Penguins/NHL
Via Chris Nichols of Today’s Slap Shots, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 690 this morning called the Penguins organization “paranoid” at the top and he can’t be more right in how it trickles down to the team, implicating that the pressure is caving in on Sidney Crosby.
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Here’s what Friedman had to say today during his radio segment.
“You know, I have to tell you – honestly, the thing that stood out to me the most on Saturday night – and I don’t know how carefully you were watching the game – but there was a shot of Sidney Crosby sitting there on the bench and he looked morose. Just stressed out. Morose. And there was nobody sitting next to him.
“They won the game. They didn’t play great. I look at this – you know, Crosby wears it. He cares a lot. He wants to do well. The team is struggling – at least they’ve got two wins now. But he still doesn’t have a point and I can just see that the pressure is caving in on him. And somebody – and I don’t know who it is – just needs to get him to relax. Because when you’re the best player, and you’re the captain, the whole team feeds on your mood. And I can just see that Pittsburgh team – it is so tense.
“And you know what. Some of it I think is the organization. At the very top of that organization I think they create a very tense environment and it goes down from there.
“But Crosby, he needs somebody there who can just say to him, ‘I know it sucks. I know you want to get points. I know you want to help the team win. But you can’t look like that. You’ve got to loosen up.’
“And it’s better for him too because you can’t – it’s very hard to be any kind of a productive human being when you’re that stressed out.
“So the thing I took the most out of that game – is he is just in a terrible mental place right now.
“The thing about Kessel and him is – Kessel is a guy, if you look at his points, they’re long passes. They’re on the rush. They’re him on the weak side. Crosby is, ‘Let’s get in tight. I’ll make the 10-foot pass to you, and you’ll score.’ And I think the two of them are really struggling to take those two different styles and make them compatible. And they have to work with each other to say, ‘How am I going to help you,’ as much as, ‘I need you to help me.’ “
On the Jagr/Lemieux Days
“I remember those days and I remember once asking Ron Francis about it. He just took a shot at people who were complaining about it. He was like, ‘You know what? If you’re a professional and you’re like these guys are, you know what you need to do to win.’ And they proved it. They won two Stanley Cups in a row.
“But I just remember two years ago, when Brooks Orpik left the Penguins and he went to Washington, one of the things he said was it had stopped being fun playing there.
“And I just remember he said that, and I asked a couple of his teammates about it. They wouldn’t go on the record and they hemmed and hawed a bit, but they said, ‘He’s not wrong.’
“I was just so struck by this shot of Crosby the other day.
“And you know what. You remember during the summer we had the conversation about Malkin and I do believe some of the heat I took was fed by Pittsburgh ownership. And I just think that that organization, at the top, is really paranoid. And sometimes I think that filters down.
“And I just looked at Crosby the other night, and he just doesn’t look like – even when you’re struggling, and struggling sucks… when you’re the highest-paid guy, and you’re the captain, you wear it because you do cares. He cares a lot.
“But I just think at some point somebody has to be able to say, ‘Hey, you’re not helping the situation when you’re like that. You’re making it harder on yourself. You’re making it harder on your teammates.’
“And Crosby is a great player. We’re going to look back at this start of the season where he’s got no points, and we’re going to laugh and we’re going to say, ‘Remember when you had no points?’ when he’s charging up the scoring race.
“But somebody needs to get to him and say, ‘Hey man, you’ve got to relax. It’s too hard on yourself and it’s too hard on your teammates.’ “[/hide]
Sid smoke some weed if that helps. Jesus what a stupid article. Sid gets a pass all the time and Geno takes all the heat.
“paranoid”? Of what?
The real shame is that for 2 off seasons now the entire objective has been to make Sid happy and support him while Malkin has pretty much been an after thought, yet the times get tough they need to rely on Malkin to put the team on his back. Typical Canadian ego of having to defend their own and are willing to destroy an entire organization to do so.
Anyone saying the 5 game mark is too early to judge 87 is flat out hoping they’re right. 5 games is plenty of time to know something is off. And Quite honestly, it isn’t 5 games. He hasn’t been right since December of last year.
the organization is a train wreck and he knows it. he is dying alive.
So what are you eluding to? He know’s the organization is a wreck and is mailing it in?
I’m gonna go out on a limb and bet cash money that after 20 games he is at least a point of game player, anyone want that action? Because if he is dying alive, pouting and ALL those other things, surely there is no way he can get 21 points in the next 15 games,,,,,,,,,,oh by the way what is WRONG with all these players oh my oh my????? Corey Perry 5 games 0 goals 1 assist 6 SOG’s. Ryam Getzlaf 5 games 0 goals 1 assist -4 Ryan Keslar 5 games0 goals 0 assist -3 Mark Giordano 5 games… Read more »
But but but Sid has the weight of the $67,000,000 he’s currently made from the Pens on his back, plus all that endorsement money. It must be so stressful to play hockey, you know a game, with the expectations of winning and being grossly overpaid.
His leadership and level of play are a main reason why the organization is a train wreck. Their entire offseason plan was to support him and make him happy and now the reason it isn’t working is solely on his shoulders.
Bingo – jaydogg is all over it. We finally got a winger for sid! Because that was the problem. Remember when that was yoda’s bitch fest – he played with Kunitz and Dupuis, ffs!!
It’s been a slow start – no argument, but looking at the track record, there’s every reason to believe it’ll correct over time. If you want to talk about last year, he only led the league in points per game.
Largely due to production from September to the end of December. He’s literally been quite average since December. And leading the league in points per game isn’t he bar. 110-120 points is the bar he set. That’s what got him his contract.
the pens are “paranoid”….if you read between the lines does this mean they are all playing high?
and when asked to couple teammates thats Nisky he was sad about DB too
only2 players that can talk to sid is letang and Dupuis
Who would have every thought Sid & Kessel would struggle and not be a great fit? I know, it’s the handful of people that actually understand the game and realize that there is more to the chemistry of players meshing well together than just how good each player is, playing style is the most impact aspects when pairing players to succeed and in that aspect Sid & Kessel are more repellent than Sam and Vagina. The sooner the organization realizes that the best complement for Sid is a hard working grinder that plays a North/South game and Kessel more perimeter… Read more »
Seriously V.a.g.i.n.a is censored…lmfao, which by the way is a vuglar term that pretty much everyone understands, if 6th graders can be taught about p.e.n.i.s and v.a.g.i.n.a in health class there should be no reason they can’t be used on a public forum.
jaydogg was warning everybody before about the censoring I was throwing post up to see what got past.
I knew the site was being censored now but come on, I specifically used v.a.g.i.n.a to be at a PG level.
They had the entire preseason to shuffle lines and find the best fit/s, they chose not to.
The Excuses for Crosby are endless. That said, when Mario sells things will be better.
yeah of course orpig said that because he wasnt getting a BJ by Db anymore its ok his name is in the trade rumors never know he might join the sabres and his lover DB
So the team finally starts winning a few games and Lord Sidney is still all morose because he isn’t scoring points? Way to be a leader there. The worst part is that managements fascination to make him happy is going to be the downfall of the team similar to how it was 2 playoffs ago when they were more concerned about getting him going than winning games.
why is the focus on sid and not malkin thats what pisses me off malkin gets paid big money too and he was a ghost last year in the playoffs and the last 2 months of the season.he had one good game vs leafs a team that most of the time sid and geno do good againts
Why would there be any focus on Malkin when he has by far been the best player on the team? He took more criticism than the Golden Boy last season even when he was outplaying him so as usual you’re completely retarded.
Because Malkin has points this year and isnt sulking on the bench like a 5 year old. God you’re so stupid.
And occasionally the Penguins as an organization really piss me off. WTF is up with the Beau Bennett…..is it the playoffs,,,,,is he our superstar!? Just say what the heck is wrong with the guy, other than he is brittle
So if they are 3-2 and had won against Phoenix instead of lost. and Sid had 2 assists on the year……….are we even having this conversation? Its 5 games. Talk to me at game 15 at least
I agree, it’s still very early and a lot of this is overblown, but addressing the point being made, that’s part of the reason you ideally want some youth in the lineup. They’re just happy to be in the NHL and able to contribute – and the veterans are able to feed off that enthusiasm for just playing the game without crushing expectations. You can see it happening with Sprong. I remember the changing of the guard (around ’06-’07) when not just Crosby and Malkin, but a lot of younger guys like Staal, Whitney, Malone, Armstrong, Talbot, Christensen, Oullet, etc.… Read more »
the problem is when you bring young blood they play good and suprise the star players .but this case sid and Geno are too confortable and having no challenge from younger players in their team. its like fleury was too confrotable being number 1 goalie .when they got greiss fleury step up .
Geno doesn’t look too comfortable. Geno looks like a man amongst boys. Yet again. Sid looks like Craig Adams, though. Probably because canadians are so “eh” about everything.
Spong, Bennett, Plotkinov, Doumlin, Rust, Porter and Clendening are all young players that have been in the lineup and clearly they haven’t feed off of that energy one bit. This is a very different situation than the one you mentioned in 06-07 because the guys you mentioned were the core and players like LeClair, Recchi and Palffy were the supporting cast, the older players weren’t feeding off of the younger guys, they were being replaced by them, the current core isn’t going to feed off of the young players youth energy, the young players are going to be forced to… Read more »
We all knew he wilted come playoff time, now we know he just can’t handle pressure of any sorts. Wonder if he gets all pouty when he’s constipated?
I’m not saying Kunitz is holding back Sid and Kessel, but these stats are interesting. ES production over the last 28 games:
Scuderi – 3 points
Adams – 2 points
Kunitz – 1 point
🙂 So we should have kept Adams
crosby is dying alive just as jagr before him. in all seriousness, 10 years playing for one team is way too long. the team should have been blown up a few years ago. everyone from that 09 teams needs to go and it’s time for a rebuild. you are all going to call me nuts, but we all know this team is one and done in the 1st round at best. move malkin, crosby, letang, and st.blurry and start over. i’m sick of watching it, and i’m sure they are all sick of being here too.
didnt you preach crosby never gets a winger if he did he would have 200 points?…another failed yoda prediction (so far)
i didn’t know crosby would start a mushroom/LSD addiction.
key words: you didn’t know.
Yup, just like how the Wings dumped Yzerman after 10 years when the won all those cups? Or Modano was moved after his 10th year well after Dallas won theirs.