Written by Suraj Sukumar at The Sports Quotient
The Pittsburgh Penguins have not performed at the level they hoped, and the time has come to shake things up. While their record of 15-10-3 is very respectable, the Penguins are trying to be one of the best teams in the NHL, and their performance has not suggested that thus far. While several players could be considered a key reason for their lack of success, the Penguins’ organization has decided to change coaches to push for immediate change.
Mike Johnston was relieved of his duties and was replaced by Mike Sullivan, the current coach of the Wilks-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL. As the head coach of Pittsburgh’s affiliate, Sullivan has led his team to an 18-5-0-0 record and has posted the highest winning percentage in the AHL this season.
If the NHL playoffs were to start today, the Penguins would find themselves in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Despite their playoff position, they have plenty of issues to address prior to entering the postseason. Not only have the Pens been dealing with significant injury problems, especially on the blueline, but the lack of scoring from one of the most offensively-potent lineups in the NHL is also a major concern.
Kris Letang has been an inconsistent asset for quite some time and has been bothered by a few serious injuries. Add to the fact that their best defensive prospect in Olli Maatta has not been able to take the next step in his career, primarily due to injury, the Penguins have several holes to fill on defense. As it stands, the Penguins have David Warsofsky, Ben Lovejoy, Brian Dumoulin, Rob Scuderi, and Maatta on the blueline, which is a less than desirable supporting cast. One of Sullivan’s first duties will be to bring this group together and hope to build a reliable unit on the back-end.
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