Pittsburgh Penguins should not fire coach Dan Bylsma

The following was written by T.J. McAloon,  a guest to City of Champions Sports

It’s no surprise that when fans see their team not finish with a championship parade it is looked upon as a failed season. They will want changes to what didn’t work in hopes that it will fix whatever ailed the team. However, Pittsburgh Penguins fans asking for coach Dan Bylsma to be fired are thinking in knee-jerk fashion.

Mar 9, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma yells out instructions from the bench during their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. The Penguins beat the Maple Leafs 5-4 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Pens fans are acting exactly like the opposite of what Tom Cruise’s character in Jerry Maguire did after getting fired, saying, “I’m not going to do what you all think I’m going to do and just flip out!” 

Because that’s what they’re doing, after seeing a Boston Bruins sweep in the Eastern Conference final, flipping out.

This mentality, however, is exactly what the Penguins front office doesn’t do. If they did then Bylsma would have been gone after the 2011-12 season when his team was steamrolled by the Philadelphia Flyers. 

Pittsburgh’s general manager, Ray Shero, came into his current role after working as an assistant to Nashville Predators GM David Poile. Shero saw his boss stick with coach Barry Trotz through last place finishes, never making it past the first round until 2011.

Shero did fire Michel Therrien in 2009. However, he was the coach when Shero accepted his role. Bylsma, on the other hand, was Shero’s choice to lead the team’s core to a Stanley Cup championship, which he did accomplish. 

But, Penguins fans have ignored the fact that it’s hard to win multiple Stanley Cups. Up until these playoffs the Stanley Cup has been awarded to 10 different teams in 10 consecutive finals.

Byslma detractors will point to his postseason failures after his first season, all the while ignoring his regular season success. He was the fastest coach to 200 NHL wins, led the Pens to three straight 100-point season and won a Jack Adams Award as the coach of the year. The last two are something that no other Penguins coach has ever accomplished.

Then there’s the claim that he doesn’t know how to utilize his world-class talent like some of the most recently fired coaches would. 

However, among four prominent free-agent coaches – the New York Rangers’ John Tortorella, the Vancouver Canucks’ Alain Vigneault, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Guy Boucher and the Buffalo Sabres’ Lindy Ruff – only one has a Stanley Cup title and combined they have a total of three Final appearances.

That lone championship belongs to Tortorella, who won his title with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003.

All four of those replacements are no better in the postseason than Bylsma, while having world-class talent at their most recent coaching stops. And, all four potential replacements that have Penguins fans excited are false idols who will not lead this team any further than what they’ve seen this year. 

Bylsma has one year left on his current contract and should be allowed to finish out his deal. With his success and stability that he’s brought to this club it’s the least that he deserves. 

Penguins fans don’t know what they have in their current head coach. Because, if they do get their wish and he’s fired, they will see him snatched up by another team as quickly as a winger on a breakaway after a Kris Letang turnover.