Sidney Crosby Caught in Crossfire of Dubas' Bold Coaching Decision
Photo credit: NHL.com
Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins have moved on from coach Mike Sullivan, what kind of reaction would their eventual hire draw from the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kristopher Letang?
After officially missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 3rd straight year, the longest drought in the NHL career of franchise icon and captain Sidney Crosby, a major change was made in leadership.
Penguins GM Kyle Dubas parted ways with coach Mike Sullivan, who had been on the job nearly 10 full years; he was hired in December 2015 to replace the terminated Mike Johnston, and immediately led them to consecutive Stanley Cup wins.
Sullivan has already resurfaced, accepting the head coaching position with the New York Rangers. Meanwhile, Dubas continues his search for Pittsburgh's latest bench boss.
Per Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Pittsburgh's iconic trio of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, who have 9 Stanley Cup wins combined with the franchise, could have mixed feelings if the team were to hire a new coach lacking in NHL experience.
Dubas said on Monday that he's open to the idea of coaches from varying backgrounds. My league sources have indicated that this is very much the case.
One thing I wonder about is how Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang would react to playing for a coach who doesn't have any NHL coaching experience.
One thing I wonder about is how Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang would react to playing for a coach who doesn't have any NHL coaching experience.
Yohe continued:
Will the Big Three be OK with playing for a 34-year-old with no NHL experience? I'm not sure about that. You might say it's no big deal, but if a coach loses those three before the season even begins, that would be a massive problem for the Penguins in the short and long term.
Penguins fans, just how much sway should Pittsburgh's Big 3 of Crosby, Malkin and Letang have in who their next head coach is?
| POLL | ||
MAI 4 | 228 ANSWERS Sidney Crosby Caught in Crossfire of Dubas' Bold Coaching Decision Would Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang accept playing their final NHL years under an inexperienced head coach? | ||
| No, they'll have a serious problem with it | 101 | 44.3 % |
| They're not the GM, it's not their choice | 127 | 55.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
