# The New Pittsburgh Penguins **URL:** \ **Category:** PittSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [December 16, 2005, 10:10am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888 "2005-12-16T10:10:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![berad](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/berad/32/5953_2.png) [@berad](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/berad)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:10am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/1 "2005-12-16T10:10:50Z")
> The Penguins bumped their payroll to about $31 million by adding high-priced free agents such as Sergei Gonchar, Ziggy Palffy and John LeClair during the off-season, and saw themselves – at the very least – as a playoff-caliber team. > > **They’ve done absolutely nothing to back up that belief through the first two-plus months of the season.** [http://www.postgazette.com/pg/05350/623371.stm](http://www.postgazette.com/pg/05350/623371.stm) > Therrien: A man who cracks whip > Olczyk says the Penguins’ new boss is a perfect fit for the job > > Friday, December 16, 2005 > By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette > > It says something about Michel Therrien that just about every Penguin who has played for him in Wilkes-Barre believes he’s a good choice to coach this team. > > John Beale, Post-Gazette > New Penguins coach Michel Therrien, foreground, meets with his team at their first practice together yesterday at Neville Island. At right is Penguins player and owner Mario Lemieux. > Click photo for larger image. > > Related coverage > > Therrien an in-your-face, demanding man with an obvious edge > GM shows no interest in retirement as contract nears end > Columnist Bob Smizik: Therrien is given lots of clout > Penguins Notebook: Lemieux will return to lineup tonight > Scouting Report: Buffalo Sabres vs Penguins > Penguins Q&A with Dave Molinari > It probably says more that the man he replaced feels the same way. > > “He’s going to do a great job,” Eddie Olczyk said yesterday. “He’s a knowledgeable guy, and I think he’ll do a really good job.” > > That remains to be seen, of course, but this much is certain: Therrien will go about his job in a radically different way than Olczyk. > > He won’t put any more time or energy into it than Olczyk did – that probably isn’t possible – but his approach to dealing with players bears scant resemblance to the way Olczyk handled things. > > “He’s got his way,” Therrien said, “and I’ve got my way.” > > Olczyk, an upbeat sort by nature, is partial to positive reinforcement and tried to encourage his players to perform to their potential. Therrien, on the other hand, is about as pleasant as a pit bull with a toothache when someone is guilty of a bad play or mental lapse. > > “He just demands so much from everybody,” said winger Matt Murley, who played for Therrien in the American Hockey League for two years. “If you’re not doing what he expects, he’s going to let you know.” > > There is no secret, though, about what Therrien, who has a three-year contract, expects from his players. He puts a premium on accountability, and his first practice yesterday made it obvious that upgrading the Penguins’ defensive play is a priority. > > “I really believe we need some structure,” Therrien said. “We’re not going to be able to win many hockey games if we give up over 40 shots and over 20 scoring chances. We need to address that.” > > The neutral-zone trap is a cornerstone of Therrien’s system, although players who were with him in Wilkes-Barre said Therrien views it not strictly as a defensive tactic, but one that can generate offense. > > “We’ll be trapping everywhere,” Murley said. "A lot of people think it’s a defensive system, but he likes to think of it as an offensive system, because we’re going to go out and create turnovers. > > “And once we get the turnovers, with the talent we have, he just lets us go free in the offensive zone. Do what you want and have fun there. We should be able to create a lot of goals with the guys we have.” > > Holding onto the puck as long as possible is another tenet of Therrien’s style. He figures, quite logically, that if his team has the puck, the opponent doesn’t have much chance of scoring. > > “Puck possession is really important, especially these days, with the new rules [enforcement],” he said. "When you don’t have the puck, you’re putting yourself in a bad position to spend time in the penalty box. Eventually, if you start cycling the puck down low [in the attacking zone], you’re going to have a scoring chance or you’re going to draw a penalty. > > “The more you have the puck, the [fewer] shots on net [the other team is] going to have, and the [fewer] scoring chances. We’re going to have to learn to play with the puck.” > > The Penguins will be learning that from a whole new staff, because assistant coaches Joe Mullen and Randy Hillier – both members of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup teams in 1991 and 1992 – also were fired, along with goaltending coach Shane Clifford and conditioning coach John Welday. > > Their jobs were filled by three men who worked with Therrien in Wilkes-Barre: Mike Yeo is the assistant coach – assistant general manager Ed Johnston will work with the coaches until a second assistant is hired – Gilles Lefebvre takes over as goaltending consultant and Stephane Dube is the new conditioning coach. > > General manager Craig Patrick said Olczyk, Hillier and Mullen will remain with the organization. Olczyk and Hillier will scout and handle special assignments for Patrick; Mullen’s long-term duties have not been worked out, but he and ex-Penguins coach Rick Kehoe will run the Baby Penguins’ bench this weekend. > > The coaching change wasn’t the Penguins’ only personnel move. They recalled right winger Michel Ouellet from Wilkes-Barre and assigned forwards Maxime Talbot and Lasse Pirjeta to the Baby Penguins, creating a spot on their 23-man roster for Mario Lemieux in the process. > > And there’s no guarantee the lineup will stabilize anytime soon. > > “There could be more changes coming, depending on what we see, in the very near future,” Patrick said. > > Therrien inherits a team that enters its game against Buffalo tonight at 7:08 with a record of 8-17-6, worst in the Eastern Conference. They were 13 points out of the final Eastern playoff spot going into the games last night. > > Nonetheless, Patrick said his team was capable of getting back into contention. > > “We’re going to get back in the playoff hunt,” he said. “And, hopefully, make the playoffs.” > > Therrien, 42, characterized himself as a pragmatist – “I’m not a dreamer. I’m a guy who’s down to earth” – and declined to predict whether the Penguins will be able to compete for a playoff berth. > > “We’re going to take one day at a time,” he said. “I think that’s the best way. And we’ll see eventually where we’re going to be able to finish.” > > Therrien had exceptional success with the Baby Penguins, compiling a 94-56-17-8 record, with 10 ties, in two-plus seasons. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has dominated the AHL this season, going 21-1-2-1 in its first 25 games. His only previous NHL experience came with Montreal, where he compiled a 77-91-22 record. > > Now, he has inherited perhaps the most enigmatic team in the NHL. The Penguins bumped their payroll to about $31 million by adding high-priced free agents such as Sergei Gonchar, Ziggy Palffy and John LeClair during the off-season, and saw themselves – at the very least – as a playoff-caliber team. > > They’ve done absolutely nothing to back up that belief through the first two-plus months of the season. > > “We look pretty on paper, but what are we?” Patrick said. “We’ll find out what we are, starting today.” ---
**Author:** ![BlkP42E](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blkp42e/32/5938_2.png) [@BlkP42E](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/BlkP42E)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:15am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/2 "2005-12-16T10:15:31Z")
❌ ---
**Author:** ![77rednecktruck](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/77rednecktruck/32/5966_2.png) [@77rednecktruck](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/77rednecktruck)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/3 "2005-12-16T13:46:19Z")
a coach makes a huge difference to a team. I hope this is the spark they need to start playing again. With the talent the penguins have, they should be doing very well. hockey\>\*.sport ---
**Author:** ![iceburgh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c4cdca/32.png) [@iceburgh](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/iceburgh)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/4 "2005-12-16T15:16:43Z")
I dont think it will make a difference after the 1st 4 games or so. ---
**Author:** ![cleanquick306](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/48db29/32.png) [@cleanquick306](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/cleanquick306)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/5 "2005-12-16T15:23:51Z")
cliffs? ---
**Author:** ![Pewter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/pewter/32/5936_2.png) [@Pewter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Pewter)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/6 "2005-12-16T17:23:43Z")
> [@cleanquick306](#): > > cliffs? yes,u jump off one!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Slim\_06\_F-150](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d26b3c/32.png) [@Slim\_06\_F-150](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Slim_06_F-150)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/7 "2005-12-16T18:58:00Z")
they lost but i really liekd what i saw, i think they played alot better and shots were even :scared: ---
**Author:** ![rmrider897](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@rmrider897](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/rmrider897)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/8 "2005-12-16T19:05:26Z")
i was there. they looked better. but wtf is gonchar doing. hes soo lazy out there. ---
**Author:** ![Slim\_06\_F-150](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d26b3c/32.png) [@Slim\_06\_F-150](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Slim_06_F-150)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/9 "2005-12-16T19:07:22Z")
yeah gonchar is terrible either him or tarnstrom gotta get the fuck outta here ---
**Author:** ![imported\_weaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc8723/32.png) [@imported\_weaves](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/imported_weaves)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/10 "2005-12-16T19:09:20Z")
Gonchar got crushed with a hit in the 3rd period! Overall they looked good, but you could see them getting tired in the 3rd period, they definitely have conditioning work to do. ---
**Author:** ![BlkP42E](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blkp42e/32/5938_2.png) [@BlkP42E](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/BlkP42E)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/11 "2005-12-16T21:03:09Z")
> [@PewterSS](#): > > yes,u jump off one!😃 :offtopic: ---
**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/uploads/speedlife/original/2X/b/b7170c8eddc0b95ece6b88172b2f416a08489a45.png) [@system](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/12 "2005-12-16T22:16:38Z")
yeah they looked way better and at least got one point out of it. Buff. is no crap team either. they are pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![InsaneSTi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@InsaneSTi](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/InsaneSTi)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/13 "2005-12-16T23:00:43Z")
> [@Slim 01 WS-6](#): > > yeah gonchar is terrible Remember the playoffs when Straka stole the puck off of Gonchar and Straka scored the game winner in ot?? Yeah…enough said lol ---
**Author:** ![Slim\_06\_F-150](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d26b3c/32.png) [@Slim\_06\_F-150](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Slim_06_F-150)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/14 "2005-12-17T03:45:20Z")
yeah when the moron was in washingston, i wished he would ahve stayed there ---
**Author:** ![Pewter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/pewter/32/5936_2.png) [@Pewter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Pewter)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/15 "2005-12-17T04:49:26Z")
> [@BlkP42E](#): > > :offtopic: no sir,this is on-topic! ---
**Author:** ![InsaneSTi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@InsaneSTi](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/InsaneSTi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 11:21am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/16 "2005-12-17T11:21:18Z")
I hear that Slim! ---
**Author:** ![1320](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/1320/32/5949_2.png) [@1320](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/1320)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 11:51am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/17 "2005-12-17T11:51:20Z")
Lets go pens! 💤 ---
**Author:** ![InsaneSTi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@InsaneSTi](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/InsaneSTi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-new-pittsburgh-penguins/178888/18 "2005-12-17T12:18:03Z")
> [@unicorn](#): > > Lets go pens! 💤 :dunno: maybe they should move