Mike Yeo Chopping Block

[theAmbassador]

He works PP and Defense.

Ok thanks, I just remember hearing Errey and Steigy say that at least 18 times over the past several games when our D has "held the blue line"

[Steve]

None of us are pro hockey coaches, so we aren't full of the solutions. But the bottom line is that when your team isn't producing, the coach is the one in the line of fire. Axe MT about that.

This PP, even w/o Gonchar much of the year, has been pathetic. That might be expected if you had curtain jerkers out there. But you have the top 2 points leaders in the league. And STILL you are nearly in the bottom 5 of the league for PP%. That's flat out, unadulterated crap. It's unacceptable. I don't care what they were doing last year or the year before that.

Let me restate, they have the top 2 points leaders in the league. And STILL you are nearly in the bottom 5 of the league for PP%.

Crosby does not belong in Malkin's spot. For crying out loud he has 3 PP goals on the year. THREE. T H R E E. That (Malkin not being on the RW boards) alone should be enough to fire the GD PP coach. What comes first the stupid coaching strategies or the ineptitude on the ice?

Why the french toast isn't Yeo locking himself in a room and watching video breakdowns of the top 5 PP units in the league and stealing some ideas? For the love of all gods this isn't rocket science!

That's why I won't defend the guy. HE is responsible for the PP sucking out loud, and even if his head rolling doesn't guarantee improvement, it can't really get any worse. Did I mention they are nearly in the bottom 5 PP units of the entire league?

Good post.

Another thing to consider - and this does not show up in the statistics: how many times this season has momentum changed in a game, because the other team easily killed off a 2 man disadvantage - or had their penalty kill team actually have more scoring chances than our power play unit?

These are huge momentum swings, so many times we'll work hard to get the momentum, draw the other team into a penalty, and then give it right back after floundering on the PP for two minutes. The powerplay has looked better at times recently, and I'm hoping it will break out soon - but the stuff I typed above is a real concern if it keeps occurring in the playoffs.

[Three Stars]

***, ppppppppaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhleeaaaaaaassseeeee. Questioning anyone's fandom is absurd. My fandom tells me that Yeo needs a stray puck to the groin in practice. My common sense tells me Yeo is a moron. Yeah the players have failed miserably at executing. They have also failed miserably in the try department when it comes to chasing down pucks the majority of times. However, Yeo has failed at designing a PP that exhibits numbers that even remotely resemble a powerplay boasting two of the top three leading scorers in the league along with a debatable top5 PP QB. Yeo needs his head smacked off the turnbuckle.

Yes, let's blame Yeo for what the players aren't doing. Which basically implies that we don't know what Yeo's plan actually is. Which means you're blaming him for something that you don't understand. Well done.

[Fast B]

***, ppppppppaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhleeaaaaaaassseeeee. Questioning anyone's fandom is absurd. My fandom tells me that Yeo needs a stray puck to the groin in practice. My common sense tells me Yeo is a moron. Yeah the players have failed miserably at executing. They have also failed miserably in the try department when it comes to chasing down pucks the majority of times. However, Yeo has failed at designing a PP that exhibits numbers that even remotely resemble a powerplay boasting two of the top three leading scorers in the league along with a debatable top5 PP QB. Yeo needs his head smacked off the turnbuckle.

Yes, let's blame Yeo for what the players aren't doing. Which basically implies that we don't know what Yeo's plan actually is. Which means you're blaming him for something that you don't understand. Well done.

My theory is that his head is too shiny and the reflection of the arena lights blinds the players. If only he had some type of rug to cover it up...

[sina220]

The beginning of the end for Yeo with most of the fanbase was the disastrous PP in the Cup Finals. You can make an argument it cost them the Cup.

This is exactly what I'm talking about when I say that people have unfairly had it out for Yeo.

The Pens' PP success rate in the Finals was 5/27 (18.5%). It was 5/19 (26.3%) after the team decided to show up starting in Game 3. The Pens scored five ES goals in the entire series and it was the PP that cost them the Cup? I remember the 5-on-3 that they blew late in Game 4 - I was there - but that's such misplaced criticism. Especially considering how strong Detroit's PK is, an 18.5% success rate is far from disastrous. The PP is the only place where they generated offense in the Finals.

That wasn't the beginning of the end for Yeo. People have been whining about him for at least three seasons now and only until this year has the PP been poor for any considerable stretch.

I'm going to spin this back at you a bit .

First off, If we could only muster 5 ES goals in the final 4 games, being shutout the first 2 games, then couldn't you easily blame the PP in the first 2 games for completely letting us down? Obviously Detroits defense was and is quite good, but we had 8 opportunities in the first 2 games and failed to convert on any of them. We even had 4 opportunities in the FIRST PERIOD of game 1 and only managed 12 total shots the entire period. I'm not sure how many of those shots came on the PP, but probably not all of them, putting our average under 3 shots per PP in that first period.

Secondly, to reinforce my point above. Of any team to play more than 10 playoff games we were the team with the best PP% in the playoffs before the finals. Ended up at 22.8%. Our ES play was below what the team was capable of for most of the season and playoffs. We managed only 34 5v5 goals in the playoffs but managed 20 PP goals. That's 37% of our goals coming on the PP, by far the highest ration of PP Goals/Goals of any team in the playoffs. Seeing that stat and realizing the team was so dependant on the PP should enhance the fact that the PP was a let down in the Finals. You could say 5 ES goals and 5 PP goals makes it look the reverse because PP goals accounted for 50% of our goals in the finals, but, the first 2 shutouts really skew the ES numbers in the finals because it would probably have been safe to assume before the finals the Pens would have scored a few more ES than PP goals in those 2 games. The key being 2 games or opportunities lost to increase the ES to PP ratio. To boot the PP ratio is skewed in game 6 because the only 2 goals we managed were PP goals, slighly inflating the ratio. So in essence my thought is that the ES play did hamper us in finals but the PP failed to set the tone early in the series and probably was a detriment to our ES numbers because of momentum lost and gained by Detroit from its failure early in the series. Regardless of the eventual PP numbers from the series, 0 for 8 in the first 2 games was just pathetic when the team had relied on the PP so much earlier in the playoffs. 0 for 4 in the 1st period of game 1 is just as bad.

And lastly, The reason I think this goes on Yeo. I think quite simply the problem is a stale, old, PP. The problem started last season around the 2/3 mark when teams began recognizing our tendancies, but this problem soon went away when Hossa was brought in and our talent level became so superior. Once we hit a team with equal talent, and who knew those tendancies, we were stoned by Detroit.

Now this season. Coming in all the teams in our conference, and probably the league, knew those tendancies. Combine that with the fact that our talent level wasn't as high and we were bound to see a decrease in production. But the thing is, the problem could have been fixed. Changes should have been made early on to adapt to the new players as well as the injured players, but the changes were never made. We've been running the same basic PP, regardless of injuries etc, since 2 years ago. Malkin-at-the-point aside, the configuration has generally been the same - 2 players at the point, one on the right wall, one behind/infront/next to the net, and one on the left wall. Almost always focusing on a shot from the point as the primary option and defaulting to the near wall after that. We only get to see the umbrella when the normal PP hasn't worked for a few periods, same goes for most other changes to the PP. But it shouldn't take 2 periods of horrid PP play to cause these changes, as they shouldn't even be changes. The PP unit(s) should have plays memorized and configurations memorized so that the PP is dynamic, constantly adjusting and adapting to what should work the best.

It's this lack of dynamic, that creeped in last season and has taken hold this season, that makes me point directly to the coach involved. It's up to him to make sure our players can adapt and adjust to be more successful.

[SoupOrSam]

***, ppppppppaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhleeaaaaaaassseeeee. Questioning anyone's fandom is absurd. My fandom tells me that Yeo needs a stray puck to the groin in practice. My common sense tells me Yeo is a moron. Yeah the players have failed miserably at executing. They have also failed miserably in the try department when it comes to chasing down pucks the majority of times. However, Yeo has failed at designing a PP that exhibits numbers that even remotely resemble a powerplay boasting two of the top three leading scorers in the league along with a debatable top5 PP QB. Yeo needs his head smacked off the turnbuckle.

Yes, let's blame Yeo for what the players aren't doing. Which basically implies that we don't know what Yeo's plan actually is. Which means you're blaming him for something that you don't understand. Well done.

I understand it perfectly. It's a shame you do not. Apparently NEITHER DO THE PLAYERS. I've never seen a pp with the superstars of players we have so disorganized even carrying it into the offensive zone. I am guessing the players do not understand what that bald-headed turd has in his little head either. I can only assume Yeo has cream of wheat for a brain. I actually prefer my meat more on the raw side... well done just is not tasty.

[brwi]

The beginning of the end for Yeo with most of the fanbase was the disastrous PP in the Cup Finals. You can make an argument it cost them the Cup.

It played a major part. If we convert on a few of those PPs, there is a game 7.

Do you not think the Wings had something to do with the PP struggling? The Pens were barely getting any pressure on the Wings for most of the series and the puck possession was extremely lopsided....that carried over into the PP naturally too.

I'm not going to defend Yeo and some of the aspects of the PP are sort of mind-numbing like Malkin on the point, but I see a lot of really ignorant criticisms directed at him. The BS about "we got to have this left-handed shot here or right-handed shot there" shows a real lack of hockey knowledge. Last year's #1 PP was the Habs and that featured ALL left-handed shots on the first unit and 4 lefties on the 2nd unit. They converted PP's regardless of not having RHers anywhere on the ice. It doesn't matter when you're working as a 5man unit.

Another criticism Yeo gets blamed for is 5 Penguins standing still playing catch. Does anyone really believe someone on the coaching staff past or present is instructing the players to stand around and stare at Sid or Malkin? Pens have changed personnel to try and fix problems, but it hasn't happened yet. I put the fault squarely on both the players and the coaches, and that includes DB as HC too. I am optimistic that come playoff time the new guys in Guerin and Kunitz will help kickstart the PP and Gonchar won't have to be the main focus of anything and everything PP.

[Bob McKenzie]

The beginning of the end for Yeo with most of the fanbase was the disastrous PP in the Cup Finals. You can make an argument it cost them the Cup.

It played a major part. If we convert on a few of those PPs, there is a game 7.

Do you not think the Wings had something to do with the PP struggling? The Pens were barely getting any pressure on the Wings for most of the series and the puck possession was extremely lopsided....that carried over into the PP naturally too.

I wasn't aware the Pens only played the Wings this season and that's why the PP continues to struggle

I didn't say anything regarding the 5 on 5 play. We're talking about the PP this year and there were points brought up as to the struggles of them playing the 5 on 3's last season.

[penmyst]

Guys don't randomly decide to stand still. Every PP...every period...every game.

They set up in positions according to what the coach wants. The coach also instructs them on what he wants them to do.

When people play the "does anyone believe the coaches tell the players to stand still out there" card, I'm going to always come back with the "if he is telling them something different, and they aren't doing it-- why aren't they sitting on the bench WATCHING the PP" card. Because ultimately, the coach DOES have control over who is out there. Do you expect us to believe that the coaches don't care if the players (supposedly) aren't listening? If the coach does nothing about that, then let's be honest- the blame is on him. I'm sure if guys were ignoring the coach, and he sat them while guys like Kennedy, Goddard, and Dupuis were out there in their stead-- they'd start listening real fast yeah? That's exactly why I do believe that the players are playing the PP exactly how the coach wants them to.