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Crosby’s reputation taking a hit

By John Mehno for The 4 min read
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PITTSBURGH — A couple of Sidney Crosby notes as the year comes to an end with hope that seven points in four games might mean he’s coming around:

— Kevin Allen of USA Today assembled a panel of six hockey people and gave them a task: Use the current NHL talent pool and draft a team that could compete for a championship now and still be viable in five years.

The six men doing the choosing were Craig Button, Eddie Olczyk, Doug MacLean, Pierre McGuire, Tom Laidlaw and Neil Smith.

Crosby was picked, but not until the third round. He was the ninth forward chosen, after Connor McDavid, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Jamie Benn, John Tavares, Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and Claude Giroux.

Gives an indication of how this season’s slump has dented Crosby’s reputation.

— In a media story of far less note, the New York Post had a screaming headline proclaiming Crosby as a coach killer.

Current coach Mike Sullivan is Crosby’s fifth. His first was Olczyk, who was completely unqualified for the job.

Nothing demonstrated how badly general manager Craig Patrick had lost his grip more than the selection of Olczyk, who had no coaching experience whatsoever.

Then it was Michel Therrien. He left when the entire team got weary from his hard-driving style and responded well to the lighter touch of Dan Bylsma.

It seemed like Bylsma was here forever until his playoff failures resulted in a complete overhaul of the hockey department.

That led to Mike Johnston, who was fired earlier in the month. If the Penguins had scored a few more power play goals, Johnston would probably still be on the job and Sullivan would still be in Wilkes Barre.

NHL teams chew up coaches pretty regularly, and the Penguins fit the same profile.

There were coach-killing teams in a previous generation. The teams led by current co-owner Mario Lemieux had direct conflict with Pierre Creamer, Gene Ubriaco and Scotty Bowman.

The players famously asked Patrick to ban Bowman from practices because they didn’t like the coach yelling at them.

Coach killer had a legitimate meaning then. It doesn’t now.

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It’s a positive sign that Marc-Andre Fleury was on the ice to face some shots on Tuesday, his first hockey activity since a concussion forced him out of the lineup on Dec. 15.

His absence hasn’t been the problem it might have been because subs Jeff Zatkoff and Matt Murray have done good work.

The Penguins have admirable depth in goaltending. Wonder if they might consider trading one of their prospects to get some help at forward or on defense?

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If you can stand one more Christmas leftover, gather around the piano and sing this recap to the tune of “Deck The Hall.”

Sid the Kid is on a skid,

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Can he do what he once did?

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Looking ‘way too ordinary,

Fa la la la la la la la la.

That’s a trend that’s very scary.

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Dumped the coach for ho-hum start,

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Stars still need to do their part.

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Kessel has to earn his cash,

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Or there will be big backlash.

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Fleury’s solid, he’s the one,

Fa la la la la la la la la.

He could lead a long Cup run,

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Need to pick up and start scoring,

Fa la la la la la la la la.

Who dreamed this team could be so boring?

Fa la la la la la la la la.

John Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com

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