Former Coach Scotty Bowman Says Pens Were Hurt By Injuries
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan)- Former Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman joined Bob Pompeani on his Saturday show on The Fan to talk about the Pens' current situation as they search for a new general manager and possibly a new head coach.
Bowman worked closely with NBC Sports NHL analyst Pierre Maguire who has been rumored to be a possible candidate for the open general manager position with the Pens.
He tells Bob that Maguire has been a candidate recently for many open positions and that he has a real desire to return to a team.
"He has a good broad knowledge of amateur hockey," Bowman said. "But the big thing he has going for him for me is that he has a lot of connections. He has kept up with the hockey league. He is a hard worker. His knowledge of the NHL would be very high for sure."
Bowman also told Bob that he thinks injuries played a huge role in the Pens early exit from the playoffs this year and he doesn't think the window for this team to win another Stanley Cup has closed.
"They are still young," Bowman said. "The biggest misfortune for Pittsburgh was the injury factor. When you look at Sidney Crosby and where he has come from since he joined the league, he has missed a couple of years and it's not easy to get it all back."
He said that Crosby dealing with the concussions didn't allow him to do anything and it was a huge setback.
Bowman also added that any team in the playoffs has to have talent, but sometimes you have to be lucky.
"You kind of have to be fortunate in a run in the playoffs," Bowman said. "It seems with Pittsburgh, this year, anytime [you] looked up they were playing with half of their defensive corps being out and it all catches up. Health was a big issue for the Pens this season."
Bowman also talked to Bob about his time as Penguins head coach and it provided him with one of his biggest disappointments, but also provided him the opportunity to coach Mario Lemieux, who he says was the best he ever coached.
"He was a special player," Bowman said. "He was both a playmaker and a scorer. He carried this franchise for three to four years before he got any help. It's too bad he could not have played at 100 percent health. That was the most amazing thing about Mario is how he could perform at such a high level with all of the injuries he had."
Bowman also talked to Bob about the difficulties a coach faces coaching superstar players and what challenges he faces as a senior advisor to the Chicago Blackhawks and keeping his talented group together.
Former Coach Scotty Bowman Says Pens Were Hurt By Injuries
(Photo Credit: Jamie Sabau/Getty)
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