Penguins Perspectives: Adapt, adjust, or get left behind
Welcome to Penguins Perspectives, a weekly column by KDKA-TV Digital Producer Patrick Damp. Each Friday, Patrick will talk about the week that was, the week to come, what to watch for, and more.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - This past week, as I planned what to write for this week's Penguins Perspectives, I kept circling back to the head coach - Mike Sullivan.
Initially, I was going to write that it's time for Kyle Dubas and Fenway Sports Group to push the final button left before embarking on a full-scale rebuild and that is dismissing Sullivan.
I still am very much of that mindset. One win against the NHL's worst team in San Jose doesn't negate the season that has happened, but given the way Thursday night's slate of games played it out, it does provide an opening.
Sullivan very much should be on the hot seat right now.
The past two seasons, despite the rosters not being anywhere near the strongest they have been, it hasn't been Sullivan's brightest.
Whether it's baffling lineup decisions, an inability to adjust his system, or not giving younger players enough runway to succeed, he's certainly played a hand in the Penguins' demise.
As it sits right now, Sullivan continues to have the Penguins playing the same game they played in the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup runs. While it remains a great system, one that plenty of NHL teams now emulate, the Penguins no longer have the personnel to make it work.
I frequently go back to the Penguins' 6-1 loss to the Oilers on March 3 - the Oilers' first goal was a direct result of a pinch down the boards in the offensive zone by Erik Karlsson. Plenty of people place the blame on Karlsson for making such a pinch, but that's exactly what the system calls for him to do.
In the glory days, there was enough speed on the roster that if the defenseman was beaten, the forwards could get back in time to break up the odd-man rush, negating the opposition's scoring opportunity.
That is no longer the case.
On March 15, 2024, the Penguins despite going 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, trading Jake Guentzel, and looking every bit like a team that has waved the white flag on the season, are a mere five points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
They also have the added bonus of a lot of teams they are chasing are fading, including the young Detroit Red Wings who have lost seven in a row and currently sit tied with the New York Islanders for the second spot.
The Red Wings come to town on Sunday for a game that could have playoff implications.
This all leads back to the man behind the bench.
There is no doubt that Sullivan is a great coach. He was the first coach in the NHL's salary cap era to lead a team to back-to-back Stanley Cups. He took a team that looked poised to be talented but underachieving back to the elite of the league. And he certainly will be on the USA coaching staff, if not leading it, when the NHL allows its people to return to the Olympics in 2026.
Over the next month, Mike Sullivan should be coaching for his job.
Despite everything that has happened to this team in the 2023-24 season, they still have the one thing you can ask for in sports - a chance.
Yes, it's an outside chance, but it's still a chance.
With an Eastern Conference that refuses to solidify its playoff picture, and the leadership of players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, the Penguins could be a zombie that rises from the dead and returns to the postseason.
However, it must be a chance that flows from the top.
Pride comes before the fall and for Sullivan, adjusting his system to the roster he has could be the key to getting an undermanned and underachieving Penguins squad back to the dance.
Otherwise, the lucrative extension Sullivan signed two years ago should probably never get the chance to take effect.