Evgeni Malkin’s admitting he’s got to adjust, but he’s not acknowledging he knows how.
#LetsGoPens #PittsburghPenguins #NHL
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14 Comments
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DK, you're nostradamus you mentioned this yesterday. 👍
Geno is like ovechkin..he has hit the wall…
So Dubas feels justified in doing absolutely nothing all season because the advanced stats say Pens are in great shape. Tell that to 87 while he’s clearing out his stall in April , not May or June.
Dump him.
I wish Geno would take a purely scoring (goals) role. Stop trying to be a play maker and dancing all over the ice like he's 25
Pretty sure JR quit because he wanted to trade Geno.
Hopefully Geno does actually adjust his game. He's just not a playmaker anymore. His skating, passing and decision making are gone. I love Geno, but he's just been very frustrating to watch at times, the last few years.
Like I've told others, I have two Penguins jerseys in my closet, a Lemieux and a Malkin, so I'm not one of these people who are out to get Malkin or have an unfounded bias against him. That said, he's nowhere near the same player he was even two seasons ago, and even the point per game stats from last season didn't jive with the eye test. It's a shame that the reason why they brought him back with unrealistic expectations of keeping together a core that has timed out, has more to do with seeing that he gets goal No. 500 as a Penguin, and appeasing fans and others who aren't ready to see it end, more than building a more capable and competitive team.
Geno is "I'm Score", and "Shoot, Shoot More People" He's not the kind of player who has another game hidden away in there somewhere that can help the team once he is no longer the offensive threat he once was. He's not Federov, let alone Sid. If there was that in him, then he needed to find it and start working it into usable shape long ago instead of at 37 and after that ship has sailed. If he does want to be more of that kind of player, then what's he doing centering the 2nd line on a team that can't score? Is it really a coincidence that Smith, Rakell and whoever gets wing time on Geno's line aren't performing up to expectations either?
Malkin was once a player who could even be dangerous defensively because he had the wheels and reach to backcheck and get the takeaways, but that part of his game has been gone longer than his giddyap and score part. It's just sad that they'll let him ride out his contract to the bitter end to reach whenever milestone while at the same time BS'ing everyone that they are all in on winning and he somehow gives them the best chance at that. I said it when they locked up Letang and Malkin that this was the start of the long farewell parade for Crosby and they just wanted to make sure he had his buddies there to properly see him off, and so far I've been 100% right. The only question remaining is will they throw stupid money at Guentzel to make sure he's there to hold the exit door for all of them?
It's interesting that Florida is coming to town as we are talking about Malkin. Probably the one team he would eagerly sign off on being traded to, but also the one team that would quickly say no thanks. Not that there are many that would say yes.
I do not envy Dubas. Its ridiculous, they are getting shots, high danger chances, and PP opportunities. The team just isnt finishing even with players that have proven to be scorers in the past. I feel that this team would have a completely different feel and look if they would score another goal per game. That extra goal or 2 per game could give the team confidence or momentum. The best bet would be to bring a sniper who can score, like a Neal type player. Problem, who is available and who is cheap? Dubas is between a rock and a hard place. Is this what drives him to actually hire a gm next year?
If the Penguins just want to shake up the roster at the deadline and aren't really buyers but looking to get rid of some bad signings from the last offseason, why not see if they can trade Smith to Arizona for Zucker (at basically the same money) and see where it goes after that. Possibly they can sign him to an extension as well and before the season ends for Smith's same $5 mil for another 3 or 4 years. Why take a chance on yet another ineffectual player when they know what Zucker brings and it's something they currently don't have? Even if they can't or don't resign Zucker and he walks after the season, at least they got rid of Smith and have his $5 mil to use on someone with an actual pulse.
The problem with firing Sullivan is that this is not a desirable job. No credible coach with options would choose to take the job for a team that is going to be really bad for several years to come. Whoever the next coach is will be signing up to be fired in 2-3 years with a really bad record, likely career suicide as it was for Eddie Olcyk and Mike Johnston.
So then you are going to be stuck with replacing Sullivan with coach who is either a career minors or juniors coach. Someone who would be willing to take a bigger paycheck for a few years and then go back to Saskatchewan when it is over. And we all saw first-hand when they tried that with Mike Johnston and watched the veterans completely tune that guy out.
So this is just yet another dilemma facing this franchise, which is why this whole thing is just screaming for a complete tear down and rebuild.
If the goalie has a clear view of your high danger chance because of no screen or net front presence, that accounts for why they don’t score more. Also if your coach is stressing scoring goals in ways that have a low probability of success, such as moving tip defections and low to high shots by defensemen who can’t hit the net, then your scoring rate will be low. Your explanation for HDSCs as “not” implicating the coach is wrong. There’s maybe three things that go into scoring goals and one of them (shooting talent) might have nothing to do with the coach but the other two do. Also, who is getting these HDSCs is important: is it Sid or Harkins? Because one of them is much more likely to score. I just feel like your answer to the question is another way to defend your longstanding premise that Sullivan is not to blame for the problems of this team