Applaud the Penguins

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Penguins retained Coach Michel Therrien. Therrien signed a three-year contract. “All of our players comment on how much they love playing in Pittsburgh, and I can tell you that our coaches love coaching in Pittsburgh,” he said. “We still have a lot of work to do, though, because we fell short of our biggest goal last season. Our goal is, and always will be, to win the Stanley Cup.”

During his career, Therrien has logged a 185-157-22-41 ledger. In Montreal (190 games), he accrued a 77-77-22-14 record. In Pittsburgh (215 games), he amassed a 108-80-27 record. “Michel has done a tremendous job with our team over the past two-and-a-half seasons, developing our young players while leading us to division and conference championships and the Stanley Cup finals,” said General Manager Ray Shero.

Contention is not perpetual. Championship acumen is transient. Championship talent is transitory. Via astute management and star retention, franchises can extend their potential. Pittsburgh has epitomized the aforesaid.