(This is the third part in a three part series)
My last two articles took a look at Dan Bylsma as coach, and Ray Shero as general manager. While they no doubt hold pieces of the blame in this situation, this doesn’t fall on those two alone. Some of the blame has to fall on the players, who have done little to improve this team.
This morning, there were a lot of self-serving rumors out there from disgruntled fans who wanted to trade Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby, both of them the faces of this team, and both of them failing badly in this playoff at living up to that star billing. Both are paid handsomely – next season, they will count just over 18 million combined out of a 71 million dollar salary cap. They are, make no mistake, somewhat to blame.
They’re to blame because they are the leaders of this team. Malkin is content to ride second fiddle to Crosby. While he’s getting a chance to show his personality the more he learns English, it’s clear that he doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. Yet, starting next year, because Malkin’s contract was signed after the most recent collective bargaining agreement, he will actually eat up more of the salary cap than Crosby. That should be alarming to most Pens fans.
It’s not that Malkin isn’t talented – there are times he looks like Mario Lemieux 2.0 when he gets rolling, the problem is that he rarely stays engaged in that mode for very long. He can take over games, and then be next to invisible for the next few games. He’s maddeningly inconsistent. He needs to be a force. If Crosby can’t be, then he has to be. He’s being paid like one. That said, I don’t advocate moving Malkin. Maybe I would have before you traded Jordan Staal, but not now. You need him.
As for Crosby, people have been speculating since the Columbus series that something was wrong with him. Was he injured? Was he sick? Was he hexed from a voodoo doctor? We may not know. Mark Madden did a column this morning where he takes a look at what’s wrong with Sid. You can read that here: (http://www.timesonline.com/columnists/sports/mark_madden/madden-guesses-on-what-s-up-with-penguins-crosby/article_285e42de-1455-5f63-abac-3109cd06ea3b.html)
I think Mark hits the nail on the head. Crosby is a phenomenal player. But you want to know what was generating news prior to the trade deadline? Ryan Kessler. Because clearly, Dan Bylsma figured out that having a 3rd line center that was just doing his job wasn’t enough – he had to be a scoring machine that was hard to defend, and Ray Shero does nothing if not attempt to satisfy his coach. Who would Kessler have played with that Brandon Sutter wasn’t? The sheer idea was lunacy. Never mind that once again, Crosby didn’t have proper line mates because of Pascal Dupuis’s injury. You want to tell me you couldn’t acquire Matt Moulson, who went for a song and a dance to Minnesota?
Not only that, but I’ll again point to Shero’s introductory press conference. “We’re going to be a tough team to play against.” He might have followed through on the first cup run, but it’s been clear since that he’s lost sight of that. Crosby’s been getting mugged since the Columbus series. Penalties are relaxed in the post season. And frankly, Crosby never had a chance. Since his early days, he’s been disliked by referees, who hate to be shown up when they fail to do their job. You think he’s going to get a call now? He has to be missing a limb and bleeding out on the ice for that, and frankly, Marc Staal is doing his best to see that happen, in spite of the fact that he’s been through a concussion that cost him a great deal of time as well. Who’s going to defend him? Jussi Jokinen or Brian Gibbons? For that alone, Shero’s job should be in question.
So you didn’t acquire your captain and best player in the NHL anybody to play with when one of his regular line mates goes down, and you didn’t get anybody to protect him. No wonder he’s among those who probably feel this team doesn’t have a prayer in these playoffs. You put him in a terrible situation to try to make it work.
That isn’t an indicator to let Crosby off the hook. No matter the reason, Sid hasn’t been himself, and the fans have started to lose patience with him. He’s being called out for his lack of offense. He’s being called out because when an opposing team gets in his head, his leadership goes to shit – and who can blame him? Sure, there are reasons for that, and we just talked about them, but he’s shown little maturity this post season. When the Penguins were competing for Stanley Cups not long ago, they had guys like Gary Roberts, who lead by example. They still need that, because even if it is “Crosby’s team” that doesn’t mean he’s a good enough leader to pull his team together. It’s clear right now that he’s not.
However, if these Penguins fall tonight to the Rangers, or if they pull through, only to fall in the next round, you can’t leave this team as the status quo. If upper management changes, so must the reason they’re being let go, and that falls on the players – some of them, anyway.
No, moving Crosby and Malkin isn’t needed, nor is it smart. You don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. If fans get their wish, and Crosby and Malkin are moved, guess what? This isn’t a playoff team. You’re a .500 team at best. No matter who comes back in a trade, this team isn’t what it once was.
But there are players that can be moved that can fit the needs of your “new” team going forward.
First, and probably the hardest, is finding a taker for Kris Letang. I know Kris is just a few months away from having a stroke. It’s not going to be an easy task finding a trading partner who will assume the risk. It also will paint the franchise in a negative light, for A) moving him before his contract kicks in and B) moving him knowing you’re not going to get full value for him – say nothing of moving a man who isn’t in peak health.
You’re going to take a loss for moving him, but if you’re going to remain viable in a season or two after a slight rebuild, it’s a move you have to make. Just throwing it out there, see if you can entice Toronto, who’s also in the midst of a rebranding of sorts, and see if you can get Cody Franson back in a deal for him, and maybe a clause in the trade where Toronto kicks back a couple of draft picks (say a 3rd in 2015, and a 1st in 2017) if Letang stays healthy and plays a set number of games each year.
If they bite, take some of the money you ear-marked for Letang, and give it to Matt Niskanen for his next contract. Niskanen is quite frankly one of the only people who earned another contract here with a pay increase this season.
Two, use one of the two optional amnesty buy-outs on Rob Scuderi – and I’ve read nothing that convinces me that you can’t. This was a mistake from the moment I saw it on the first day of free agency. Letting go of Scuderi the first time was a mistake, but signing him back as a 34 year old to a 4 year deal was asinine. Scuderi isn’t the player that left. He also fits in terribly on this roster, with its current make-up. Say nothing that the man can’t be a good mentor, but he’s taking a roster spot from somebody who can fit in better.
While we’re at it, try to trade Craig Adams. Bylsma’s favorite penalty killer has seen better days. He’s also around for one more season. Although his salary isn’t going to cause any problems, if you can’t find a taker for him, release him – or if you can’t do that anymore, then buy him out too. Each team gets two buyouts that have to be used this year.
Next up on the list would be to trade pending free agents to be for draft picks. For years, I thought this team should keep Brooks Orpik until the bitter end. Well, that’s now. Orpik is a favorite of mine, but there’s no question he lost a step or two this season. He’s valuable to somebody out there, maybe his negotiating rights for a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Same goes with Lee Stempniak, who has played as well as he had any right to after being acquired at the trade deadline. Maybe you can trade his negotiating rights to somebody for a pick. If not, I’d try to bring him back at lower than his 2.5 million salary from this year. He’d make a lot of sense on the third line with Brandon Sutter.
Other than that, I’d let some guys walk. Brian Gibbons was incredible at times for this team, and his speed is a clear asset, but he can’t be viewed as a viable forward on this team going forward. It’s not like he’s Paul Kariya. Dangle him at the draft, maybe you’ll get lucky, but if not, let him go.
The only players I would make any effort to keep that are pending free agents are Stempniak, Joe Vitale, and I’d make a call to Marcel Goc to see if he was willing to stay in a fourth line role, and promise him legitimate ice time in that role. Bylsma has treated a fourth line like a step child for most of his tenure here, preferring to go with three lines on most nights.
I know people are going to ask about Jussi Jokinen, but there’s a reason he’s a journeyman. It’s not because he’s not talented, it’s because if you’re a legitimate franchise, you don’t have a spot for him. He’s not offensively gifted enough to justify him having a permanent role in the top six, and he’s not built to play or stand up physically enough for the second or third line, and he’s going to be wasted on a fourth line. Plus, remember he wasn’t acquired for his scoring ability, he was acquired because the team didn’t have enough help taking and winning faceoffs. Like Gibbons, try to dangle him at the draft – maybe a team that needs scoring help coughs up a 3rd or 4th round pick for him.
Hopefully, if the Penguins at least move out Bylsma, the next coach will be told he has a season to get his house in order, which means he can try to coach some of those AHL guys up on the main roster to play in bottom six roles. Admittedly, Shero has been awful at drafting bottom six talent, but maybe you can get a Brian Rust, Adam Payerl or a Dominik Uher cemented into a couple of those bottom six holes, meaning you have less to go out and get later on. Without question, going forward, this team needs to be more physical, otherwise they’re not going to be much better than they are right now.
So that’s it from me for now. I feel the need to remind everybody that although there are times that it doesn’t seem like it, that I do love this franchise, and I want it to be successful. That doesn’t mean I need to put blinders on and ignore the glaring holes this team has. Sometimes, you need to cut out the bad parts so the whole has a chance to grow. This team is getting diminishing returns on its head coach. It’s time for a new voice, a new system, and a new outlook. Who knows, we might be talking a year from now about how this team is playing as well as it ever has.
BROCK'S 101 PROOF 