Hate to say this, but it is not a big surprise that Eddie Olczyk became the first NHL coached FIRED this year. Though he was a good, solid hockey player in his day, he didn’t have ANY coaching experience before getting this job. And given the roster GM Craig Patrick brought in this year, it is more surprising that they gave Eddie as long as they did.
Eddie Olczyk behind the Penguins bench with owner/player Mario Lemieux sitting in front.
I don’t see his replacement doing much better, that being Michel Therrien. Then again, just the fact that the coaching staff was fired might be enough to wake the team up. The Pens have been terribly underachieving this year, expected to be a shoe-in for the playoffs, they have been playing more like a team having a shot at the first draft pick again.
Therrien supposedly is someone that demands hard work. That is what they need. But with Mario taking regular shifts, it makes it hard to find someone that can command the respect needed. Mario isn’t the type to undermind what the coach is doing, but I am sure just his presence could.
Also to follow up something that I MENTIONED before, the Pens are getting closer and closer to moving. Mario was quoted in this ARTICLE that the possibility of the team moving is becoming more real.
December 15th, 2005 at 4:01 pm
How hard does it have to be to coach the owner?
December 15th, 2005 at 5:59 pm
I would say extremely. You also have to remember that Mario is ALREADY a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player. So unless you are a legend already (Scotty Bowman or Al Arbour) or have a reputation for being a real hard-ass (Mike Keenan), there probably isn’t much you can hope for other then just trying to keep everyone’s head level.