(Spoilers) The thread where CALIFORNIA LOOOOVE~!

[Hewey]

What a fucking choke job. Blew a 3-1 series lead. I cannot believe this team sucked so badly down the stretch. Three goals in three games.............

Time to get rid of Bylsma. I have no idea why they kept him after last year's debacle, but he's proven to be inept at coaching this team. How does he let them get this bad when they're leading the series? And Fleury fucking sucked in the last three games, everyone wanted to give him a chance, and they did, but he can't come through when it counts. Some big saves, but he cannot clutch a game for Pittsburgh anymore. And where the hell was Crosby during the playoffs? Another pathetic flameout for Pittsburgh............

I'm wishing NY well, they earned it.

[Draevyn]

What a fucking choke job. Blew a 3-1 series lead. I cannot believe this team sucked so badly down the stretch. Three goals in three games.............

Time to get rid of Bylsma. I have no idea why they kept him after last year's debacle, but he's proven to be inept at coaching this team. How does he let them get this bad when they're leading the series? And Fleury fucking sucked in the last three games, everyone wanted to give him a chance, and they did, but he can't come through when it counts. Some big saves, but he cannot clutch a game for Pittsburgh anymore. And where the hell was Crosby during the playoffs? Another pathetic flameout for Pittsburgh............

I'm wishing NY well, they earned it.

I'm usually the first one to jump on Fleury and maybe in the first series and the first game of this one, it would be true. But the last few games have been a cross between the fact that our stars couldn't seem to get their feet moving and their scoring ways in hand, and Lundqvist being a god damned wall.

[Hewey]

Fleury let in soft goals in the last three games, or goals because he was out of position, etc. Not all on him, but he cannot come through for Pittsburgh anymore. Look at how well Vokoun did for Pittsburgh in the playoffs last year, and he had just as many shots and big time chances against him. Not all on him, our stars, with the exception of Malkin and Jokinen, didn't do shit. Crosby was horrible, where was Neal too? Kunitz was bad.

I really, really hope there are major changes coming. The rumor mill has been saying ownership has had enough, but other than Bylsma, what happens? I think the cap situation is pretty bad, since Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Neal are taking up so much of it. Who's going to want Fleury? And how can Pittsburgh get a number one goalie? We're still stuck with Scuderi, who has been god awful. Jokinen, Martin, Niskanen, Orpik and a few others I think are all UFA's and Niskanen, who was our best defensemen through out the year, will probably walk since they can't afford him. I doubt anything happens to Shero, but he should also be held accountable for some of this. No more Staal, Talbot, Cooke, hell, even Kennedy showed more effort than some of these guys.

[RPS]

[Mr. X]

Crawford really stood on his head for us tonight. I also really like what Regin has brought and hope we can keep him on a cap friendly salary going forward.

[Hewey]

Don't worry, Bylsma will be gone, as will Shero, and hopefully this ends the horrible flameouts in the playoffs. I cannot wait to see what's going to happen in the offseason now that the ownership has apparently had enough of Bylsma and Shero. From what I been reading, one of the breaking points with Mario was the lack of anyone standing up for Crosby/Malkin during the playoffs, especially Crosby, when he had Dubynski and Staal all over him.

And the Blackhawks are back in the conference finals. Really don't want Boston/Chicago again, but I got a feeling that's going to happen.

[Plubby]

Don't worry, Bylsma will be gone, as will Shero, and hopefully this ends the horrible flameouts in the playoffs. I cannot wait to see what's going to happen in the offseason now that the ownership has apparently had enough of Bylsma and Shero. From what I been reading, one of the breaking points with Mario was the lack of anyone standing up for Crosby/Malkin during the playoffs, especially Crosby, when he had Dubynski and Staal all over him.

And the Blackhawks are back in the conference finals. Really don't want Boston/Chicago again, but I got a feeling that's going to happen.

How?

[SeanDMan]

Jesus Plubby, do you have the memory of a goldfish? Hewey is obviously referencing the Maple leafs, who had trouble with fading and choking when it really mattered, but were able to fire Brian Burke their gm and Ron Wilson their head coach, which subsequently fixed all of their problems almost overnight.

[Plubby]

My bad.

I don't think any coach out there is going to instantly make this team any better than the juggernaut that they already are. This isn't Colorado, and Barry Trotz or whoever isn't going to get the Jack Adams by sheer virtue of being Not The Last Guy like Patrick Roy is.

You dropped a game 7 against a really good team that you crushed overwhelmingly with possession and the goaltender stole the game from you. That's bad luck.

[Hewey]

I'm not saying a new coach is instantly going to give them a cup, but at this point, Bylsma's got to go. Five straight years of one loss worse than the other. His system doesn't work, he obviously can't control the team, or get them going. They blew a 3-1 lead in a series against a team that was handed a brutal schedule going into this series, and despite fucking up the first game, they came back and had a lead, and then they failed to put away two times before a game seven.

I know most people think every Penguin fan is overreacting, but coaches have been fired for less, and Bylsma's been given every chance. By my count, that's four straight years of losing three straight games in a series, two straight years of being down three games to none in a series, two 3-1 series leads blown, and, oh yeah, getting swept for the first time in over 20 years when they had the most loaded roster in years.

Is a new coach going to magically make everything better? Of course not, but keeping Bylsma around is just going to lead to more disappointment. He's a great coach in the regular season, and I got nothing against him as a person, but they cannot keep him as a coach anymore. I'm sure there's plenty of teams that would love to have him.

[Pizza]

We'll trade you Carlyle for Bylsma straight up. We'll even throw in David Clarkson!

[Plubby]

What is wrong with Clarkson?

I, Dave Nonis, am quite happy with that signing.

[TGWL]

I think Bylsma's as good as gone. The only adjustments he seems to make are tossing Crosby and Malkin together, and when that doesn't work, he's out of ideas... I knew games 2 & 3 were going to be bad for the Rangers. 14 games played and somehow the first team to advanced? Advance on the last day, first team out - that's an absolute brutal schedule.

I think the team did a decent job of sticking up for Crosby during this series. Crosby initiates this shit himself. He's seems like a genuine good guy off the rink, but far from it on the rink. What are they supposed to do, come to his rescue and take more penalties because Crosby has a stick whacking problem? You absolutely should protect your star players when another team is trying to take a run at him, but I don't think anybody did that during this series. It was a little different against Lumbus, but there wasn't much they could do here to stick up for him.

I'm proud of the Rangers for battling through this and coming together as a team. They didn't let any of this shitty on-ice-antics take them away from the game. They need to control the puck more if they want a decent run at Montreal or Boston, though. Before this week, I never realized how much Penguin fans wanted their team blown up, simply keeping the core of 2-3 guys.

I don't think you can put all the blame on Fleury, but he didn't make any crucial saves during this series. Not to take anything away from a shutout, especially 2, but those were real easy shutouts for him. Rangers were snails on the rink during Games 2 & 3, played with no urgency, and had few scoring changes that I would consider to be good scoring changes. When they started bringing pressure, Fleury was his typical playoff self, letting up a weak goal

If you're the Penguins, how do you swap for a #1 goalie? At this point, I think they should just toss money at Miller. He's not young, but the Penguins are still in a win-now mode. Right now, they're just wasting Malkin's and Crosby's prime years. With Crosby and Malkin being 27/28 next year (God, time goes fast), and Fleury turning 30, I don't think they need a young franchise goalie immediately. A good goalie for a coupe of years would fit their need. Maybe upgrade their wing position with trading Fleury. Halak is the same age, but I think that's a down grade over Fleury. Niemi's playoff reputation is probably worse.

Edited May 14, 2014 by TGWL

[Plubby]

Miller on the Pens intrigues me. Would he take less money to make that run? I think they need to almost trade Fleury for like..two good bottom six guys. In fact, if you can take two of Winnipeg's "Top 6" guys (who are actually bottom six >_<) and save a little salary, then the Jets get an instant upgrade in goal too.

[TGWL]

Miller on the Pens intrigues me. Would he take less money to make that run? I think they need to almost trade Fleury for like..two good bottom six guys. In fact, if you can take two of Winnipeg's "Top 6" guys (who are actually bottom six >_<) and save a little salary, then the Jets get an instant upgrade in goal too.

I don't know. He turns 34 and if he's going for a run at the cup, it's going to be now. At the same time, this is the perfect age for players to get that last big contract.

Edited May 14, 2014 by TGWL

[PatDaMan]

I think part of the problem is that Pittsburgh just isn't that deep. Of course, Bylsma deserves some blame to, because when you have two top-5 players in the world, you should be better than they've been, but Shero just hasn't put any firepower around Crosby, or figured out the goalie situation.

Pretty good article on Deadspin today talking about that dynamic in Pittsburgh. They seem to almost totally absolve Bylsma, which I don't agree with, but having so much money tied up in guys that aren't contributing is rough. Shero's been a terrible GM, and being a Flyers fan, I know a thing or two about having a terrible GM (Viva La Hexy).

[Hewey]

I think Bylsma's as good as gone. The only adjustments he seems to make are tossing Crosby and Malkin together, and when that doesn't work, he's out of ideas... I knew games 2 & 3 were going to be bad for the Rangers. 14 games played and somehow the first team to advanced? Advance on the last day, first team out - that's an absolute brutal schedule.

Exactly. He seems to get out coached every year, and his only answer seems to be either tossing Crosby and Malkin together or putting different guys in the line up. The fact that he couldn't get his team to run over the Rangers in the first game, when they were suppose to be at their worst, says a lot right there. Yeah, they won three straight, but then they go and lose three straight, including two at home, and got out scored 10-3 in three games.

I think the team did a decent job of sticking up for Crosby during this series. Crosby initiates this shit himself. He's seems like a genuine good guy off the rink, but far from it on the rink. What are they supposed to do, come to his rescue and take more penalties because Crosby has a stick whacking problem? You absolutely should protect your star players when another team is trying to take a run at him, but I don't think anybody did that during this series. It was a little different against Lumbus, but there wasn't much they could do here to stick up for him.

Staal cross checking him over and over in the back of the head wasn't taking a run at him? The only one who did anything was Kunitz. You're suppose to protect your star players, and nobody stepped up, and Bylsma just stood there, arms folded, like a statue. Dubynski and Staal both gave Crosby some rough treatment, some of it crossing the line, but nobody gave them as much as a hit, or anything. Apparently, if the rumors are to be believed, that is the biggest point of anger with ownership. The team letting their star player get brutalized and nobody doing anything about it.

I don't think you can put all the blame on Fleury, but he didn't make any crucial saves during this series. Not to take anything away from a shutout, especially 2, but those were real easy shutouts for him. Rangers were snails on the rink during Games 2 & 3, played with no urgency, and had few scoring changes that I would consider to be good scoring changes. When they started bringing pressure, Fleury was his typical playoff self, letting up a weak goal

That's my point about MAF. He wasn't horrible, he had some good games, but he is not the guy for this team anymore. He can make great saves, but gives up some bad goals. He's not going to steal them huge games anymore. I don't know how they expected to get very far on Fleury's back. And the worse part is that he again, had a great regular season, and they won a lot of games because of him, but what happens when it's playoff times? He can't steal them any games when it counts.

If you're the Penguins, how do you swap for a #1 goalie? At this point, I think they should just toss money at Miller. He's not young, but the Penguins are still in a win-now mode. Right now, they're just wasting Malkin's and Crosby's prime years. With Crosby and Malkin being 27/28 next year (God, time goes fast), and Fleury turning 30, I don't think they need a young franchise goalie immediately. A good goalie for a coupe of years would fit their need. Maybe upgrade their wing position with trading Fleury. Halak is the same age, but I think that's a down grade over Fleury. Niemi's playoff reputation is probably worse.

But wasn't Miller worse than Fleury in the playoffs? I missed a lot of the Blues series, but I saw the last game, and he looked pretty bad. Not to mention, the Blues have a way better defensive system than Pittsburgh, and he couldn't win it for them. Halak and Niemi would be worse, or about the same for Fleury. Problem is, they're stuck with Fleury for another year. Maybe with a new coach and a new system he'll get better, but I really would not want to go into the playoffs next year with just Fleury in there.

I do definitely think some people are overreacting by wanting the team blown up and only keeping Malkin, Crosby and Neal. That's just nonsense. Kunitz, Dupuis, Sutter, Maatta (despite being pretty bad in the playoffs), Letang (I honestly think he would improve under a new system), Niskanen, Engelland, Vitale, Gibbons and a few others are all worth keeping. I'd get rid of Scuderi, Glass, Adams, Orpik and try to find two wingers to play with Sutter. Unfortunately, the cap situation being what it is, I don't know what they're going to be able to do.

[Hewey]

This is from a triblive article.............

Ownership favored firing Bylsma as of Wednesday, the sources said. Ownership believed Bylsma lost the dressing room this season, specifically the support of franchise centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the sources said. Players were unhappy with Bylsma's numerous meetings and long practices and the decreasing sense of fun within the Penguins' daily environment, the sources said. Crosby and Malkin also grew disenchanted with perceived harsh criticism they received from Bylsma during meetings, the sources said.

I blame Bylsma for a lot, but if players are bitching about having practices and a "decreasing sense of fun" in the locker room, what does that say about the way the team is being run? Bylsma needs to go for fucking up, but when do they hold players accountable for some of the failures?

[PatDaMan]

I think Shero is a big time problem, too. I haven't looked into it, but that deadspin article mentioned that only one forward that he's drafted in 8 years is with the Penguins (not counting the AHL squad) right now, and he's been a scratch. That's a pretty rough track record.

For teams that do a good great job of drafting, then supplementing through free agency, look no further than Chicago and LA. Chicago, especially - they drafted two superstar forwards, did a great job of drafting around them, and had very few holes to fill through FA and trades.

[RPS]

Yeah. I see major changes in Pittsburgh as well. Of the 5 biggest targets to blame for the loss - Shero, Bylsma, Fleury, Malkin and Crosby - I'd take a guess that 3 of the 5 won't be in Pittsburgh next year. I don't think anyone believes Crosby is going anywhere. The problem with getting rid of Fleury is - who is going to take him off their hands and who do we get to play in the net instead? I actually thought he played pretty well last night. I actually think Malkin is likely to go. I actually thought playing him with Crosby was a bad move. The problem with Pittsburgh is no depth and playing him with Crosby only makes that problem worse, in my opinion. Blysma and Shero I think certainly will get tossed.

My guess is that Fleury gets another chance, Crosby stays the franchise kid, Malkin is gone to free up some salary and a new coach and GM.