Mike Yeo Chopping Block

[Fast B]

I realize that this is not a popular sentiment...

...but one has to assume that there's more to this than we the fans understand. They had the opportunity to fire Mike Yeo, but they didn't. That had to be for a reason.

And no, the reason is not "we're smarter than they are".

I'm sure the Islanders also had a reason for promoting their backup goaltender to general manager, but it doesn't mean it wasn't a stupid reason.

[shortbird II]

I realize that this is not a popular sentiment...

...but one has to assume that there's more to this than we the fans understand. They had the opportunity to fire Mike Yeo, but they didn't. That had to be for a reason.

And no, the reason is not "we're smarter than they are".

I'm sure the Islanders also had a reason for promoting their backup goaltender to general manager, but it doesn't mean it wasn't a stupid reason.

JT91

II

[Bob McKenzie]

Is it time for another online "Fire Mike Yeo petition?"

[It'sagreatdayforhockey!]

lol wow.... 56 votes to fire him

0 votes for no.


Well, we have atleast proven 1 thing. Mike Yeo does not post on this board, neither do his family or friends.

[K2]

I wish I could could chop block Mike Yeo.

+1

[Nihar]

Anybody who thinks putting the leagues top scorer on the left point so he can run the back-door play ala the great Ryan Whitney deserves to be fire, hired, and then immediately fired again.

100% agree. This Power play looked awesome last year running through Malkin now we are making him our third option on the left wing boards. Really well thought out. I love Crosby as a player, but he should be down low on the goal line or off to the right of the goalie because he can't score from where he is at, so teams take away the pass. It's useless.

I would argue that Malkin is the last option on the PP right now, or at least next to last after Kunitz.

The only reason Malkin isn't playing the right wing boards is because it's thought to be "Sid's postion." So our team is made less effective by our coaching staff just to make Sid happy. Malkin is a much better option there than Sid is.

how do you know? is this just sepculation?

[sina220]

I realize that this is not a popular sentiment...

...but one has to assume that there's more to this than we the fans understand. They had the opportunity to fire Mike Yeo, but they didn't. That had to be for a reason.

And no, the reason is not "we're smarter than they are".

Shero and DB both said at the presser when DB was hired that Yeo was sticking around because Disco Dan had worked with him in the past and they got along well. They also said that they thought Yeo would help Dan's transition with the big club because he knew about the players strengths and weaknesses and could better inform Dan with any personel decisions. Terrible Idea. I thought Yeo was a clown under MT, and his make-up has smeared even more under Bylsma.

He just doesn't adjust. It reminds me of the Steelers under Cowher. We were either going to win the game the "Steeler" way or get hammered by a team that had figured out the "Steeler" way. Teams that had talented recievers, specifically, could tear our zone coverage apart. This was especially true when we had the likes of Ricardo Colclough and an aged Willie Williams at corner. But we never adjusted, never tried to play man coverage, we never bumped right off the line, and we rarely tightened up our zones. I directly credit this lack of strategizing to the fact that Cowher should have at least had this team playing in 1 more Superbowl and probably should have won 1 more as well.

Yeo seems to employ the same strategy on the PP. It'll either work his way or keep failing bacause he's shown no signs of adjusting. We get a 30 second glimpse once and a while of what another personel configuration would look like on the PP, but the new personel are still trying to run the same pathetic plays.


And FYI, Andre Savard has also been assigned to another position within the organization. He wasn't fired.


EDIT: I even forgot to mention; We've got a guy within the orgnization who coached our PP to set a new record for PP goals 2 years in a row in the early 90's. Ed Johnston! Why isn't he running the PP? He was a genius at it back in the day, using a lot of basketball screens and picks if I remember correctly.

[booboo]

He just doesn't adjust. It reminds me of the Steelers under Cowher. We were either going to win the game the "Steeler" way or get hammered by a team that had figured out the "Steeler" way. Teams that had talented recievers, specifically, could tear our zone coverage apart. This was especially true when we had the likes of Ricardo Colclough and an aged Willie Williams at corner. But we never adjusted, never tried to play man coverage, we never bumped right off the line, and we rarely tightened up our zones. I directly credit this lack of strategizing to the fact that Cowher should have at least had this team playing in 1 more Superbowl and probably should have won 1 more as well.

And FYI, Andre Savard has also been assigned to another position within the organization. He wasn't fired.

EDIT: I even forgot to mention; We've got a guy within the orgnization who coached our PP to set a new record for PP goals 2 years in a row in the early 90's. Ed Johnston! Why isn't he running the PP? He was a genius at it back in the day, using a lot of basketball screens and picks if I remember correctly.

Maybe Yeo should switch to coaching football? He could not be less effective in that than he is with the Penguins PP.

I am intrigued with your suggestion about EJ. I'd go for it right away.

As for Savard, what is his current position with the club?
I do not see him being mentioned on the staff anymore.

[sina220]

Maybe Yeo should switch to coaching football? He could not be less effective in that than he is with the Penguins PP.

I am intrigued with your suggestion about EJ. I'd go for it right away.

As for Savard, what is his current position with the club?
I do not see him being mentioned on the staff anymore.

I don't know what Savard's position is, but it's probably an interim scout until they decide what to do about the long-term future of the coaching staff. Here's the quote though that says he's still in the organization.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?servi ... eid=409456" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Therrien was relieved of his duties this evening, and assistant coach Andre Savard was reassigned within the organization."

EJ may be getting a little old to actually be coaching from the bench, but if he could just draw some plays on napkins for Yeo to stuff in his pocket we'd probably begin to see improvement. Use Yeo as EJ's mouthpiece in essence and take Yeo's brain out of the equation.

[Pens15]

Every new Yeo thread, I have the same response.

I'm not a Yeo supporter by any means. I could care less if he gets canned.

But it's ridiculous how people continue to brutally lash out and scapegoat Yeo for the PP struggles. It's not Yeo who struggles to get the puck into the zone, not Yeo who can't chase down pucks, not Yeo who plays nonchalantly, not Yeo who wastes 20 seconds to retreat and set up every time the opponent clears it. Most importantly, it's not Yeo who can't finish plays and chances.

Blame goes to Crosby and Malkin, first and foremost. They're given too much freedom and seem to lack the urgency and determination to score any way possible, but prefer to dilly-dally and wait for the perfect play. I've seen enough of Geno, Sid and Gonch playing catch on the perimeter for 45 seconds. Give Staal and Kennedy more role on the PP. At least those guys will try to score anyway they can.

[booboo]

Every new Yeo thread, I have the same response.

I'm not a Yeo supporter by any means. I could care less if he gets canned.

But it's ridiculous how people continue to brutally lash out and scapegoat Yeo for the PP struggles. It's not Yeo who struggles to get the puck into the zone, not Yeo who can't chase down pucks, not Yeo who plays nonchalantly, not Yeo who wastes 20 seconds to retreat and set up every time the opponent clears it. Most importantly, it's not Yeo who can't finish plays and chances.

Blame goes to Crosby and Malkin, first and foremost. They're given too much freedom and seem to lack the urgency and determination to score any way possible, but prefer to dilly-dally and wait for the perfect play. I've seen enough of Geno, Sid and Gonch playing catch on the perimeter for 45 seconds. *Give Staal and Kennedy more role on the PP*. At least those guys will try to score anyway they can.

And to whom are you addressing your request?
It cannot be Yeo, right

[Pens15]

Every new Yeo thread, I have the same response.

I'm not a Yeo supporter by any means. I could care less if he gets canned.

But it's ridiculous how people continue to brutally lash out and scapegoat Yeo for the PP struggles. It's not Yeo who struggles to get the puck into the zone, not Yeo who can't chase down pucks, not Yeo who plays nonchalantly, not Yeo who wastes 20 seconds to retreat and set up every time the opponent clears it. Most importantly, it's not Yeo who can't finish plays and chances.

Blame goes to Crosby and Malkin, first and foremost. They're given too much freedom and seem to lack the urgency and determination to score any way possible, but prefer to dilly-dally and wait for the perfect play. I've seen enough of Geno, Sid and Gonch playing catch on the perimeter for 45 seconds. *Give Staal and Kennedy more role on the PP*. At least those guys will try to score anyway they can.

And to whom are you addressing your request?
It cannot be Yeo, right

Yeah, Yeo, Bylsma, whoever. I'm not defending Yeo, I just think it's ridiculous how much venom he gets when it should be on the players.

[npv708]

This thread sounds like something...


could probably sell...

[booboo]

His job is to arrange the players in a way that gives them a chance to perform to their strengths.
We do not see that happening, hence the blame.

[Pens15]

His job is to arrange the players in a way that gives them a chance to perform to their strengths.
We do not see that happening, hence the blame.

I just don't see bad arrangement is the real problem with our PP. I think it's player attitudes.

[Bob McKenzie]

EDIT: I even forgot to mention; We've got a guy within the orgnization who coached our PP to set a new record for PP goals 2 years in a row in the early 90's. Ed Johnston! Why isn't he running the PP? He was a genius at it back in the day, using a lot of basketball screens and picks if I remember correctly.

I'm glad you brought this up. I've been whining about this for a while.

EJ is one of the best in the game about knowing what to do with the PP. Wonder why Rob Brown got 48 goals that year?

This is a no brainer to me.

[sina220]

Every new Yeo thread, I have the same response.

I'm not a Yeo supporter by any means. I could care less if he gets canned.

But it's ridiculous how people continue to brutally lash out and scapegoat Yeo for the PP struggles. It's not Yeo who struggles to get the puck into the zone, not Yeo who can't chase down pucks, not Yeo who plays nonchalantly, not Yeo who wastes 20 seconds to retreat and set up every time the opponent clears it. Most importantly, it's not Yeo who can't finish plays and chances.

Blame goes to Crosby and Malkin, first and foremost. They're given too much freedom and seem to lack the urgency and determination to score any way possible, but prefer to dilly-dally and wait for the perfect play. I've seen enough of Geno, Sid and Gonch playing catch on the perimeter for 45 seconds. *Give Staal and Kennedy more role on the PP*. At least those guys will try to score anyway they can.

And to whom are you addressing your request?
It cannot be Yeo, right

Yeah, Yeo, Bylsma, whoever. I'm not defending Yeo, I just think it's ridiculous how much venom he gets when it should be on the players.

It should have been on the players. Key phrase: "should have". With the injuries at the begining of the year you couldn't really blame Yeo, especially after how good the PP was last season. It was all on the players at that point. Even when we started to get guys like Whit and Gonchar back it was still all on the players to work out the kinks. After the Fire/Hire of Therrien/Bylsma it was still on the players. Since these events however there has been little improvement on the PP, although the team seems to have improved in every other facet during this time.

That last sentance points to why it is now completely on Yeo. He was given the pass early on from residue from last season and given a pass during the injuries. But he's got a fully healthy and more talented squad now and we've seen no dividends from it. The players can try as hard as they want but if they aren't taught new plays to run or ways to counter certain PKs then no amount of talent or drive in the world will help you. I usually can count the amount of times we run a set play on the PP during a game with half the fingers on my right hand. And that's not necessarily a "good" set play, just an attempt. It mostly seems like our players have no direction, and maybe have been taught 3 recurring plays. Teams like Washington and Chicago seem to have a different play in mind for almost every single shot they want to take on the PP. The Penguins seem to have a single play in mind for the entire duration of their PP.

It's also up to Yeo to put his players in spots they're most likely to succeed in. Malkin on either point isn't a way of doing that. Crosby on the right boards isn't a way to do that. Sykora in front of the net isn't a way to do that. Etc.

Our talent appears to be hampered by Yeo's scheming. It should be illuminated.

[Bob McKenzie]

Every new Yeo thread, I have the same response.

I'm not a Yeo supporter by any means. I could care less if he gets canned.

But it's ridiculous how people continue to brutally lash out and scapegoat Yeo for the PP struggles. It's not Yeo who struggles to get the puck into the zone, not Yeo who can't chase down pucks, not Yeo who plays nonchalantly, not Yeo who wastes 20 seconds to retreat and set up every time the opponent clears it. Most importantly, it's not Yeo who can't finish plays and chances.

Blame goes to Crosby and Malkin, first and foremost. They're given too much freedom and seem to lack the urgency and determination to score any way possible, but prefer to dilly-dally and wait for the perfect play. I've seen enough of Geno, Sid and Gonch playing catch on the perimeter for 45 seconds. *Give Staal and Kennedy more role on the PP*. At least those guys will try to score anyway they can.

And to whom are you addressing your request?
It cannot be Yeo, right

Yeah, Yeo, Bylsma, whoever. I'm not defending Yeo, I just think it's ridiculous how much venom he gets when it should be on the players.

Disagree. As a player in any sport, you as a player have to follow the instructions of the coaches. Your ability only goes so far. You can have the greatest talent on the PP in the world (Sid/Malkin/Gonchar) and have poor instruction which leads to poor execution.

This should be evident under the past month when the difference between the Pens under MT and DB came to light.

We are currently at 15.8% on the PP. The Islanders are almost a full 1% higher than us. Tampa Bay is over 2% higher than us. We're a bottom feeder on the PP and with the talent we have it shouldn't be anywhere close to that.

The PP is the difference in this team being a team to watch out for in playing and being a team that is downright frightening no one wants to play.

[Pens15]

It should have been on the players. Key phrase: "should have". With the injuries at the begining of the year you couldn't really blame Yeo, especially after how good the PP was last season. It was all on the players at that point. Even when we started to get guys like Whit and Gonchar back it was still all on the players to work out the kinks. After the Fire/Hire of Therrien/Bylsma it was still on the players. Since these events however there has been little improvement on the PP, although the team seems to have improved in every other facet during this time.

That last sentance points to why it is now completely on Yeo. He was given the pass early on from residue from last season and given a pass during the injuries. But he's got a fully healthy and more talented squad now and we've seen no dividends from it. The players can try as hard as they want but if they aren't taught new plays to run or ways to counter certain PKs then no amount of talent or drive in the world will help you. I usually can count the amount of times we run a set play on the PP during a game with half the fingers on my right hand. And that's not necessarily a "good" set play, just an attempt. It mostly seems like our players have no direction, and maybe have been taught 3 recurring plays. Teams like Washington and Chicago seem to have a different play in mind for almost every single shot they want to take on the PP. The Penguins seem to have a single play in mind for the entire duration of their PP.

It's also up to Yeo to put his players in spots they're most likely to succeed in. Malkin on either point isn't a way of doing that. Crosby on the right boards isn't a way to do that. Sykora in front of the net isn't a way to do that. Etc.

Our talent appears to be hampered by Yeo's scheming. It should be illuminated.

But for all the changes you mention, some things have remained constant, which is that Malkin and Crosby basically control the puck and run the power-play. Even with Gonch back, the style doesn't change.

The lack of direction that you describe, the ineffective free-lancing, lack of structure, lack of urgency, etc....is not on Yeo, it's on the players, because that's the way they approach the power-play. That's what I mean by it being on the players.

I think you give Yeo too much credit if you think the players are like robots that do whatever he programs them to do.

[sina220]

EDIT: I even forgot to mention; We've got a guy within the orgnization who coached our PP to set a new record for PP goals 2 years in a row in the early 90's. Ed Johnston! Why isn't he running the PP? He was a genius at it back in the day, using a lot of basketball screens and picks if I remember correctly.

I'm glad you brought this up. I've been whining about this for a while.

EJ is one of the best in the game about knowing what to do with the PP. Wonder why Rob Brown got 48 goals that year?

This is a no brainer to me.

Lets keep the EJ Karma flowing man, he's having a ceremony before the game today to honor 25 years of service to the team. He said in an interview recently that he's probably retiring from his full-time position this summer and will help the team in a lesser capacity moving forward.

Let's get one last good stretch run and playoff's worth of plays and ideas from his noggin before he calls it quits! The man really is one of the original geniuses of hockey.

[DelPen]

His job is to arrange the players in a way that gives them a chance to perform to their strengths.
We do not see that happening, hence the blame.

I just don't see bad arrangement is the real problem with our PP. I think it's player attitudes.

So every single player we have had on the top PP unit from Gonchar, Whitney, Gogo, Letang, Crosby, Malkin, Satan, Sykora, Staal, Fedotenko, Guerin, and Kunitz all have poor attitudes in regards to the PP?

Only one thing has remained constant through this abomination and that's Yeo is behind the design. I think the players are executing his plan perfectly, it's just that is has always been a stupid plan that was never going to succeed.

[sina220]

But for all the changes you mention, some things have remained constant, which is that Malkin and Crosby basically control the puck and run the power-play. Even with Gonch back, the style doesn't change.

The lack of direction that you describe, the ineffective free-lancing, lack of structure, lack of urgency, etc....is not on Yeo, it's on the players, because that's the way they approach the power-play. That's what I mean by it being on the players.

I think you give Yeo too much credit if you think the players are like robots that do whatever he programs them to do.

I disagree with the first part, but I think it also helps illustrate my point. I think Gonch and Crosby control the puck more than Malkin does now that Gonchar is back. Gonchar is the focal point. That part I'd say has changed, but that change should have resulted in increased production which is yet to happen. That points to the fact that with the addition of Gonchar to the PP there were no strategy changes made to utilize 3 superstars instead of two.

The second part, I don't know how you can say most of those things are on the players. I understand you think the players have a laisse-faire (sp) attitude about the PP, but even that has to do with coaching. The roaming, lack of direction, and "lost" freelancing are direct derivatives from the Pens lack of structure on the PP. That's what Yeo's job is supposed to be, providing structure, creativity, and direction on the PP.

You can even tell a divide exists between the players regarding what to do on the powerplay. Often times I'll watch Crosby trying to work a give-and-go with a down low player all the while having Geno roaming all over the blueline calling for the puck for a slapshot. Often also, Geno will try and dangle the puck into the slot for a shot, completely oblivious to whether or not we've got players in position to retrieve the puck or bang in a rebound. Both of our teams Superstars are obviosuly on different pages at the same time on the same sheet of ice, and there's absolutely no excuse for that.

They should have at minimum 4 or 5 plays in their heads that could be called out and ran like clockwork to create an open shot somewhere on the ice. With the talent we have there's no reason "bang, bang" type plays shouldn't be able to be ran from memory, game in, game out.

And BTW, if there ever was a time I want Gonch, Crosby, or Malkin to hold the puck, it's on the PP. The PP is the one time where I want them to make the perfect play for the open net goal. That's what should happen with a man advantage when someone should always be wide open. They just need someone drawing up better plays that better utilize our strengths and creativity and someone who can actually teach them how to react to different types of PKs.

[brwi]

Lets keep the EJ Karma flowing man, he's having a ceremony before the game today to honor 25 years of service to the team. He said in an interview recently that he's probably retiring from his full-time position this summer and will help the team in a lesser capacity moving forward.

Let's get one last good stretch run and playoff's worth of plays and ideas from his noggin before he calls it quits! The man really is one of the original geniuses of hockey.

Hopefully, he'll have more time so he can accept a GM or HC position for another team

[Pens15]

His job is to arrange the players in a way that gives them a chance to perform to their strengths.
We do not see that happening, hence the blame.

I just don't see bad arrangement is the real problem with our PP. I think it's player attitudes.

So every single player we have had on the top PP unit from Gonchar, Whitney, Gogo, Letang, Crosby, Malkin, Satan, Sykora, Staal, Fedotenko, Guerin, and Kunitz all have poor attitudes in regards to the PP?

Only one thing has remained constant through this abomination and that's Yeo is behind the design. I think the players are executing his plan perfectly, it's just that is has always been a stupid plan that was never going to succeed.

I wouldn't say poor attitude, I would just say bad approach. And I think all it takes is Malkin and Crosby to have that, and the rest of the players will follow them. For example, you might try putting TK on the PP to get some more hustle and tenacity. But if you put him out there with Malkin and Crosby running the show, controlling the puck, he'll end up being influenced by them.

[Pens15]

But for all the changes you mention, some things have remained constant, which is that Malkin and Crosby basically control the puck and run the power-play. Even with Gonch back, the style doesn't change.

The lack of direction that you describe, the ineffective free-lancing, lack of structure, lack of urgency, etc....is not on Yeo, it's on the players, because that's the way they approach the power-play. That's what I mean by it being on the players.

I think you give Yeo too much credit if you think the players are like robots that do whatever he programs them to do.

I disagree with the first part, but I think it also helps illustrate my point. I think Gonch and Crosby control the puck more than Malkin does now that Gonchar is back. Gonchar is the focal point. That part I'd say has changed, but that change should have resulted in increased production which is yet to happen. That points to the fact that with the addition of Gonchar to the PP there were no strategy changes made to utilize 3 superstars instead of two.

The second part, I don't know how you can say most of those things are on the players. I understand you think the players have a laisse-faire (sp) attitude about the PP, but even that has to do with coaching. The roaming, lack of direction, and "lost" freelancing are direct derivatives from the Pens lack of structure on the PP. That's what Yeo's job is supposed to be, providing structure, creativity, and direction on the PP.

You can even tell a divide exists between the players regarding what to do on the powerplay. Often times I'll watch Crosby trying to work a give-and-go with a down low player all the while having Geno roaming all over the blueline calling for the puck for a slapshot. Often also, Geno will try and dangle the puck into the slot for a shot, completely oblivious to whether or not we've got players in position to retrieve the puck or bang in a rebound. Both of our teams Superstars are obviosuly on different pages at the same time on the same sheet of ice, and there's absolutely no excuse for that.

They should have at minimum 4 or 5 plays in their heads that could be called out and ran like clockwork to create an open shot somewhere on the ice. With the talent we have there's no reason "bang, bang" type plays shouldn't be able to be ran from memory, game in, game out.

And BTW, if there ever was a time I want Gonch, Crosby, or Malkin to hold the puck, it's on the PP. The PP is the one time where I want them to make the perfect play for the open net goal. That's what should happen with a man advantage when someone should always be wide open. They just need someone drawing up better plays that better utilize our strengths and creativity and someone who can actually teach them how to react to different types of PKs.

You make some good points. I like what you are saying about set plays, and it would seem to be the coach's job to institute some set plays. But yet I suspect that Malkin and Sid like things the way they are. Set plays would seem to limit their creativity.