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I knew about Orpik, but Staal? And sorry, but simply stating "he is another Therrien complainer" without providing any quotes to back up your claim is just shotty journalism. It may be true, but how are we to know?

My gut tells me that Staal at 19, and a very quiet kid, would not publicly rip his coach.

Hmm.. you make it to the finals and you aren't a good enough coach to keep around? Were the Penguins even remotely expected to be in the finals this year? I'm not a fan of the team so I don't know all that has gone on this year. Maybe there is plenty of reasons to get rid of him. It would just seem a bit odd after they make the finals over many teams that were expected to be in front of them at the beginning of the year.

Women can be so catty

TheRien is simply not a very good coach. Much of his success has come from a lineup that would make it next to impossible to have a losing record with and not for anything Michele has done.
There has been chatter for 2 yrs about the players and the coach issues. My feeling there is something to it and with the number of short comings as a coach that TheRien displayed in the playoffs, frankly, I'm not surprised Mario is not impressed!

Therrien was soundly outcoached in the Finals. There are no doubts about that. I personally feel like he is a bum coach as it is, and has just ridden the coattails of the unbelievable talent he has on his team. How many teams in the league can boast a player of Staal's ability as their #3 center? Not many. He got lucky against Philly, because I think Stevens out-coached him there as well. Ottawa was a cakewalk - an AHL team would have beat that mess. The Rangers just seemed happy to be in the 2nd round, and didn't fight hard either.

The only defence I can see for him is that his players don't want to play defence as much as he preaches. Essentially, I think he's a Trap coach who hasn't figured out how to use the talent he has on his roster properly. But those kids need to learn how to play D as well. I mean, Shanny and Yzerman didn't always like what Scotty Bowman made them do, but they got themselves 3 Cups out of it, right?

Its a real tough call on this one. LIke I said, I think Pittsburgh can ONLY get a better coach if this fire this bum, but Ottawa replaced their coach after a run to the Final last year, and look where that got them. The one thing is, if Staal is complaining (if that part's true), then there HAS to be a problem, because that family is all class, and that kid in general is not a malcontent. In the end, we all know #87 is the one who is making this decision.

I didn't even know who the Penguins coach was until they met the Wings in the Finals. I instantly lost a lot of respect for him when he started publicly whining about the officiating instead of pushing the right buttons to unify his team. By the middle of the series I was convinced that Therrien wouldn't be the Penguins coach for long.

The Penguins players will drive Therrien out of a job with underachievement and malcontentness. It could happen by the turn of the new year. If Crosby joins the rebel uprising, Therrien is gone before FanNation can post it.

There's plenty of respected coaches out there without a job.. I wouldn't mind Tortorella in there, but it might be a bad match with all the egos.. Thinking of it more, I'm not sure who'd be better to take over after Therrien... Wilson? He's shown that he can't get a team very far in the playoffs... who else is there, hmm.. Hartley? Please... I've no respect what so ever for that guy since his stunt with the Avs years back that eventually got him sacked.. Laviolette? Maybe.. but not in the long run.. Paul Maurice? Whatever you do Shero, keep him out of Steel City.. Greg Hanlon is the worst coach ever, so I'm not even gonna bother comment him.. are there other coaches out there? Can't remember all..

If Crosby joins the rebel uprising, Therrien is gone before FanNation can post it
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It's going to be a lot quicker than that if Mario is not impressed, which seems to be the case.

oh yes, I forgot... Quenneville. Dunno, I've always liked him. Dunno how good he's at man handling though..

The 91-92 Pens hated Scotty Bowman and they won the cup with them. But then they fired him the next season. Why do they hate Therrien? Because he calls out slacking veterans? Because he benches an underperforming player? Because he demands they give 100% every shift? With an allstar core line up the players will get their way, but your coach isn't supposed to be your friend or drinking buddy.

If Crosby joins the rebel uprising, Therrien is gone before FanNation can post it.

RP-29
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Whatever happens to Therrien (and I'm sick of seeing that hangdog picture) if the above statement is true the Crosby kid seems to have an awful lot of power and responsibility for one so young.

Davisha, the Pens should look at the minor leagues and top NHL assistants. All of these used NHL coaches you cited lost their jobs the first time because they suck. This young Pens team would be better served with a fresh face behind the bench.

Durk - when did he bench a star player for poor performance? I'm pretty sure Malkin lead the team's forwards in Time on Ice in the Finals, no?

I was thinking about this last night - how much do you think this team could have benefitted from having Mark Recchi in the lineup for these Finals? Even if the 1st game had gone down the same way, you can bet the 2nd game would have been a heck of a lot better. They sure treated a well-respected veteran like a piece of garbage in the way they dumped him...

like Ed Olczyk was, RP?

He can coach but clearly is not a great coach.. he made bad choices and I am sure it will affect players and the future.. he was clearly outcoached in the championship. I am not taking anything away from the Redwings; they were a great team but clearly the Pens have issues with their coach.

Bowman was very different than Therrien. Also 16 years ago sports was different.. you now have to build relationships with players... the old school way only works if you win championships... ask Bobby Knight of basketball. He could say and do anything as long as he won.. once he struggled.. bye bye.

I am not saying he cannot coach but clearly his team does not believe in him and he was outcoached in the only games that matter.. that will cause changes no matter how good or how much you think he does well.

Crosby is the face of the league and the cash cow for the Penguins organization. It would be equivalent to [what if] Michael Jordan asking for a trade in 1990.

How about Mario himself? As coach I mean.

and not having Roberts in for Game 1 was stupid too, almost forgot about that dumb move

Great players don't necessarily make great coaches. Look how good the Coyotes did under The Great One. Besides, Mario drinks almost as much whine as Therrien.

How about Mario himself? As coach I mean.
seabird56 | 06/06/08, 09:34 AM
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I don't think that is the answer. Mario was a great player, and definitely understands the game, but handling players, and managing games is different. Just look at Gretzky as an example. It took him a while to get the hang of it, and now he's doing ok, but the Pens can't waste time training a coach, they've proven they have a team that can get the puck they need to build on that.