles are not any worse than some of the other media clowns around here but it is clear where he stands with the Pens.

YouTube · Postby **mikey** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:10 pm

"They're uncoachable...except by this coach...then they'd be coachable..."

Postby **Morkle** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:17 pm

He's not wrong it feels like.

Postby **meow** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:19 pm

He's not wrong it feels like.

That doesn't make him right, though

Postby **thehockeyguru** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:24 pm

How can you fault the coach when he continually calls out his team for lack of effort. He cant even change the lineup because we have zero cap space.

This isnt Johnson's fault IMO, the front office really messed this up.

Postby **Freddy Rumsen** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:28 pm

My purpose was to mock Rossi's hot take.

Postby **Dickie Dunn** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:35 pm

Can we pose a ban on any Rob Rossi articles on this site?

I would support a ban on the name "Babcock" as well. I hate that guy and the stupid Green Goblin mask he wears for a face.

Postby **MR25** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:39 pm

I think people need to be more patient with HCMJ. It's extremely hard to change a team and their mindset in less than a year. As we saw with the Capitals, they had to go through 2 more coaches after Boudreau was fired to reach the level (or come close to it) that they were around when Boudreau was still there.

Unlike the Capitals, I hope it doesn't take 3 more coaches for things to get better (but, to be fair, Dale Hunter removed himself after a year). I think with some time, Johnston can turn it around. This offseason will be the key, IMO.

Postby **Dickie Dunn** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:39 pm

How can you fault the coach when he continually calls out his team for lack of effort. He cant even change the lineup because we have zero cap space.

This isnt Johnson's fault IMO, the front office really messed this up.

I'd say it was more of the last front office that really messed this up. Imagine the makeup of this team if GMJR didn't trade Neal for two players, sign Downie and Comeau to cheap deals, and swing the Perron deal. Chris Conner would have been an 82 game mainstay on the 3rd line.

Postby **MR25** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:41 pm

How can you fault the coach when he continually calls out his team for lack of effort. He cant even change the lineup because we have zero cap space.

This isnt Johnson's fault IMO, the front office really messed this up.
I'd say it was more of the last front office that really messed this up. Imagine the makeup of this team if GMJR didn't trade Neal for two players, sign Downie and Comeau to cheap deals, and swing the Perron deal. Chris Conner would have been an 82 game mainstay on the 3rd line.

This as well. I think GMJR has done almost everything he possibly could to change the makeup of this team coming into this year. I'm also willing to give him more time as well.

Postby **thehockeyguru** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:48 pm

How can you fault the coach when he continually calls out his team for lack of effort. He cant even change the lineup because we have zero cap space.

This isnt Johnson's fault IMO, the front office really messed this up.
I'd say it was more of the last front office that really messed this up. Imagine the makeup of this team if GMJR didn't trade Neal for two players, sign Downie and Comeau to cheap deals, and swing the Perron deal. Chris Conner would have been an 82 game mainstay on the 3rd line.
This as well. I think GMJR has done almost everything he possibly could to change the makeup of this team coming into this year. I'm also willing to give him more time as well.

I am not going to say that he didnt improve the roster, he did. The bigger issue is we have way too much dead weight making too much money.

Like you said, Comeau and Downie were very good signings. But do you need Spaling at 2.2M? You essentially have Winnik, Downie, and Comeau for what you are paying Spaling.

I want to see GMJR manage the cap better this offseason and cut the dead weight / bad deals Kunitz, Scuderi, Spaling. I would look at moving Letang as well.

Postby **She'sTheFastest** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:53 pm

How can you fault the coach when he continually calls out his team for lack of effort. He cant even change the lineup because we have zero cap space.

This isnt Johnson's fault IMO, the front office really messed this up.
I'd say it was more of the last front office that really messed this up. Imagine the makeup of this team if GMJR didn't trade Neal for two players, sign Downie and Comeau to cheap deals, and swing the Perron deal. Chris Conner would have been an 82 game mainstay on the 3rd line.
This as well. I think GMJR has done almost everything he possibly could to change the makeup of this team coming into this year. I'm also willing to give him more time as well.
I am not going to say that he didnt improve the roster, he did. The bigger issue is we have way too much dead weight making too much money.

Like you said, Comeau and Downie were very good signings. But do you need Spaling at 2.2M? You essentially have Winnik, Downie, and Comeau for what you are paying Spaling.

I want to see GMJR manage the cap better this offseason and cut the dead weight / bad deals Kunitz, Scuderi, Spaling. I would look at moving Letang as well.

I agree but with Spaling he's more of just a body than someone who will hurt the team. Kunitz and Scuderi are obvious weaknesses at this point. In terms of Letang I would only shop him if it was obvious that the Pens were the clear winners in the trade because there are teams that would sign away their children for a guy like Letang.

Postby **MR25** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:57 pm

I like Spaling's game, and am not too concerned with his cap hit.

We didn't have Winnik to start the year, so I'm not sure the relevance there.

Spaling is good because he can move up and down the lineup, if needed, and not look entirely out of place. He's a solid two-way player who can contribute on the score sheet. I don't think he's a problem at all. Definitely not "dead weight".

Postby **large garlic** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:07 pm

Yeah, I won't read anything Rossi writes at this point, but I have been wondering if Johnston just doesn't have the gravitas to get through to this particular group of players or to keep them playing how he wants. At the beginning of the season, people were (rightfully) "oohing and ahhing" over the new breakouts, better puck support, better movement on the PP, etc. Now all of that seems to have disappeared. It seems that Johnston had them playing how he wanted them to play and had them playing well, but then it just quit happening.

I wouldn't say it's Babcock or bust, but assuming the Pens look as bad in the playoffs as they do now and a veteran coach with more personal authority and a good track record is available, I'd think about making the switch.

I know this is going in a different direction, but I sometimes wonder if too many players were changed out over the course of the season (through injury or trades), and the team lost that initial cohesion that they had coming out of camp.

Postby **thehockeyguru** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:13 pm

I like Spaling's game, and am not too concerned with his cap hit.

We didn't have Winnik to start the year, so I'm not sure the relevance there.

Spaling is good because he can move up and down the lineup, if needed, and not look entirely out of place. He's a solid two-way player who can contribute on the score sheet. I don't think he's a problem at all. Definitely not "dead weight".

My point with regards to Winnik is he is making 650k. You can find decent options to fill out the bottom 6 without paying $2.2M a year.

The difference between the two is 1.5M. You move a guy like Kunitz and you can pay a true top 6 forward 5M a year to replace him.

Postby **MR25** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:17 pm

If my post in the injury thread is any indication, the injuries do play a part (how big is up for debate) in how a team will perform.

Sparknotes: The 3 teams that have won a Cup in the last 4/5 years (Chicago, LA x2, Boston) have been 27th, 29th, and 30th in that timeframe in terms of man-games lost to injury. The Pens are 4th in that same span.

Injuries definitely affect team cohesion, but also affect fatigue and other aspects of a well-balanced team. Like we're seeing now, just in this small sample size with Malkin and Hornqvist out, you have a 3rd line C moving into the 2nd line C position, and you have a 2nd/3rd line winger moving up to play the 1st line. That's going to have an effect on how those lines play. You also are forced to play guys who would be sitting in the press box, and like we saw last night, may even have to play down a man due to cap issues and guys not being eligible for LTIR.

Postby **MR25** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:19 pm

I like Spaling's game, and am not too concerned with his cap hit.

We didn't have Winnik to start the year, so I'm not sure the relevance there.

Spaling is good because he can move up and down the lineup, if needed, and not look entirely out of place. He's a solid two-way player who can contribute on the score sheet. I don't think he's a problem at all. Definitely not "dead weight".
My point with regards to Winnik is he is making 650k. You can find decent options to fill out the bottom 6 without paying $2.2M a year.

The difference between the two is 1.5M. You move a guy like Kunitz and you can pay a true top 6 forward 5M a year to replace him.

Technically Winnik was making $1.3 mil, but Toronto is eating half of it. He's going to want more than $650k once he becomes a UFA, so I still don't really see the relevance of that point. If you're expecting Winnik to make $650k next year, I don't know what to tell you.

It's not really a good comparison here.

Postby **dodint** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:21 pm

Ah, the first Rossi Dump of the new board. The value has now officially depreciated on this new model.

Postby **MalkinIsMyHomeboy** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:22 pm

the injury thing isn't an excuse because we were the most injured team last year and almost lead the conference in points

Postby **thehockeyguru** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 1:23 pm

I like Spaling's game, and am not too concerned with his cap hit.

We didn't have Winnik to start the year, so I'm not sure the relevance there.

Spaling is good because he can move up and down the lineup, if needed, and not look entirely out of place. He's a solid two-way player who can contribute on the score sheet. I don't think he's a problem at all. Definitely not "dead weight".
My point with regards to Winnik is he is making 650k. You can find decent options to fill out the bottom 6 without paying $2.2M a year.

The difference between the two is 1.5M. You move a guy like Kunitz and you can pay a true top 6 forward 5M a year to replace him.
Technically Winnik was making $1.3 mil, but Toronto is eating half of it. He's going to want more than $650k once he becomes a UFA, so I still don't really see the relevance of that point. If you're expecting Winnik to make $650k next year, I don't know what to tell you.

It's not really a good comparison here.

I forgot about them eating half. I still think you can get similar results for cheaper than the 2.2M you are paying Spaling. I dont have an issue with his game just his cap hit.