The NHL season is almost upon us. That means the weather is getting colder, leaves are falling off trees and coaches are ever closer to getting the proverbial axe. Last year, it took only four games for the Chicago Blackhawks to fire Dennis Savard. The Penguins let Michel Therrien go with 25 games left in the season and it was just what the doctor ordered. The team went 18-3-4 under Dan Bylsma the rest of the season on their way to a Stanley Cup victory. Here, I'll be taking a look at the coaches most likely to end up like Savard -- coaches who are starting the season on the hot seat.
Since taking over the behind the Penguins' bench in mid-February, Dan Bylsma could do no wrong during his head coaching debut in Pittsburgh. His hiring, combined with the return of defenseman Sergei Gonchar, and the in-season acquisitions of Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin and Craig Adams, helped the Penguins win their first Stanley Cup in 17 years.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We'll be running our division-by-division preview of the offseason beginning later in the week, but we wanted to give the two top dogs their own space. Yesterday we took a look at the Red Wings. Today: the summer outlook for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Thanks to Max Talbot's two-goal performance in Game 7, along with Marc-Andre Fleury's buzzer-beating save on Nicklas Lidstrom, the Pittsburgh Penguins brought home their third Stanley Cup. General manager Ray Shero now has the task of dealing with 10 unrestricted free agents and finding a way to construct a team that is capable of keeping the Cup in Pittsburgh.
It's not exactly a national secret that hockey teams tend to go through coaching changes about as often as a high school kid goes through a change of clothes (speaking on personal experience, that's about once per year). As we begin the conference finals, it's probably worth pointing out that three of the four teams taking part -- the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks -- experienced a change behind the bench during the regular season.
When Dan Bylsma took over behind the bench as the Penguins interim head coach, the season was looking bleak. They were sputtering along at a 27-25-5 pace, sitting outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Some people (including yours truly) were so down on the current squad that it appeared as if a coaching change wouldn't make much of a difference. So much for that.
A coaching change and a couple of astute roster moves later (hello Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin), and the Penguins are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, awaiting a second-round opponent after dispatching the Flyers. Apparently that was all the Penguins front office needed to see, as they signed Bylsma to a long-term contract extension on Monday night, removing the "interim" tag.
On Thursday, the NHL suspended Flyers forward Daniel Carcillo for his actions in the closing seconds of Pittsburgh's 4-1 win on Wednesday night. It was part of a somewhat embarrassing end to the game, as the Flyers racked up 23 penalty minutes in just 19 seconds.
Carcillo admitted that the official dropping the puck warned him not to try anything.
It was reported earlier this week that Toronto Maple Leafs defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina were going to give management a list of teams they would be willing to accept a trade to. Trouble is, one of those guys may not even be on the market if we're to believe general manager Brian Burke.
Burke was quoted in Tuesday'sToronto Star as saying, "I like this guy, bet on him staying," in regards to Kaberle.
Each Wednesday, two of our bloggers will take on one league-wide topic. A mediator keeps orderly. It's quite a bit like the shootout, actually.
This week's lineup features Eric McErlain's and Ted Starkey's takes on the NHL coaching carousel in the wake of Pittsburgh's firing of Michel Therrien. Yours truly will be the guest referee. Let's get started!
Three of the teams fighting for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference were in action on Tuesday night, and thanks to wins by Buffalo and Florida, and Carolina's loss to Boston, there is a major pileup at the bottom of the playoff picture.
Buffalo burned rookie netminder Justin Pogge for three goals on nine shots in the first period, while the Sabres pulled out a 4-1 win in Toronto. Meanwhile, in Miami, the Panthers cooled off New Jersey with a 4-0 win thanks to Tomas Vokoun's 36-save shutout.
The first game of the Dan Bylsma era in Pittsburgh looked remarkably similar to the last couple of games in the Michel Therrien era. In other words: it was a loss. Of course, the Penguins haven't even had an opportunity to practice under Bylsma and break in a new system, so, obviously there's a lot of work and not a lot of time to do it.
That said, the Penguins fell, 3-2, in a shootout loss on Long Island Monday afternoon, capping off a rough two-game stretch where they picked up only one of a possible four points against Toronto and the Islanders.
The NHL season is almost upon us. That means the weather is getting colder, leaves are falling off trees and coaches are ever closer to getting the proverbial axe. Last year, it took only four games for the Chicago Blackhawks to fire Dennis Savard. The Penguins let Michel Therrien go with 25 games left in the season and it was just what the doctor ordered. The team went 18-3-4 under Dan Bylsma the rest of the season on their way to a Stanley Cup victory. Here, I'll be taking a look at the coaches most likely to end up like Savard -- coaches who are starting the season on the hot seat.
Since taking over the behind the Penguins' bench in mid-February, 
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On Thursday, the NHL suspended Flyers forward 
It was reported earlier this week that Toronto Maple Leafs defensemen 
Each Wednesday, two of our bloggers will take on one league-wide topic. A mediator keeps orderly. It's quite a bit like the shootout, actually.
Three of the teams fighting for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference were in action on Tuesday night, and thanks to wins by Buffalo and Florida, and Carolina's loss to Boston, there is a major pileup at the bottom of the playoff picture. 
The first game of the 
