Pittsburgh Penguins: Changes From Within Need to Be Embraced

On Tuesday, the Arizona Coyotes hired former Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Rick Tocchet to be their new head coach.

Rick Tocchet served the Pittsburgh Penguins for quite some time now. Although he was expendable and the move was bound to happen, it brings forth another issue this offseason, there must be changes made to our staff, or just generally within.

Now I’m not saying we need it, but change is always necessary, and we should consider embracing it if we want to continue succeeding.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Everything Starts Within

Let’s face it, no matter who the players are on the ice, it’s the coaching staff that is ultimately in charge of how much they play and the types of roles they play. We had something that worked, which led us to two straight Stanley Cups. But now it seems like things are changing, or something has to be changed.

Rick Tocchet leaving just pointed out the first signs of things that have to be changed. We just came off a Stanley Cup winning season, for the second season straight, and we already have a number of UFA’s leaving. What exactly has made this team unattractive, causing us to have holes. Aside from this fact, you have to think there has to be some changes made internally.

Finding Replacements

Mike Sullivan is a great coach. An underrated one if anything. He should be set in stone here in Pittsburgh after getting us two back-to-back championships in his two years here. But maybe the people around him can use work.

I know we have a great team and staff around us, but it makes me think, it’s always good to have some change. Tocchet is gone, someone needs to replace him. How about for other areas of the staff? Scouting? Management? I know this team has been good enough to win, but we should keep it fresh to continue winning.