[Firing] PIT: Shero Fired. Bylsma not (?) fired.

[One87]

Wow Bylsma staying for now. It will all depend on the new GM. I still think he'll be gone. Kinda sucks for him hanging in limbo till then.

I agree. There is speculation that Bylsma is being held in part to keep him away form divisional rival - Washington. I guess paying him for 2 more years and watching him go to the Caps would be just TOO much to bare.

[agentzero]

Wow this is getting really weird (and interesting)! Firing the GM and leaving the coach in makes no sense to me.

This is exactly like VAN and I don't get it. Just fire both. Why fire one, wait 4 days, hire a new GM, new GM waits 2 days, "evaluates" and fires coach. Such a moot exercise.

They should have just fired both as I can't see Bylsma staying now.

I saw in the TSN comments say Shero and Bylsma would now team up in Washington lol how hilariously awesome would that be? That comment also suggested McPhee to PIT lol but there's no way that's happening.

As for the Brisson suggestion. Interesting. As far as I know it would be the second player agent to become GM in recent history, Gillis being the other. Gillis was a disaster so I wonder how Brisson would do. Funny for Sid as Brisson would essentially go from being Sid's hired representative to being Sid's boss. Payee to payor. Weird. He would obviously have to cease representation. Goes without saying..

[One87]

Thought I read somewhere that Malkin has implied that Pittsburgh and Russia are the only places he's playing for.
I wish I could remember where I saw that. Maybe I'm making it up, but I don't think so.

Kesler to Pitt would be great for Kesler, but I'm not sure the Nucks would get what they'd want from Pitt.
Pitt has some good D prospects, but I think the Canucks would need a roster player as well (and a 1st) -- at least that was the demand earlier, and if anything the urgency should've settled a bit on dealing him (not sure how he's feeling after GM and Coach getting canned).

I suppose Sutter is an option.

I would love the Canucks to chase Bylsma. How long until he gets hired?

They missed their window to maximize a return on Letang. If his health doesn't scare teams away, I suspect the Pens rather keep him than give him away for cheap.

Neal may be the one to go. Perhaps even so because Shero brought him in. Letang has always been a Penguin.

[rataylor22]

This is exactly like VAN and I don't get it. Just fire both. Why fire one, wait 4 days, hire a new GM, new GM waits 2 days, "evaluates" and fires coach. Such a moot exercise.

They should have just fired both as I can't see Bylsma staying now.

I saw in the TSN comments say Shero and Bylsma would now team up in Washington lol how hilariously awesome would that be? That comment also suggested McPhee to PIT lol but there's no way that's happening.

As for the Brisson suggestion. Interesting. As far as I know it would be the second player agent to become GM in recent history, Gillis being the other. Gillis was a disaster so I wonder how Brisson would do. Funny for Sid as Brisson would essentially go from being Sid's hired representative to being Sid's boss. Payee to payor. Weird. He would obviously have to cease representation. Goes without saying..

I don't no if this is necessarily true. Sid is signed for the rest of his life basically now, with a NMC, and will likely be in Pittsburgh until he retires no matter what agent he has or who the GM in Pitts is. All Brisson does now is negotiate endorsement deals so he could probably still do it. Theoretically at least.

[JagrBomb]

They missed their window to maximize a return on Letang. If his health doesn't scare teams away, I suspect the Pens rather keep him than give him away for cheap.

Neal may be the one to go. Perhaps even so because Shero brought him in. Letang has always been a Penguin.

i think teams are learning sometimes you need to cut losses and move on. i know it's kind of a different situation, but look at the whole luongo saga. gillis' ego was too big, so he would rather trade schneider to get a better return than to take the big loss on luongo. the pens would be fine trading letang, martin and niskanen have shown they can handle the offensive load. maatta and even pouliot can contribute as well, and engelland and bortuzzo are very cheap options too. so unless they get a monster return on neal, i think letang is all but gone (assuming the new gm wants to make a player change).

[Pengwin7]

Interesting note on holding Bylsma to keep him away from other Eastern teams. That makes sense.

Another thought that just crossed my brain.
If you are Lemieux, are you watching the Penguins this year and thinking:
Gosh, Letang doesn't really look that good out there. He's a bit of a liability, we need to move him... but we'll look really silly trading him away when Shero just signed him last summer.

But, when it was tabled about getting rid of Shero/Bylsma after the playoffs, a new GM would be able to trade Letang away, because he's not the same guy that signed Letang to that deal.

If it were Shero making both moves (signing Letang, then trading Letang) in one year's time, it would look awful silly on the Pens as an organization.
A new GM would be able to move Letang without the fans saying "Well, why did we just sign this guy if we were going to trade him for a lesser return?".
Answer: Different GM, different valuations.

Just one thought that might have contributed to Shero firing.

[Shiva Blaster]

Wowsers!

[fungchen3]

Pens owner wants Pat Brisson to be GM according to McKenzie

So they want Crosby's agent to be their GM? lol.

[rataylor22]

There have been numerous reports that the Shero firing was directly tied to Bylsma.

Basically, Lemieux wanted Bylsma fired last summer and Shero basically went ot bat for Bylsma, endorsing him that he was his guy and convincing ownership to not let him go. Things didn't work out this season and that was a large factor in what cost Shero his job.

In terms of not firing Bylsma right now, what looks better? Ownership firing a GM and coach, or Ownership firing the GM and giving their new GM the autonomy to make his own decisions on the coach. I mean, Byslma wont stay, but at least this way it makes it looks like the new GM is making those decisions and has the support of ownership, rather than ownership meddling with the team.

And honestly, I really wouldn't rule out them "hiding" Byslma from other job offers as long as they possibly can. Firing him gives him 2 years worth of pay anyways so it's not like he will need a new job immediately.

[fungchen3]

Yikes!
Biggest possible hit in all of fantasy hockey?

James Neal is a 70pt player on PIT.
What is he on another team?
60pts?
55pts?

Depends. If he lines up next to Giroux and Voracek...

[agentzero]

I don't no if this is necessarily true. Sid is signed for the rest of his life basically now, with a NMC, and will likely be in Pittsburgh until he retires no matter what agent he has or who the GM in Pitts is. All Brisson does now is negotiate endorsement deals so he could probably still do it. Theoretically at least.

I'm sorry rataylor but this is entirely true. A representative for contractual negotiations cannot represent a client for whom he has negotiated the contract and at the same time be a representative of the other contracting party. It is a basic principle of ethics in contract/agency law and there is no way the contract would be considered proper if one agent served two masters. For that to be the case, there would have to be a pile of consents and waivers drawn up and even then all regulatory bodies I am aware of, legal or not, severely frown upon this kind of stuff. It doesn't matter that the contract is already signed, as Brisson might at some point (however unlikely) have to make representations on behalf of his client in regards to the enforcement of the contract and he could not do so if he all of a sudden became a representative of management. This is not only a principle in agency and contract law, but in labour law as well. One cannot effectively represent management and employees at the same time. They are in inherent positions of conflict of interest.

[Dikoi]

Interesting note on holding Bylsma to keep him away from other Eastern teams. That makes sense.

If that's their reasoning for keeping Bylsma, then fine. But for me, there are better candidates out there anyways, Bylsma for me is a good coach, not a great one.

[agentzero]

In terms of not firing Bylsma right now, what looks better? Ownership firing a GM and coach, or Ownership firing the GM and giving their new GM the autonomy to make his own decisions on the coach. I mean, Byslma wont stay, but at least this way it makes it looks like the new GM is making those decisions and has the support of ownership, rather than ownership meddling with the team.

I would respond by saying: what's the difference to the coach? Fired by A or fired by B is still fired. Yeah sure you could argue the optics of it, but you can't tell me in the analogous situation of Tortorella and Vancouver that Linden made his own independent assessment to fire Torts. He met the guy twice and never had him coach a game under him and fired him like 4 days later. I think it's semantics to keep the coach around unless the ownership really feels the coach should stay. But in this case we're hearing the opposite. Put him out of his misery and fire him with Shero.

The rumour about keeping him from WSH by holding onto his contract is a funny/curious one. If WSH really wanted Bylsma and Bylsma wanted out, I have a feeling he'd approach the President/ownership to be let out of his deal. I don't think he could be unreasonably held to his contract if it was clear both parties wanted out..

[fungchen3]

If the rumored divide between Crosby and Bylsma is true, the Pens should have fired him with Shero. The only way I see keeping Bylsma is if you're going to let your new GM decide to either keep the coach OR the player. In this case, there's zero chance of Crosby being traded so show some dignity and don't keep Bylsma out there to hang and rot in front of the media and fans alike. Bylsma has a right to search for a new job and enjoy his summer with his family. This is puzzling.

[One87]

Interesting note on holding Bylsma to keep him away from other Eastern teams. That makes sense.

Another thought that just crossed my brain.
If you are Lemieux, are you watching the Penguins this year and thinking:
Gosh, Letang doesn't really look that good out there. He's a bit of a liability, we need to move him... but we'll look really silly trading him away when Shero just signed him last summer.

But, when it was tabled about getting rid of Shero/Bylsma after the playoffs, a new GM would be able to trade Letang away, because he's not the same guy that signed Letang to that deal.

If it were Shero making both moves (signing Letang, then trading Letang) in one year's time, it would look awful silly on the Pens as an organization.
A new GM would be able to move Letang without the fans saying "Well, why did we just sign this guy if we were going to trade him for a lesser return?".
Answer: Different GM, different valuations.

Just one thought that might have contributed to Shero firing.

Re: to Praba as well as Pen..

Maybe Letang goes. I am not sold that the temperament of the Penguins' front office has changed enough for it to be him over Neal is all I mean. Personally, I felt they should have traded him before the deadline because we have a ton of Dman. This will be an interesting off-season for the Pens.