FanPost

The Other 'Thank You' list

OK, we've read the major storylines about the Pens and the Cup this year, and I've read a lot about Marian Hossa and how his decision last year affected many things, and how we have him to thank because of the team we assembled due to his absence and the money we had to spend elsewhere. Well, I've thought about a list of the other people/teams to thank for what has become a memorable ride all the way to the Championship.

1. Thank you San Jose and Todd McLellan -- as a new head coach you picked Todd Richards as an asst. coach, leaving the WBS Baby Pens to hire some guy named Bylsma, who was just so happy to get a real head coaching gig. Well, Todd Richards may have had a similar influence on this team, and maybe he does lead them to the Cup (OK who know maybe he would had his Penguins sweep the Red Wings) and we'll never know, but it doesn't matter, because Dan Bylsma did what most of us thought was unthinkable.

2. Thank you Francois Beauchemin -- without you being injured, we never swap Whitney for Kunitz. While Kuni didn't produce the offense that we hoped for, I've been replaying the playoff games from this year, and he had some monstruous hits, some deft passes and played reliable (most of the time) in his own zone.

3. Thank you Miro Satan -- your willingness to accept a demotion to allow us to get Bill Guerin under the cap demonstrated your unselfishness and the general 'team' concept/goal that makes a champion. You were rewarded, and your 'out of the penalty box breakaway' in game 1 against Carolina set a tone for that series that the 'Canes never really recovered from.

4. Thank you David Koci -- well not really, but without a hit on 'Sarge' in the preseason, we have Gonchar to start the season, we play better and don' t have the trades or coaching change. Also the team learned to play without our best D-man, which helps Letang and Eaton step up their role, and benefits the team when they are without 'Sarge' in the Capitals series.

5. Thank you Blackhawks -- if you don't waive Craig Adams, we don't claim him. He was a great penalty killer, took key faceoffs in the defensive zone late in the game, and was another of veterans with Cup experience.

6. And a special Thank to Michel Therrien – while your firing was a catalyst, and the speculation that the team quit on you, the simple truth is that you took a young team and instilled the right work ethic and helped them mature beyond their years. Unfortunately your ‘college coach’ approach didn’t fly with this ‘experience’ group anymore. I hope you enjoyed watching your ‘kids’ play their hearts out and get rewarded.

I’m sure I’ve missed some, but this is some of the things that struck me as interesting twists of fate that helped shape the season.


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