Struggling Pittsburgh Penguins Fire Mike Johnston
The Pittsburgh Penguins have parted ways with coach Mike Johnston and assistant coach Gary Agnew.
It was announced today that Johnston and Agnew would be given a whole load more time to spend with their families over the holiday period, after GM Jim Rutherford relieved them of their coaching duties in Pittsburgh, while dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge, I assume.
The Penguins have lost six of their last 10 games, three of those in overtime and the team definitely isn't playing up to its potential. Evgeni Malkin is playing well, as is off-season addition Phil Kessel. But that's not enough, the team are ranked 26th on the power play and 27th on team shooting and goals per game. Times aren't good when the Columbus Blue Jackets are scoring more. Superstar Sidney Crosby's season has been forgettable by his own, usually phenomenal standards, only six goals so far.
Johnston took over for the 2014/15 season, after former coach Dan Bylsma was shown the door, and the team finished the regular season 43-27-12. Those results were good enough to get the team into the playoffs, only to lose 4-1 to the Metropolitan division winning New York Rangers in the first round. a result that surprised nobody.
Since Johnston took over, the Penguins win percentage dropped from 0.665 in Bylsma's final season to 0.598 in 2014/15, it's currently 0.589. Last season the team took 140 more shots than the season before although their average shooting percentage is down.
When you sign up to be a coach in the NHL (or most sports for that matter), you know that you've got a shot at glory, but not job security. When you cease to be flavour of the month, you'll be discarded faster than one of Tom Brady's cellphones.
I get why change was needed though, the Penguins are currently going through a difficult period, 33 points from 28 games sure isn't amazing, but Pittsburgh share a division with the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers, two teams who've forgotten how to lose games. If the playoffs started today, the Penguins would be on the golf course, but they're only one good game away from a wild card place.
Sure, it must suck to be a Penguins fan right now, but while I can see that something needs to be done, I don't think changing the coach was the right move. Morale may have been low at the Consol Energy Center, but the players are professionals and need to look at their own personal performances. This was Johnston's second season with the team. Rutherford should have given the guy longer, too much chopping and changing leads to perpetual rebuilding, and if you want to do that, may as well move the team to Edmonton and name them the Oilers.
Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach Mike Sullivan takes over behind the bench.
Stats from sportingcharts.com. No apologies for old Tom Brady joke.
It was announced today that Johnston and Agnew would be given a whole load more time to spend with their families over the holiday period, after GM Jim Rutherford relieved them of their coaching duties in Pittsburgh, while dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge, I assume.
The Penguins have lost six of their last 10 games, three of those in overtime and the team definitely isn't playing up to its potential. Evgeni Malkin is playing well, as is off-season addition Phil Kessel. But that's not enough, the team are ranked 26th on the power play and 27th on team shooting and goals per game. Times aren't good when the Columbus Blue Jackets are scoring more. Superstar Sidney Crosby's season has been forgettable by his own, usually phenomenal standards, only six goals so far.
Johnston took over for the 2014/15 season, after former coach Dan Bylsma was shown the door, and the team finished the regular season 43-27-12. Those results were good enough to get the team into the playoffs, only to lose 4-1 to the Metropolitan division winning New York Rangers in the first round. a result that surprised nobody.
Since Johnston took over, the Penguins win percentage dropped from 0.665 in Bylsma's final season to 0.598 in 2014/15, it's currently 0.589. Last season the team took 140 more shots than the season before although their average shooting percentage is down.
When you sign up to be a coach in the NHL (or most sports for that matter), you know that you've got a shot at glory, but not job security. When you cease to be flavour of the month, you'll be discarded faster than one of Tom Brady's cellphones.
I get why change was needed though, the Penguins are currently going through a difficult period, 33 points from 28 games sure isn't amazing, but Pittsburgh share a division with the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers, two teams who've forgotten how to lose games. If the playoffs started today, the Penguins would be on the golf course, but they're only one good game away from a wild card place.
Sure, it must suck to be a Penguins fan right now, but while I can see that something needs to be done, I don't think changing the coach was the right move. Morale may have been low at the Consol Energy Center, but the players are professionals and need to look at their own personal performances. This was Johnston's second season with the team. Rutherford should have given the guy longer, too much chopping and changing leads to perpetual rebuilding, and if you want to do that, may as well move the team to Edmonton and name them the Oilers.
Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach Mike Sullivan takes over behind the bench.
Stats from sportingcharts.com. No apologies for old Tom Brady joke.
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