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Penguins Update: Seasons Change

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ByRick Buker

Oct 23, 2017

Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes opens with one of the most memorable verses in the Bible. To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

No, I’m not going to preach. And, yes, this article is about our Penguins, I assure you. Specifically, the season of change that our favorite hockey team has entered. However, to properly illustrate my point, I must first share a story involving my church. Indulge me if you will.

Pastor Ron is a special guy. Blessed with an infectious personality and fairly crackling with high energy, he is literally a force of nature. You can’t help but be drawn to him.

Equal parts preacher, revival leader and showman, Ron hopped around stage during worship service, belting out Christian tunes and strumming his guitar like a spirit-filled Bruce Springsteen. With his gritty but appealing voice, he even sounded a bit like “The Boss.”

Pastor Ben liked to share how he could always hear his friend coming, often before Ron physically walked through the doors of the church. He’d be whistling a tune, jangling his keys or making some other joyous noise to announce his arrival.

On a personal level, I couldn’t wait to hear Ron preach on Sundays. His messages were always entertaining, uplifting and enlightening…a wonderfully woven tapestry of wisdom, heart and humanity with a little humor mixed in.

Simply put, our congregation adored Ron, and the feeling was mutual. For a few, all-too-short years we truly were blessed by his larger-than-life presence.

Then came the news, unwelcome yet somehow inevitable, that Pastor Ron was leaving our little church to pursue other opportunities. With great sadness we bade him farewell in a highly emotional send-off.

For weeks on end, there was a palpable sense of loss among the congregation. Despite the best efforts of Pastor Ben and the remaining church staff to soften the blow, Ron’s absence had a profound effect. How could it not?

I’m going to put my church story on hold for a moment. Perhaps you already sense where I’m heading.

When Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen, Trevor Daley, Chris Kunitz and last, but certainly not least, Marc-Andre Fleury departed this summer, the Penguins lost more than a talented bunch of hockey players. They lost guys who were part of the very fabric of the team. A very special team, by all accounts.

“I’ve been around a lot of teams both as a player and a coach now,” Mike Sullivan confided to Michelle Crechiolo in an article for the Penguins website, shortly before the breakup began. “This team, I think, has a unique chemistry. They’re a great group of people….I think these guys really enjoy one another, and they play hard for one another.”

Even the comparative newcomers blended in seamlessly.

“I can’t say enough about how the rest of the acquisitions over the last two years have fit in,” wrote Crechiolo. “It’s actually remarkable how it feels like they’ve all been here forever, when actually, it’s only been a few years at the most.”

It would truly have been wonderful if GM Jim Rutherford had somehow achieved the impossible and kept this marvelous group of champions intact. Who knows? The Pens may well have pulled off that coveted three-peat we all so desperately crave.

But seasons change, whether we want them to or not. Some treasured members of the team have moved on, leaving some awfully big skates to fill.

Perhaps their loss is most keenly felt in the dressing room. Cullen for his quirkiness, kindness and fatherly presence; Bonino for his dry sense of humor; Fleury for his shining personality and sense of fun; Kunitz for always being in the thick of things; Daley for his quiet yet steady ways.

How heart-wrenching it must’ve been for their teammates to watch them leave.

“There’s not a guy in there (the locker room) that I’m going to forget,” said Bryan Rust. “I’m going to remember each and every one of those guys forever.”

Slowly, almost imperceptively, the sadness over Pastor Ron’s departure began to lift. A new worship leader, Pastor Frank, joined our church staff, gradually winning our hearts with his kind, upbeat nature, ever-present smile and considerable talents, both as a musician and a preacher. Pastor Sean stepped out from his youth pastor duties to add his own rich voice to the pulpit, not to mention a touch of fun.

Through it all, Pastor Ben remained steady and steadfast, as sincere in his efforts, devoted in purpose, and generous of heart and spirit as any church leader could be. It’s evident that he’s grown in both faith and Godly strength through this season of travail.

So it will be for our Penguins. The newcomers will gradually assimilate. New bonds and friendships will form. They’ll laugh and joke and swap stories. They’ll learn to trust and support and lean on each other when the going gets tough.

For everything, there’s a season.

19 thoughts on “Penguins Update: Seasons Change”
  1. Great article Brother Rick,
    A unique look at 2 different but similar situations.( If that makes any sense).
    My first point. Phil…I think you right about Nemi. 3 games do not make a season.
    Before throwing him over board, why not call up ” some one” from WBP and let them play for a week or two to see if they are any better. For my far off vantage point there are a lot more issues to worry about than Nemi.
    My second point is I too like the signing of Riley for no other reason than he has size,played far more games, and on a team known for defensive and offensive play. Some of that two way playing style may rub off on a few of our guys which can not hurt.
    My third point is that Reese and Hunwick have not delivered what i expected to date. Then I got to thinking after reading several of all my friends posts these past few weeks, it came to me. I expected that these new additions would some how magically correct all our deficiencies and then we would be able to 3 Peat. In short I have spent WAY to much time in wondering How could we, the Mighty Penguins of Pittsburgh not three peat.It is ordained from up high….Our God given right to win it all again !! Alas, now it is a time for a reality check. 1. Our coaching staff is weaker. 2. Our Goal tending is absolutely weaker.3. Our defense was never that great in the first place last year, and I forgot that this lesson. I was to busy worrying about resigning these same guys to notice we have the wrong horses in the first place. Not all but a few. How was Hunwick supposed to fix that ? Not possible. 4. Our centers as a group this year are a disaster compared to last year !! Our left wing is far from perfect. At least 2 new members are needed.The right wing, we have enough guys to start a Choir. You can not possibly play them all at their natural position. So how do the young ones ever get a chance to learn!
    It is not that the Penguins are off…..My expectations were.
    Now a reality check is due !!

    Lets go Pen’s

    1. Hey Jim,

      Absolutely spot on in your observations, my friend. And colorfully expressed!

      Always good to get the perspective from up north … 🙂

      Rick

    2. Good Points Jim,

      I think we talked about all of these points to some extent last year, that a day of reckoning was coming. That the team was first poised to lose significant players to FA and expansion draft as well as the concentration of talent to one position and the glut of all the same type of D with no balance among them. Unfortunately, the elixir of repeat Cups kept pushing these nagging points to the back of our minds.

      1. Hey Coach
        Good to see you writing so many great and thought provoking articles my friend.Keep up the excellent work.
        You and I share a lot of similar positions about the Pen’s,( not all thank goodness, but a lot). We think the game in similar patterns.

        For me guys, a real wake up call came when the reports in the Toronto papers and LOCAL talk radio were saying this summer that Toronto wanted to make a trade with the Pen’s for a center,( Bozak or Kadri) but we no longer had any pieces of interest to them.
        Mentioned other teams as well saying the same thing. We saying look at Wilson, or Archibald or even Pouliot… NOBODY CARED !!
        That is a bad signal Coach.
        Another one was that at the WJHC for the past few years the number of Pen’s prospects dwindled. I can remember not that long ago we had several players on many different teams and now sadly, that is not the case. Conclusion….Less Talent ! Big trouble in the future.

        Thanks for the comments above …
        Cheers

  2. Hey all,

    An observation. Has anyone else noticed how isolated Mike Sullivan looks on the bench these days? Every time they show him on TV, there are no other coaches around him.

    By contrast, he and Rick Tocchet always seemed to be interacting the past couple of seasons. In fact, as the final seconds ticked off the clock of the Cup-winning game, they were the first ones to embrace.

    I’m sure Mark Recchi’s a very capable coach. But, again, it speaks to a change, and perhaps some different chemistry.

    Rick

    1. Hey Rick,

      Interesting thought. I would bet Tocchet had brought a lot to the table from his past coaching experience. I am a huge, huge Recchi fan from his playing days but I wonder if he is still in a feeling out process, never having coached before.

  3. Hey all,

    Just saw that the Pens placed Niemi on waivers, with the stated intention of sending him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to work on his game.

    No mention on which goalie they plan to call up, Jarry or DeSmith.

    Rick

    1. He was never given a chance. All three games were back to back where the other team was rested. Chicago, Tampa & Tampa. Still questioning why he played those games.

      1. Hey Phil,

        First, I agree, I too was surprised by Sullivan’s call. I thought Murray was going to get the call at the back end.

        But consider this,

        Niemi only lost 5 – 4 last time he faced TB at the back end of Back-to-back games.

        IN both games against TB, even though the Pens lost by a combined score of 12 – 5, TB only managed 66 SOG.

        FLA squeezed off 46 SOG the first time they played the Pens.

        So, if your G is struggling, would you want your G to face a team that gets 33 SOG or a team that gets 46 SOG?

        And as I mentioned elsewhere there may have been other considerations which Sully may have been thinking about, that I will bring back up later.

        But in the end, Niemi didn’t look good in preseason; he has been struggling. I blasted the team D but Niemi hasn’t helped his own cause. A Sv% of 0.797 is not all on your team D.

        1. TB had 3 shots on goal in the 3rd because they were being nice.

          I hope you’re kidding thinking Florida was even close to as hard as traveling to Tampa and playing the next night against a rested #1 team on the NHL power rankings.

          Rick’s no faith in Niemi comment below could be right, but I would think Niemi never got the chance to play a game on level ground to prove himself. I’m not saying Niemi is good, but I’m more worried Sullivan still doesn’t believe in Murray. I’m just wondering why??????

          1. Hey Phil,

            Again, I was confused when I saw the who was in goal. I thought When I saw Murray at the front end that he was going to get both games.

            But, the 3rd period of last game is just an after thought. It could have had no bearing on Sullivan’s decision. As I said, Niemi actually played his best game this season (I hate to use those terms when his numbers are so horrible), but he only lost the first game against TB 5 – 4 and only managed 34 SOG, Sullivan could have been thinking that if he made some other adjustments that he (Niemi) could have won that game.

            I do have another theory, but as I said I am holding on to that one for the moment, please bear with me on this one.

      2. Hey Phil,

        I’m not suggesting those three losses were all Niemi’s fault. Lord knows, the Pens’ defensive-zone coverage was simply dreadful.

        I don’t think he helped himself, either. His glove hand looked suspect, he appeared a bit slow, and he gave up a lot of rebounds. Granted, I’m used to watching Fleury, perhaps the quickest goalie around. But I honestly think Antti may be done.

        I do see your point about playing your backup goalie in arguably the toughest games, on the second night of back-to-backs, to boot.

        My guess is, Sullivan didn’t have faith in Niemi’s ability to win the front-end games and wanted to make sure we got some points.

        Rick

        PS–Most goalies tend to be of the “first-save” variety. Stop the first shot and trust your ‘d’ to clear the puck. I think Niemi probably fits into that category, especially at this stage of his career. Certainly not an ideal fit for our Pens, who more often than not resemble a fire-drill gone bad in their own end.

        Thought number two. Malcolm Subban was hurt in Vegas, which means they’re down to their third goalie. Perhaps the Pens might be banking on them claiming Niemi.

        1. If Vegas claims him, the Pens are short a goaltender. It will be interesting to see who they call up. Desmith has the better #’s. Sprong is still rocking it!

        2. Interesting thought Rick,

          In many situations I would agree with you. I could see some teams playing the odds like that, putting Niemi on waivers to get out, not so much , from under his $700K, but to free up a contract.

          However, I am not so sure I think the Pens would be doing that; at least not looking to DeSmith or Jarry as the back up. I really do think that the team is putting too much pressure on themselves to 3-peat that they aren’t following the blueprint that bought the front end Cup. Granted, I have had no conversations what so ever with JR or Sullivan or anyone in the organization. They do not confide anything in me. However, all of their moves appear to me to indicate that they don’t want to use any rookies this year if they can help it.

          If the team is looking to lose Niemi to equally G challenged (for different reasons) Vegas, I would think it is a prelude to trying to trade for another veteran. The $700K from losing Niemi combined with the ~$700K they still have under the cap would give them ~$1.4mil to look for a veteran.

  4. Hey Rick,

    Great article! I would like to believe that everyone can relate to what you wrote, that everybody has been in place and time where they shared a unique chemistry and in work situations, where the combination far exceeded the sum of its parts. And in just the same fashion had to face a time when that time had to end. I can remember at least 5 examples of that right off the bat, as I read your article, where I experienced that same feeling. One was a woman’s team I once coached. I even remember warning those ladies that they really should enjoy the time while it lasted. And I have also had the distinct pleasure of having that same camaraderie at 4 places I have been in my professional career. If you think of it, and if he can remember, ask Dave what I said to him right before I moved to GA. that is why I am so glad to be in a position to help out now that I am back in PA.

    1. Thanks Other Rick,

      It’s part of what makes it so difficult to win Stanley Cups. You have to have the right mix, both on the ice and in the locker room, too.

      I know I’m guilty at times of evaluating players solely by their statistics…as numbers on a page. It’s easy to forget that there’s a whole other side to the equation. A human side, which may be the most important of all.

      Rutherford really pays attention to a player’s character, on how he thinks the guy’ll fit with his teammates. That’s part of the reason I trust JR…and think he’s a really good GM.

      Rick

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