The reign of Therrien

By Joe Starkey
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, February 10, 2008



Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien leans over Colby Armstrong as he gives instruction to Jordan Staal (11) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Feb. 9, in Pittsburgh. The Penguins won 4-2.
The Associated Press

If you think Michel Therrien is a bit rough around the edges now, you should have seen him coaching junior hockey.

The old Therrien -- the one who broke an opposing coach's nose in a mid-game fight at the Zamboni entrance -- makes the new Therrien -- the one who isn't afraid to publicly lambaste a player -- look tame.

But as Montreal Canadiens defenseman Francis Bouillon told me late last season, one thing holds true from Therrien's junior days.

"He didn't care if the players liked him or not," said Bouillon, who captained Therrien's Memorial Cup-winning Granby team in 1996. "The goal was to win."

So, go ahead and rip Therrien if you like. Players do, sometimes justifiably. The media does, which every coach should expect. And his methods can be maddening.

But you know what? He wins.

He's winning.

Some players, no doubt, believe the team is flourishing in spite of the coach. Plenty of observers are poised to bury Therrien at the first opportunity, believing the Penguins will never win a Stanley Cup under his guidance.

Even if that proves true, nobody will ever take this from Therrien: The first time he walked into Mellon Arena as coach, he saw how screwed up things were and had the courage to effect change.

Therrien's not the old-boys-network type, you know. And if he's not around when and if the Penguins win a Cup, he'll be secure in the knowledge that he played a major role in their evolution.

But that's a subject for the distant future.

Let's talk about how different this season is from 2006-07, when everything went right.

History shows that teams crash hard after making the kind of monstrous jump the Penguins made last season. Sure enough, they dug themselves an early hole. Then came the injuries, one after another.

Yet, the Penguins are on pace to finish with 100 points. They are 5-2-2 without Sidney Crosby, fresh off a 4-2 victory Saturday over the Los Angeles Kings and in first place in the Atlantic Division with the Philadelphia Flyers in town for a titanic battle today.

The players deserve most of the credit. They always do, in every sport. But isn't there a chance -- a teentsie, weentsie, barely detectable, infinitesimal chance -- that coaching has something to do with this?

Few seem inclined to give Therrien and his assistants, Mike Yeo and Andre Savard, much credit. A rational look at the situation should tell you that Therrien belongs in the discussion of Jack Adams Award candidates as the NHL's Coach of the Year.

Which other team in solid playoff position has overcome such hardship?

Folks were quick to jump Therrien for blaming defenseman Ryan Whitney for the loss Monday to the Devils. They shouldn't have been. Whitney's a big boy, and somebody has to play the heavy. Therrien did the same thing to goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury last season.

Both were premeditated moves, designed to motivate players Therrien knows well.

Therrien picks his spots to lash out, and most of the time, the results speak for themselves. Whitney might have come back to score twice and play a solid game Thursday even if the coach hadn't blasted him, but the harsh words sure didn't hurt.

In these parts, the inmates ran the asylum for years. One Penguins player of recent vintage was known to write down suggested trades on a piece of paper and slip them to an assistant coach.

It's safe to say that isn't happening anymore.

Sometimes slow to adapt, Therrien usually comes around. He stuck with Mark Recchi too long this season, out of respect for Recchi's veteran status, but finally gathered the gumption to remove him from the lineup.

To that point, the Penguins were 8-10-1. Since then, they are 23-9-4.

Ty Conklin obviously had a large hand in saving the season. Then again, Therrien's system has contributed to Conklin's success.

The system is rigid, but not so rigid that it stifles the offensive genius of star players such as Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who was spectacular again yesterday (two goals, assist).

So, go ahead and rip Therrien if you like. Take your best shot.

He couldn't care less.

The goal is to win.


Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com.