About Kukla’s Korner

Updated 3/5/08- We here at KK want to thank you for your continued support of Kukla’s Korner. 

As always, feel free to if you have any questions, concerns, etc.

KK Authors

Alanah McGinley
My name is Alanah McGinley. C&B is a blog of daily opinions, news links and blathering related to the Vancouver Canucks… or whatever hockey news crosses my path. But don't get your hopes up -- I am not always terribly committed to "accuracy." email: am@kuklaskorner.com
IwoCPO
Bill Houlihan founded the blog Abel To Yzerman in 2005 and joined the Kukla Empire of Blogs in 2006. He is an initiated Navy Chief Petty Officer and is battling addictions to blocks of cheddar cheese and lukewarm, cheap American beer. Sarcasm frightens him.
Paul
Here 24/7-365. Why, I love the game and my goal is to keep hockey fans up-to-date on all things hockey!
Steve
I am here to update you on all the news involving the NHL's Media and Advertising goings-on. "Eye on the Media" began at KK in January of 2008, but I have been an occasional contributor to KK since January of 2007. I'm also from New Jersey, thus destroying KK's West Coast bias.

Last 5 Comments

comment by Ryan on 08/29/08
From the entry 'Who Could Or Not Be Interested In Meszaros'.

comment by Ryan on 08/29/08
From the entry 'The Best Ever From The Central'.

comment by Carl Incognito on 08/29/08
From the entry 'Afternoon Line'.

comment by Alanah McGinley on 08/29/08
From the entry 'Afternoon Line'.

comment by jeffj on 08/29/08
From the entry 'Afternoon Line'.

Latest KK Forum Activity

Topic title
Last reply
Date
No replies yet
08/27/08
No replies yet
08/25/08
No replies yet
08/25/08

Hockey Links


KK Archives

Entries with the tag: michel+therrien

Therrien’s New Deal

by Alanah McGinley on 07/25/08 at 11:32 AM
Comments (8)

From Ron Cook at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

My money is on Michel Therrien. It’s been on Therrien since he took the Penguins coaching job in December 2005 and immediately showed he wasn’t afraid to rattle the cages to shake the losers he inherited out of their country club ways. No matter what, the players were going to do it Therrien’s way. It’s no coincidence they soon turned into winners, big winners, nearly Stanley Cup winners last season.

Now, I’m betting Therrien will break one of the most astonishing records in Pittsburgh sports history.

I’m betting Therrien will become the first coach in Penguins history—41 years and counting—to start and finish four consecutive seasons.

continued...

Steven Ovadia at Puck Update provides a contrary opinion on Therrien:

Therrien is a dangerous combination of narrow-minded and panicky. You could see it during the finals when he didn’t change anything against the Wings until he suddenly moved Ryan Malone to the top line, only to put things back the next game. I suspect we’ll see more moves like that from Therrien, and as he loses people in the locker room, which is rumored to be the case, these knee-jerk switches will be less and less effective.

I was surprised the Penguins gave Therrien a three-year extension. Watching him coach has often felt like watching someone drive a car that’s too fast.

continued...

Penguins Extend Therrien

by Paul on 07/18/08 at 02:43 PM
Comments (0)

The Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to terms with head coach Michel Therrien on a new three-year contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero.

The contract covers the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

“Michel has done a tremendous job with our team over the past two-and-a-half seasons, developing our young players while leading us to division and conference championships and the Stanley Cup finals,” Shero said. “He had one year remaining on his previous contract, and we could have simply talked about an extension. But we thought that, based on the success we’ve had together, it was time to negotiate a new deal, starting with an increase in compensation for the 2008-09 season.”

“I’m excited to have a new three-year contract with the Penguins and am looking forward to continued success here in Pittsburgh,” Therrien said. “It is a great hockey city with an outstanding fan base. All of our players comment on how much they love playing in Pittsburgh, and I can tell you that our coaches love coaching in Pittsburgh.

“We still have a lot of work to do, though, because we fell short of our biggest goal last season. Our goal is, and always will be, to win the Stanley Cup.”

added 3:48pm, More on the Therrien extension at Empty Netters plus an update on the ‘Student Rush’ tickets.

Therrien’s Value

by Paul on 07/18/08 at 07:26 AM
Comments (0)

from Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Now, coming off a trip to the Stanley Cup final and with the roster apparently set, it’s time to take care of the coach in a fair and reasonable manner.

Therrien has one year remaining on his deal. The sides are negotiating an extension. He made $675,000 last season, well below the highest-paid NHL coaches, and is slated to make $750,000 this coming season. That still isn’t close to the best-paid men in his profession. Many are way past the $1 million mark....

So, what’s fair for Therrien, who still has worked only three NHL seasons start to finish but has enjoyed tremendous success over his two full years here?

A two-year extension worth around $1 million per season sounds right.

more

Give Therrien Some Credit

by Alanah McGinley on 06/11/08 at 12:21 PM
Comments (8)

From Mike Brophy at The Hockey News,

As I was saying, the Penguins are built on a foundation of young studs, the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury. That is the core of a team destined to get back to the Stanley Cup final before too long – as long as they continue to be coached by Therrien.

It’s not as though he’s the only man who can guide this club, but give credit where credit is due. Does anybody out there believe the Penguins would have managed to steal two games off the powerful Detroit Red Wings in the final if not for the defensive teachings of the guy they call Mike?

read on

Trouble Brewing with Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 06/06/08 at 09:38 AM
Comments (22)

From Steve Simmons at the Toronto Sun,

...there is a brewing problem between coach Michel Therrien and some of his players—a number of them despise playing for him.

No one will choose the Stanley Cup final as a forum to call out their coach but there are far too many whispers out there that too many players can’t stand working for—or with-- Therrien.

If that isn’t an issue to be dealt with immediately, it is certainly something that will grow with time. Brooks Orpik, the free agent defenceman who will be coveted by many teams after July 1, has told people he will not re-sign in Pittsburgh if Therrien is the coach. Jordan Staal, the terrific young player who lives in the shadow of Crosby and Evgeni Malkin—but is poised to bust out as one of the most complete centres in hockey—is another Therrien complainer.

read on

Therrien Talks After the Game

by Alanah McGinley on 06/04/08 at 11:53 PM
Comments (3)

Q. Coach, first of all, congratulations on a great season. Your assessment of the game, and what did you tell your players after the game?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: I’m almost speechless. It’s tough. We were that close. It is really tough, because this is a group that gave what they got. They deserve a lot of respect. We got beat by a quality team. They showed it all through the regular season and through the playoffs. They played really well. They were tough to play against, and the hockey god was not on our side tonight.

But they deserved to win the Stanley Cup.

Continue Reading »

Game Day with Michel Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 06/04/08 at 12:01 PM
Comments (0)

Q.  Coach, can you talk about how proud you are, as a head coach, of the effort that your guys showed in Game 5, you had guys with broken noses and injuries, and seeing them come back and Max making the goal, is that the most proud you’ve been of a team in your coaching career?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: They showed a lot of character, there’s no doubt about that. And they see the prize. There’s a lot of sacrifice. It’s nice to get the reward, and they deserve it. It was a game that could go to both sides. We capitalized on the power play. And we get a high stick in the face.

But there’s no doubt, this is a team that faced adversity through the course of the season. And it was not any different last game.

Continue Reading »

Tuesday with Pens Coach Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 06/03/08 at 03:16 PM
Comments (0)

Q.  Can you give us an update on Sergei Gonchar and where he’s at and what the expectation is for him for tomorrow night?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN:  We’re expecting that he’s going to be able to play tomorrow.  So that’s a good sign.

Q.  Secondly, asking the guys what it’s like physically to come here after a game like that.  What’s it like for you?  You come down to the rink today and you reflect on last night, what goes through your mind?  What are you feeling today?

Continue Reading »

Post Game Interviews:  Therrien and Babcock

by Alanah McGinley on 06/03/08 at 01:24 AM
Comments (0)

Transcripts for both coaches are below.

First, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien, then Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock.

Continue Reading »

Game Day with Michel Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 06/02/08 at 01:34 PM
Comments (0)

Q. It’s a different game, because this is a clinching game. How much does the message change to your players on a night when the Cup could be won?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: Obviously I’m not here to lie. It’s an important game. But for us, all our focus has to be on tonight’s game. We can’t look at what’s going to happen tomorrow. It’s a Game 7 for us. And we’ve got to make sure we’re going to leave everything on the ice.

Continue Reading »

Sunday with Penguins Coach Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 06/01/08 at 05:12 PM
Comments (0)

Q.  I guess looking at the ice time last night, [Evgeni] Malkin played more than Sidney [Crosby]. And is that, on your part, an attempt to just get Evgeni Malkin going? Does he warrant more ice time than Sidney? How do you manage ice time between those two?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: How do I manage the ice time? Our offensive players play on a regular shift, and they play on the power play. Obviously, Malkin playing on the power play, it’s a different role than Sid. And we want them to be productive offensively, so they play like every third or fourth shift, five-on-five. They play on the power play. Malkin played a little bit more on the power play. The biggest reason is because he’s playing the point. You don’t have to spend more energy probably than Sid as a forward has to work down low battling, all that type of stuff. So that’s a little bit the difference.

Continue Reading »

Game Day with Penguins Coach Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/31/08 at 11:55 AM
Comments (2)

Q.  Would you like to get the obstruction stuff out of the way first, before I ask my...

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: (Laughter) I said what I had to say yesterday, so let’s move on (Laughter.)

Q.  You said the first couple of games nervousness could have been an issue with your team.  Do you sense going on in the series that’s less and less the case, and do you think that will be less the case tonight?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN:  Absolutely.  And it’s part of the process with a young team.  And the more the series goes on, the more we’re going to feel comfortable and we’re going to be better.

And we got better every game.  Our focus gets better every game.  And tonight I’m expecting we’re going to play ‑ we played a good game, Game 3, but tonight I’m expecting we’re going to be better as well.

Continue Reading »

Friday with Penguins Coach Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/30/08 at 01:45 PM
Comments (1)

Q. Holmstrom may or may not play. What does that change, if he’s not in the lineup?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: They still have a lot of quality players. And it’s not going to change anything for us. It might change something for them, but for us our focus will remain the same.

Q. The numbers with Fleury on home ice are pretty staggering. Is there something that you’ve noticed, something in his play, like is there something that changes for him in this building?

Continue Reading »

Thursday with Coach Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/29/08 at 01:42 PM
Comments (0)

Q. Mike, you have a younger, bigger team than Detroit. Brooks was up here earlier talking about how you had hoped to make this a long series, and if so, that you thought you could pound them a little bit and take advantage of the fact that they’re an older team. Can you talk about that a little bit?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: There’s no doubt we want to be physical. And we’re both here to play a physical game. But honestly, we’re taking - the way I see it, we’ll take it game by game. And we’ll see at the end where the result’s going to be.

One thing for me that I see, our team, first of all, is getting better every game. Our team is getting more comfortable every game. Our team’s got more confidence every game.

Continue Reading »

Post Game Questions for Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/28/08 at 11:28 PM
Comments (0)

The transcript of the Q&A for Penguins coach Michel Therrien after game three.

Q.  I’d like to start by just asking you, I saw you, at one point during the second period, you were having a chat with Sidney on the bench.  How would you describe the game your captain played tonight?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN:  On a big challenge like tonight, we approached our team, that was a huge challenge for us.  It wasn’t any different than Game 5 we played at home against the Rangers and Game 5 we played at home against the Flyers.  We approach it like a challenge.  And there’s no doubt that we’re looking for your best player to bring an A‑game.

And certainly Sid did that tonight.

Continue Reading »

Be Careful Michel

by Paul on 05/28/08 at 05:43 PM
Comments (1)

from Chuck Gormley at the Sporting News,

This is where the slope gets especially slippery for Therrien. An emotional coach who strokes his players with sandpaper, Therrien needs to be careful how he handles himself in the next few days and weeks.

Can anyone forget former Philadelphia Flyers coach Terry Murray being in a similar situation in the 1997 finals? Like the Penguins, his team rolled into the finals as a confident bunch, only to get waxed by the Red Wings in four straight.

Following its Game 3 loss in Detroit, Murray said his team was basically in a “choking situation,” and a few weeks later he was fired. Therrien is in a similarly precarious position right now.

more

Today with Michel Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/27/08 at 03:02 PM
Comments (10)

The media had some questions today for Penguins coach, Michel Therrien.  Transcript is below.

Q.  A couple of your players last night after the game said that they thought the style that you guys had used to great success to get to this point wasn’t working because of what Detroit was doing.  What can you do as a coach to switch up the strategy on this?  Does it need to be switched up?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN:  First of all, you’re not coming to the Stanley Cup Final and start to change all your system.  It takes years that players feel comfortable.  That’s not the way it works.

You have give credit to the Red Wings.  They played well.  They played well in their building.  This is a tough place to play.  Yesterday, I liked our work ethic.  I think our intensity was there.  We have all the reasons in the world to be optimistic as well for Game No. 3.  As good as the Red Wings is in their building, we are as good at home, too.

Continue Reading »

Monday Talk with Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/26/08 at 12:56 PM
Comments (0)

The transcript of Coach Michel Therrien’s remarks today.

Q.  What’s your power play need to do to change its luck tonight?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN:  You have to look at the big picture about our power play.  And I thought we got some quality shots last game.  We didn’t get the bounce we were looking for.  We got some traffic.

Our power play, we’re second in the playoffs.  The only teams that is ahead of us is Calgary.  They played one round.  So there is no sense to panic with our power play.  Special teams are crucial, we all know, and could make a big difference in games.

Continue Reading »

Answers From Therrien Today

by Alanah McGinley on 05/25/08 at 03:49 PM
Comments (0)

Q&A with Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien.

Q. What does Malkin have to do to re-establish himself as a dominant player in this series?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: First of all, we still have a lot of confidence in him. He’s a world-class player. He needs to stay focused. He needs to stay on top of his game. He needs to skate. He needs to battle. And if he’s doing those things, good things can happen to him.

Continue Reading »

Therrien Today

by Alanah McGinley on 05/24/08 at 02:56 PM
Comments (0)

Some questions for Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien today.

[Update 5:01pm ET: And for some thoughts from Sidney Crosby, you can check out his ESPN interview here.]

Q.  Can you talk about the decision not to practice here yesterday and not to get on the ice here until today?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN:  I’m not a big fan to change preparation, the way we do things.  It’s always been like this.  We’re not going to change because we’re in the Stanley Cup playoff.

Continue Reading »

Penguins Media Transcripts

by Alanah McGinley on 05/23/08 at 06:23 PM
Comments (0)

From Media Day in Detroit, transcripts from the Q&As with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

  • Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury
  • Michel Therrien and Ray Shero

Continue Reading »

Penguins Coach Michel Therrien After Game 5 ECF

by Paul on 05/18/08 at 06:49 PM
Comments (0)

Q.  Your team was so powerful these playoffs.  Did you think, coming in after learning in only four games last year that, you could put together a run like you put together this one?

COACH THERRIEN:  You always approach the playoff with a lot of confidence.  And the confidence that we had is the way that we’ve been finishing the year the last two months I thought we played some great hockey.

Not only offensively, but defensively, too, as well.  The way Marc‑Andre Fleury was playing, too.  There was no doubt that we were approaching every single game with a lot of confidence.  But to be quite honest, when we start the playoffs, we’re not thinking about the Stanley Cup final.  Our main focus was on the first round, and that was our philosophy with that young group.

I’m not a big fan to look on top of the mountain when there’s a lot of steps to be made.  And the next one, it’s another step.

Continue Reading »

Filed in: | KK Hockey
Tags: Michel+Therrien,

Interview with Coach Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/16/08 at 02:16 PM
Comments (0)

More talk from the coaches today, this time from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Michel Therrien.  Here’s the transcript.

Q.  I was wondering if you could assess Evgeni Malkin’s play the last three games of this series?  What have you seen in him the last three games?

COACH THERRIEN:  Yeah, you know what, he hasn’t been productive like he was in the past.  But he’s going to have to find a win next game to make sure he’s going to be productive like he used to be as soon as the playoffs start.

Continue Reading »

Game Day with Penguins’ Coach Michel Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/15/08 at 01:08 PM
Comments (0)

Getting some answers today from Pittsburgh Penguins’ coach Michel Therrien.

Q.  Can you give us an update on Gary Roberts’ status?
COACH THERRIEN:  He’s still sick.  He’s got pneumonia.  It’s a mild case, so he’s listed day‑to‑day.  He’s not going to play tonight.

Q.  Is it something you expect him back later in the playoffs?

COACH THERRIEN:  Yes, yes, hopefully.  He’s on medication right now, and we’ll go from there.

Continue Reading »

Questions for the ECF Coaches

by Alanah McGinley on 05/14/08 at 02:34 PM
Comments (0)

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien and Philadelphia Flyers coach John Stevens were both available for some questions today. 

Below are the transcripts from their respective Q&A sessions.

Continue Reading »

Talking With Coach Therrien

by Paul on 05/13/08 at 01:08 PM
Comments (0)

Q.  A couple of off‑ice issues.  Gary Roberts, how is he feeling?  Is there a chance he might play?  And Jordan Staal getting some unfortunate news.  How do you keep him focused for tonight’s game?

COACH THERRIEN:  First of all, Gary will take a decision tonight.  He’s sick this morning when he came to report to the team.  We’ll see how he’s going to feel before the game, and we’ll go from there.

Regarding Jordan, he’ll leave the team tomorrow morning, and he’s going to come back with the team tomorrow night.

Q.  How do you keep him focused for tonight’s game or do you leave him alone?

COACH THERRIEN:  This is personal.  Everybody deals with those things differently.  So he came to see me yesterday announcing the bad news, but he seems all right.  He’s focused to play tonight, and I’m sure all of his concentration will be there for tonight’s game.

Continue Reading »

Interview with Michel Therrien

by Alanah McGinley on 05/12/08 at 01:33 PM
Comments (0)

An interview today with Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien.

Q. Can you describe the conversation you had with Georges Laraque after the end of last year when you told him what you wanted him to be like physically, and what role in order to fulfill a role here?

COACH THERRIEN: Well, if there’s someone who knows Georges really well, it’s me, because I coached Georges in Juniors. I know what he’s capable of. We won a Memorial Cup together. He was an impact player on our team. That was a guy that we were looking to bring to our club. I thought we really did a great job to bring Georges in, but the Georges Laraque that I saw last year was not the Georges Laraque that I knew.

I told him at the end of the year that he needs to be in much better shape. He could be an impact player, and he took care of himself over the summer. Reported in great shape, and got a great season as far as I’m concerned.

Continue Reading »

Winning On Therrien’s Mind

by Paul on 05/11/08 at 08:00 AM
Comments (0)

from Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Now that Therrien and the Penguins are within sight of the Stanley Cup final, he is more experienced and wiser than in his early days as a coach—and those stretch to when he was 23, after knee surgery ended his playing career—but he carries the same approach.

“Everybody to some degree changes a little bit, but he keeps the same drive, the same enthusiasm,” said Penguins assistant Andre Savard, who, as the Montreal Canadiens’ general manager, had the displeasure of firing Therrien from his first NHL head-coaching job during the 2002-03 season.

“He wants to win. He wants to be prepared. He works hard to be prepared for the opposition. His drive to win, that hasn’t changed.”

more

Pens Coach Therrien After Practice Today

by Paul on 05/10/08 at 02:27 PM
Comments (1)

Q.  Max Talbot was able to practice today, can you give us an update on his status, might he play tomorrow, and, if he can, what will you do with the lineup?

COACH THERRIEN:  We’ll see tomorrow.  He looked pretty good today.  We’ll go through the morning skate and make a decision.  We’re going to sit down with him and see how he feels.  But it’s nice to see him back practicing with the boys.

Q.  Can your team execute its system any better than it did in the second and third period last night?

COACH THERRIEN:  You know, we didn’t give up a lot of scoring chance against, and a lot of credit to the players.  They really buy into it.  When we took that two goal lead, we were tough to play against.  It’s just something that we try to teach a lot with that young group through the course of the season to be able to get some success in the playoffs.
We played pretty well.  For a team that hasn’t played almost for a week, I thought we were sharp in different situations in the game.  But I’m expecting the Flyers will be better tomorrow.  There are some areas in their game that I’m expecting that we’ll be better too as well.

Continue Reading »

More Penguins Interviews

by Alanah McGinley on 05/08/08 at 03:03 PM
Comments (0)

Yesterday we posted transcripts of interviews with Ryan Malone and Michel Therrien.  Today, a few more words out of Pittsburgh, this time from Sidney Crosby and the coach.

Complete transcripts of both Q&A’s are below.

Continue Reading »

Conference Calls with the Pittsburgh Penguins

by Alanah McGinley on 05/07/08 at 03:47 PM
Comments (0)

Today, the NHL set up a series of conference calls with the media, in part featuring:

  • Ryan Malone—Pittsburgh Penguins, Left Wing
  • Michel Therrien—Pittsburgh Penguins, Coach

The transcripts of their individual Q&A sessions are available below.

Continue Reading »

Therrien On An Off Day

by Paul on 05/02/08 at 02:53 PM
Comments (1)

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Penguins… Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien participated in a conference call today…

Q: How did your team react mentally after the loss last night and do you think this will be the first real test of their composure in these playoffs?

A:  At the end of the season when we were battling for the division, their composure was really good and I believe it will be the same for the playoffs. I have to look at the big picture over the first four games; we played two at home, we played two on the road, and we have the lead 3-1 so we have to feel pretty good about ourselves. I think it is a great start. We know that we are playing against a team that is very competitive and that is very good with a lot of experience. Getting to play Game Five and have a chance to clinch the series…we have to feel pretty good about that.

Continue Reading »

Don’t Mess With Penguins’ Chemistry

by Alanah McGinley on 04/29/08 at 01:02 PM
Comments (0)

From David Shoalts at the Globe & Mail,

In fact, the team chemistry is such that head coach Michel Therrien does not want to change it even though veteran forward Gary Roberts is healthy enough to return to the lineup. Roberts, who played a big role in the first two games of the first round of the NHL playoffs before suffering a groin injury, was told in the morning that he will not play in Game Three of the Eastern Conference semi-final against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

With the Penguins holding a 2-0 series lead and Adam Hall playing well in Roberts’ place, Therrien decided to leave things as they are.

“We want Gary Roberts back in the lineup but we want him back at the right time,” Therrien said. “If we bring him back, who are we going to take out? We have great chemistry right now.”

more...

Therrien Rides The Penguins

by Paul on 04/29/08 at 08:38 AM
Comments (0)

from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

Because the Penguins are blessed with a handful of the game’s most talented players, the coach’s role in the team’s successes will always be undersold. “Ah, anyone could coach those guys,” the radio call-in guys will suggest. But if the team falters, the blame will fall squarely on Therrien’s shoulders.

“I’m not afraid to make changes and keep the players on their toes, too,” Therrien said. “To be a Stanley Cup champion, it’s demanding.”

He’s trying to teach his players that.

“They’re young. They could easily lose their focus because they’re young,” Therrien said.

So he’s on them. Constantly.

more

Therrien Now Involved In War Of Words

by Paul on 04/26/08 at 01:36 PM
Comments (0)

from Steve Zipay of Blue Notes,

The news conference was winding down and Martin Straka’s critical third-period interference penalty on Sidney Crosby wasn’t rehashed.

So Penguins coach Michel Therrien today took it upon himself to unload and perhaps ignite a war of words.

“Where I’m kind of disappointed, that there’s this gamesmanship happening before this series about Sidney drawing peanlties,” Therrien began. “I’m kinda disappointed, this is a star player that plays into traffic, a powerful skater.... and we all know what (Rangers coach) Tom Renney is trying to do, he tried to do it before we started before the series, and I see his comment today.”

continued

Mark Recchi Has Something to Prove

by Alanah McGinley on 12/12/07 at 02:39 PM
Comments (2)

From TSN,

Recchi, claimed off re-entry waivers by the Thrashers on Saturday, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he believes Penguins coach Michel Therrien was too quick to remove him from the top line and No. 1 power-play unit.

“They’ll see,” Recchi told the paper. “I didn’t get 68 points for no reason last year. In the first seven or eight games [this season], I had a point a game until the coach decided to move me down two or three lines for whatever reason. I still haven’t figured it out.”

more

Suggestions For Therrien

by Paul on 11/26/07 at 05:30 PM
Comments (0)

from Mike Madden at the Beaver County Times,

Could Michel Therrien do a better job as Penguins coach?

Let me count the ways:

Marc-Andre Fleury should start every game unless he physically needs a rest....

Sidney Crosby should play the entire two minutes of every power play…

Use Crosby and Malkin to kill penalties, especially when the Penguins have committed several infractions in a short span....

more

Shero Has No Plans To Tear Apart The Penguins

by Paul on 11/10/07 at 12:07 PM
Comments (1)

from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

The Penguins have sputtered through the first 16 games of this season, and it remains to be seen what, if anything, general manager Ray Shero is going to do about it.

Shero has made it quite clear what he won’t do.

He won’t fire coach Michel Therrien.

He won’t replace Marc-Andre Fleury as the team’s No. 1 goalie.

continued

Pens Had No Fire

by Paul on 10/11/07 at 12:35 PM
Comments (0)

from the Beaver County Times,

“We were playing well until we scored that first goal,” Therrien said. “After that, there’s no desperation on our part. That’s got to stop. They’re not consistent on the effort.”

Therrien was talking specifically about Wednesday’s game, but that lament applies to the overall pattern he’s seen through the team’s 1-2 start.

“We don’t have the fire in our eyes like we did last year,” Therrien said. “Some guys are going to have to really pick it up.”

more