At what point do we start panicking?

[columbia]

The Penguins are just not a very good hockey team.

[Gaucho]

It's all part of the plan.

[The U]

The Penguins are just not a very good hockey team.

The fact that they are not good this year is something I can deal with and accept. Back to Back championships has me extremely satisfied and having a short season and the ability to sell off some players at the deadline and re-stock for next year might be a big blessing in disguise. A down year right now could set us up for another 3-4 great years in a row starting next season. I'm cool with that.

But what is really bothering me is how BORING they are. I watch the games because this is a form of Entertainment, right? Like a movie or a tv show...this is something we are supposed to sit back and watch for 2 hours and chill/be entertained. The fact that a 60 minute Pens game can barely hold my attention this year is what bothers me most. There are no goals. There are no hits. There are no fights. There is no emotion. There is no offense. It's a really tough product to watch right now, which is a shame, because following the team really gives you something to watch and take interest in during the winter months when there isn't much else going on.

[Gaucho]

I find myself reading a book or doing other things during games. I'm not invested at all most of the time, which is sad and disappointing, but why would I be different than the players?

[mikey]

It's funny because the Penguins style is actually pretty "exciting" as far as traditional definitions go...but we don't have a lot of dummies crushing guys, no one fights in the league any more and yeah, for whatever reason, we don't score...and now even our goalie is boring...

That said, I still watch every game with undivided attention...but I can understand why some people might be a little hockey'd out right now...all those extra games we've been playin' and all...not a big deal...

I just ran some quick numbers, I'll actually be coming up on my 1,000th consecutive game watched some time in February...the last time I can reasonably estimate that I missed a game was April 5, 2007 vs. Ottawa.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

And I thought I didn't have a social life

[mikey]

You still might not...

[Gaucho]

The Penguins have ONE regulation win in their last 12 games, a 4-2 win against Arizona, the worst team in the league, which could easily have been a loss. They have five regulation wins in their last 20 games: the one against Arizona, three against Ottawa and Buffalo, the two worst teams in the East, and one against, of all teams, Tampa, thanks to playing half a period 5-on-3 or something. Overall, they have 11 regulation wins in 40 games. Four of those came in the first eight games of the season.

[mikey]

Woof...

[Troy Loney]

Wow, after reading that, I wouldn't be opposed to replacing Sullivan.

*Hockey coaches also seem completely replaceable to me.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

Wow, after reading that, I wouldn't be opposed to replacing Sullivan.

eh, he gets a few years of pass. But man those stats are horrific

[Troy Loney]

Wow, after reading that, I wouldn't be opposed to replacing Sullivan.

eh, he gets a few years of pass. But man those stats are horrific

Giving a coach "a few years" caused the Bylsma era.

[mikey]

Man, that's about as knee-jerky as you can get...firing a coach every losing streak...? That's how you become the Cleveland Browns...

[Troy Loney]

Man, that's about as knee-jerky as you can get...firing a coach every losing streak...? That's how you become the Cleveland Browns...

I'm not sure those are comparable circumstances.

[Jim]

Man, that's about as knee-jerky as you can get...firing a coach every losing streak...? That's how you become the Cleveland Browns...

The thread is about panicking and that make you make panic changes...

[The U]

Let me add one more level of depth to the PANIC:

At what point do we start to panic that GMJR is going to still be in BUY mode long after the season is a lost cause? I mean, missing the playoffs is something we should have/could have been panicking about for the past few weeks. But soon we will be entering that gray area where we shouldn't really be BUYERS and any trade made must be something that adds to the team for the next few years. I think we are 1-2 weeks away from slipping so far out that the idea of adding a rental is completely off the table.

[mikey]

Man, that's about as knee-jerky as you can get...firing a coach every losing streak...? That's how you become the Cleveland Browns...

I'm not sure those are comparable circumstances.

What you're suggesting creates the instability that causes organizations to fail. Changes need to be timely and calculated and well-orchestrated. Your suggestion creates the type of atmosphere that sinks franchises, generally. It's just poor management.

[nocera]

I refuse to panic after the team has won back to back Cups. I want them to win. I want to make the playoffs. I want to "three-peat." But panic? **** no. Pens just won two Stanley Cups in two years. (And three Cups in 8 years). Why the hell would I be panicking? I mean, come on, have some perspective.

[Morkle]

Let me add one more level of depth to the PANIC:

At what point do we start to panic that GMJR is going to still be in BUY mode long after the season is a lost cause? I mean, missing the playoffs is something we should have/could have been panicking about for the past few weeks. But soon we will be entering that gray area where we shouldn't really be BUYERS and any trade made must be something that adds to the team for the next few years. I think we are 1-2 weeks away from slipping so far out that the idea of adding a rental is completely off the table.

I think they're already there going by that pace that slappy mentioned in another thread. I think if they don't do a move here in the next week, just go ahead and shut it down until next year.

[Troy Loney]

Man, that's about as knee-jerky as you can get...firing a coach every losing streak...? That's how you become the Cleveland Browns...

I'm not sure those are comparable circumstances.

What you're suggesting creates the instability that causes organizations to fail. Changes need to be timely and calculated and well-orchestrated. Your suggestion creates the type of atmosphere that sinks franchises, generally. It's just poor management.

There is inherent stability with Crosby and Malkin, and there is also a limited window as the pillars of the franchise are 30 and 31 respectively. I'm not interested in trying to draw parallels between the penguins and other franchises, because few other franchises possess a given like Crosby.

[slappybrown]

Here is my very good post that @morkle mentioned where I demonstrate #mathskillz #science #c2i

probably will need about 95 pts to feel comfortable of getting a ticket to the dance which is really all that matters to a team with this core, which means they need to play at about a 105/106 pt pace the rest of the way to get the 54 pts they need

Yikes

This is Jimmy Carter malaise level depressing.

its also why GMJR needs to make some decisions sooner rather than later. They have the Flyers, Canes, and Islanders this week (all four of us are between 40 and 44 pts right now), so if the team as currently constituted intends to turn this around, these next three games are critical.

Its nut cuttin time boys #nuts #cutyournuts #thenuts

[shmenguin]

I don't think we should have the capacity to panic, the back to back wins should make us fans fat and happy.

I think JR goofed big time last offseason by choosing to reward his guys when he should have been more proactive in the trade market. I think some turnover would have been good for this squad.

"Reward"

sheary...good deal for a good player
schultz...kind of critical to re-sign, no?
dumo...you can have this one, i guess, but i still wouldn't want to use that money on bonino. also, i like dumo.

don't think he goofed at all. i think he's being criticized for not being a genius. seems a touch unfair.

[mikey]

We watched the team and the organization fall into relative disarray in the last couple years of Bylsma/Shero. The locker room was an absolute circus...the team just got too loose...offensive teams, at some point, just end up jumping the shark as they get too far away from their fundamentals...in our case, it happened on and off the ice...the organization needed some older school type people to come in and get this thing back on the rails...Crosby, in some regard, was a sizable chunk of the disarray this organization fell into around 2012-2014...he certainly had a hand in it.

I get the window theory, I'm a big proponent of it. I get that most other franchises don't have the league's best player. The part that needs to be considered - that seems to be forgotten - is how rotten this team became in their peaks/primes...saying that it became sour is kind of a misnomer, but maybe the right way to put it is that it got so sweet that it would hurt your teeth just to look at it...

[mikey]

I don't think we should have the capacity to panic, the back to back wins should make us fans fat and happy.

I think JR goofed big time last offseason by choosing to reward his guys when he should have been more proactive in the trade market. I think some turnover would have been good for this squad.

"Reward"

sheary...good deal for a good player
schultz...kind of critical to re-sign, no?
dumo...you can have this one, i guess, but i still wouldn't want to use that money on bonino. also, i like dumo.

don't think he goofed at all. i think he's being criticized for not being a genius. seems a touch unfair.

This is largely agreeable as well...

[columbia]

I think if they don't do a move here in the next week, just go ahead and shut it down until next year.