Penguin thoughts heading into the offseason
@JohnToperzer
-- The argument of who could possibly replace Dan Bylsma as coach doesn’t hold much water with me. Who was Dan Bylsma when HE became head coach of the Penguins? Nothing more than an unknown quantity. Sometimes the fear of the unknown keeps folks from taking chances in life and that holds true in the hockey world, too.
-- Everything Bylsma said at his last press conference of the season needs to be taken with a grain of salt. While columnist Ron Cook suggests the coach should
get a contract extension, the truth of the matter is that general manager Ray Shero will determine the Pens direction and that of coach Bylsma on Wednesday at his own media conference.
-- Bylsma calling Marc-Andre Fleury his no. 1 goalie didn’t make a whole lot of sense, nor did his naming Simon Despres a top-four defender or Beau Bennett a two-six forward. Bylsma didn’t do Despres any favors by keeping him glued to the bench in the conference finals, thereby passing up the chance to get the young blueliner some invaluable high-stakes playoff experience.
-- I’ve got to admit I was disappointed to hear that only Paul Martin suffered a “significant injury” in the playoffs. At least some injuries could have been used as an excuse for Pittsburgh’s poor play.
-- Bylsma said that Jussi Jokinen was brought in basically as insurance for Sidney Crosby. Jokinen’s signed for another season at $3 million. Hopefully that amount, which has to be considered high by Shero’s standards, won’t hamstring the Pens this summer.
-- I’ve always been in the camp that Evgeni Malkin is an untouchable, generational talent. If I was Shero, I’d be open to at least listening to offers for players with talent and locked in contracts at lower prices. The threat of Malkin leaving for the motherland at the drop of a bucket is a remote possibility, but it has to be factored into the organization’s long-term planning.
-- Patrice Bergeron was my favorite player not in a Penguins sweater before the playoffs and he still is.
-- It’s not this simple, but the Penguins would’ve been UP three games to one against Boston had they maintained the 4.27 playoff goals per game average. The Bruins are obviously a better team than the Islanders or Senators, but two goals in four games?
-- Brenden Morrow showed why he was a sometimes scratched, fourth-line center for the Dallas Stars against the Bruins. Jarome Iginla didn’t work out as a left winger. Doug Murray could come back for the right price, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him leave.
--I’m not sure what happened to Chris Kunitz. He was as bad against Boston as he was good during his amazing regular-season run.
-- Kris Letang is like a five-tool baseball player without the smarts. It will be interesting to track his maturation. He might turn out to be a better all-around player at 32 or 33 than he is right now. Losing a step might actually do his game good.
-- Defensemen take the longest time to acclimate themselves to the NHL game, but wouldn’t it have been nice to have seen one of Pittsburgh’s young blue line prospects come out of nowhere in the postseason like Boston’s Torey Krug?
-- If anyone can find the Amnesty contract page number in the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, please post in the comments – I couldn’t find it. Here’s the
link to it.
-- What do we make of Sidney Crosby’s failure to record a point in the conference finals against Boston? Based on what happens in the Stanley Cup, there could be legitimate arguments that someone else -– Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews -- is the supposed best player in the NHL.
For my money, I would like to see Crosby go into a postseason healthy. Once Crosby had his face guard removed in the playoffs, his numbers went down. There’s no denying the Bruins had the largest part to do with that, but I wonder if Crosby became a bit tentative going into hotspot areas without protection for his broken jaw. I’d just like to see him relatively healthy, for once.
-- I’ve skated my final lap here as the Penguin blogger. Thanks to everyone contributing to our site, along with the great feedback. I’ll be checking in on the site, posting comments. Ek & Eric have been fantastic to work with here at Hockey Buzz and if it weren't for some family issues I wouldn't be leaving.
Treasure Life!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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