After firing longtime head coach Dan Bylsma, the Pittsburgh Penguins handed over the reins to an intriguing replacement who will offer fresh ideas and cerebral in-game adjustments. The Penguins reached into the WHL to pry 57-year-old Mike Johnston from the Portland Winterhawks – and it’s a move that’s going to pay off for the underperforming Pens.
Johnston previously served as an assistant/associate coach for the Vancouver Canucks between 1999 and 2006. He then moved on to work as an assistant for the Los Angeles Kings from 2006 to 2008. Pittsburgh will be his first NHL head coaching gig. Despite his lack of NHL head coaching experience, Johnston will be everything that Bylsma wasn’t.
Last season marked the fifth consecutive playoffs that the Penguins were eliminated by a lower-seeded opponent. Prior to his firing, Bylsma received heavy criticism for his head-scratching lineup decisions, style of play, and questionable in-game management. The Penguins blew a 3-1 series lead over the New York Rangers, as Bylsma was outcoached by the savvy Alain Vigneault.
Bylsma’s Penguins tended to be over-reliant on high-risk stretch passes. When it didn’t work, the Penguins were susceptible to the counterattack.
With the hiring of Johnston, the Penguins will be getting many of the similar coaching attributes that Vigneault used to transform the Rangers from a stale, defensive-minded team into an intelligent, possession-dominant team.
“His coaching style is going to be a good for the players we have here with the Penguins,” Rutherford said. “It’s an up-tempo style, but it begins from deep in the defensive zone. We’re very excited to have him.”
An up-tempo style that starts from the defensive zone? That sounds a lot like the kind of system that Vigneault runs in New York. If you can’t beat them, emulate them. Johnston is the closest thing to a carbon copy of Vigneault.
The Penguins regressed into a mediocre puck possession team during the past two seasons. Johnston’s system will have the Penguins trending upward in possession statistics.
At his June 25 introductory press conference, Johnston outlined his philosophies.
“I want to play a pace game,” Johnston said. “I want to play a possession game. You own the puck, you play defensively a lot less. Certainly, I like the core of players here – both the defense and the forwards to be able to play that style of game. I think Pittsburgh was built on the makeup of that style, that’s the team I’d like to coach.”
Penguins fans will see their defensemen carrying the puck with greater frequency and not firing risky long-distance stretch passes. This should be an ideal match for the smooth-skating Kris Letang and promising 20-year-old blue-liner Olli Maatta.
Johnston will enter training camp ready to impart his fresh ideas to a group of highly-motivated players looking to prove they aren’t a team in decline. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Co. are determined to ensure this group is capable of living up to their high expectations as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
The marriage of Johnston to a team loaded with stars such as Crosby, Malkin, and Letang makes a lot of sense. Bylsma tended to lean heavily on dump and chase tactics that weren’t ideally suited to his roster. Johnston appears to have what it takes to get the most out of the tools at his disposal by incorporating them into his up-tempo, high possession system.
