Dan Byslma is the new Sabres coach. Thank God. Now, to dish the dirt on him we have Penguins writer Ryan Wilson from Hockey Buzz to dish the dirt on it.
1) How did Byslma deal with younger players? Did he believe in them sticking around in the minors for awhile? Did he want them rushed? Was he hard on them?
Ray Shero didn’t really provide him with a cornucopia of younger players to work with. Most years Shero signed veteran players and traded away draft picks to fulfill his lust for the “win now” approach. There weren’t a ton of candidates that fit the bill for this question. A good chunk of the younger players Pittsburgh had just weren’t any good (Dustin Jeffrey, Eric Tangradi, Chris Conner etc.)
He had a few younger guys that were competent. Kris Letang is probably the highest profile among that group. Then there were other players like Alex Goligoski who played OK before being traded. Olli Maatta came into the league right away and did extremely well until a shoulder injury and cancer slowed him down. I suppose my biggest complaint with Dan Bylsma was the fact he didn’t use Simon Despres nearly enough. He was clearly better than other options on the team such as Rob Scuderi, Doug Murray, and Mark Eaton. I don’t think Coach Bylsma is any different that a majority of NHL coaches, when younger players make mistakes they are held more accountable than when veteran players make similar errors.
I think what makes Bylsma a good coach is his ability to communicate what he wants from his players. This will help not only the younger players but veterans as well.
2) Do you have an idea what type of assistants he’d want to bring to Buffalo?
Detail oriented people who are also good communicators. In the past he has worked with guys like Mike Yeo, Tony Granato, Jacques Martin, and Todd Reirden.
3) While the Pens always seemed to finish near the top of the standings under Byslma, the easiest way to take credit away from him is that he had Malkin/Crosby and anyone could win with those guys. Is that accurate?
I don’t believe that is accurate. Both Crosby and Malkin missed over 100 games apiece during Bylsma’s tenure as Penguins coach. During 2010-11 when they were both out for the year the Penguins still finished with over 100 points in the standings. Travis Yost of TSN.ca did some digging and found out that Pittsburgh scored 51.6% of the goals and generated 51.9% of the scoring chances at even-strength without Crosby and/or Malkin in the lineup. That is very impressive.
4) What would you say is his system is in terms of offense and defense?
You will hear the phrase “get the puck north” quite a bit. Bylsma was a big proponent of his defensemen facilitating a breakout within five seconds of receiving the puck. Stretch passes to forwards who flew the zone was the primary means of making this happen. This helped alleviate the pressure on some of the unskilled defensemen but it can also negatively impact skilled players like a Kris Letang who are capable of doing and creating more. The stretch passes also led to more of a chip and chase brand of hockey because of the flat-footed nature of the forwards that received those passes. It led to less defensive zone time but also made the forwards work extra hard to try and chase pucks down.
5) Has Byslma taken to hockey analytics at all?
It is tough to say what each team is specifically using because they keep that kind of information close to the vest. I know that the Penguins did use some form of analytics during his tenure but it was never released on what the specifics were. However, using analytics and using them effectively are two different things. Bylsma did say that he has spent the year off from coaching studying the game of hockey and trying to learn as much as possible. I have to imagine that a good portion of that could be analytically based stuff.
6) What would you say is the type of player that Byslma would or wouldn’t want on his team?
Forwards that lack an active motor won’t do all that well in Bylsma’s system. They have to do of lot of skating and if they are unable to do so they won’t be successful. Bylsma does have a sweet spot for grinders. He was a grinder in the NHL and I think he relates to that type of player. It is how somebody like Craig Adams was able to play in over 300 consecutive games for the Penguins even though he most definitely should not have.
7) What was the reason for his downfall in Pittsburgh? Also, do fans fault him for the lack of developing Fleury since he was a top pick?
A good chunk of why the Penguins never got back to a Cup Final were things outside of his control. Marc-Andre Fleury was horrific in the playoffs for much of his coaching tenure. Some think that his coaching style could be at fault but that doesn’t explain why Tomas Vokoun was magically able to jump in for Fleury in 2013 and take the team to the Eastern Conference Finals under the same exact system. The fact is the goaltender has more control over his save percentage than people think. How else could the all-time worst possession team in the analytical era (2014-15 Sabres) still manage to be the 15th ranked team in goaltending?
The Penguins have been one of the most injured team in the NHL since winning the Stanley Cup. Some consider injuries an excuse but I think they are a reason. No team can overcome injuries in a hard cap salary system especially when the injuries keep happening to key players. Ray Shero did not do a great job at giving Bylsma quality depth players. I would argue that Shero did a terrible job on that front. A chef is only as good as his ingredients even if the recipe is top notch.
Bylsma isn’t blameless though. One thing that he could have done better is change up his approach from time to time. During long playoff series the other teams would adjust to what the Penguins were doing and Bylsma never really countered that. Pittsburgh got bottled up offensively and without great goaltending they weren’t able to survive. Line matching was also something that he wasn’t too enamored with. Stubbornness at times cost Bylsma and the Penguins.
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