May 10, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray (30) and right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) and defenseman Brian Dumoulin (8) and defenseman Trevor Daley (6) celebrate their overtime win against the Washington Capitals in game six of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center.Charles LeClaire
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, playing the Tampa Bay Lightning – not necessarily because of Sidney Crosby (still great after all these years); or Evgeni Malkin (solid lately but not spectacular) or even Kris Letang (a dynamo when healthy).
All three were key elements of last year's Penguins' team, which lost a desultory first-round playoff series to the New York Rangers and looked dead flat doing so. At this time a year ago, dissecting that loss, there was talk in Pittsburgh about blowing up the core because its championship window was closing fast.
Instead, the Penguins have been revitalized on the fly by unexpected sources – players and coaches, who received second chances from the organization after falling out of favour elsewhere.
"I better believe in second chances, because I've had enough in my lifetime," quipped the man providing them, Penguins' general manager Jim Rutherford. "Sometimes, it's not the person. Sometimes, it's just the situation – you're not feeling right, with whatever may be going on in your life.
"But the key to second and third chances is, when people get them, they have to respond to them."
The Penguins have done just that, their mid-season turnaround starting with the appointment of coach Mike Sullivan, who was looking for a new opportunity last summer after spending the previous year working for the Chicago Blackhawks in player development.
Sullivan started the season with the Penguins' minor-league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., and took over from Mike Johnson in December. Almost immediately, Sullivan transformed the Penguins from a team going nowhere (they were four points behind the New Jersey Devils at Christmas) into a high-tempo, high-octane team.
"He had NHL experience, he was a good coach, but the biggest plus is he coached a handful of our guys in the minors that eventually made the big team," Rutherford said. "We ran into all those injuries part way through the year and we had to bring up about five guys at the same time. They were familiar with the coach – and vice versa.
"After all these years of doing this, it taught me an important lesson. When you bring up one guy at a time, they go to the hotel room by themselves and have to fend for themselves and find their own way. Just because of the injuries and really by accident, we brought all these guys up together, which gave them a comfort level, because they could hang together and be supportive of each other. That's worked out really well."
In the salary-cap era, it isn't enough any more for organizations just to develop young inexpensive talent to balance off the weightier contracts on their payroll. They also need a coach with the willingness and faith to play them.
It is hard to imagine Sullivan having the same confidence in goaltender Matt Murray, if he hadn't seen him play with such poise and confidence in the minors.
"Young guys, they come to the rink happy every day," Rutherford said. "They're happy to be in the league. It does bring that exciting enthusiasm – and it does give the veteran guys a chance to tease them a little, as they learn their way. So yes, having those young guys coming in gave us a shot of energy."
The Penguins are also getting good mileage out of Carl Hagelin, Trevor Daley and Nick Bonino – all players who were spare parts elsewhere, but became integral players in their playoff run.
Rutherford dealt David Perron to the Ducks in exchange for Hagelin, who was a disappointment in Anaheim, unable to fit in with the Ducks playing style after being traded there by the New York Rangers.
But Sullivan knew Hagelin from his time as a Rangers' assistant, and thought his hockey sense was underrated – that Hagelin could retrieve pucks with his speed, but could also make plays when he chased it down. With the Ducks, Hagelin scored just 12 points in 43 games, with a minus-10 rating but rebounded in Pittsburgh under Sullivan, scoring 27 points in 37 games and was a plus-18.
Daley was just as poor a fit in Chicago as Hagelin was in Anaheim, but when the Penguins had to play without Letang in the last round (suspended for a game) and Olli Maatta (injured by that Brooks Orpik hit), he stepped up and played important minutes.
Ultimately, Sullivan's steady hand is proving pivotal and he now has a chance to do something Dan Bylsma previously did with the Penguins in 2009 and win a Stanley Cup as a mid-season coaching replacement. Second chances – it really is all about making the most of them.
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