PITTSBURGH (93.7 The FAN) - NHL on NBC Analyst Pierre McGuire joined The PM Team with Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller for his first weekly hit of the season and one of the first things he wanted to talk about was the incredible job Mike Sullivan has done this year.
"This is the best coaching I've ever seen Mike do," Pierre told us. "The development of the players internally, the systems that they've formulated, the style of play that they've implemented, they are must-watch TV. They're phenomenal."
Part of what has made that coaching job so great has been overcoming the incredible amount of injuries this team has suffered, and Pierre points out one player that has done a great job.
"One of the things that's really apparent, when Sid went down, Geno really wanted to handle the ball and he's handled it fantastically well. To do just a comparable, if you look at what happened to the Steelers...when you do this stuff, you see the players that want to step up, and with the Steelers,s you had guys that really wanted to step up when Ben went down and it's the same kind of deal with Pittsburgh. You see the guys that want to step up and I think coaching plays a big role in that."
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One injury that many speculate may be too much to overcome for this team is the injury to Jake Guentzel. Pierre gives us his very early thoughts on where the Pens could look to replace his production.
"Because the standings are so darn tight right now, it's hard to really who's is going to be available...Detroit's not making the playoff, there may be players on their roster that Steve Yzerman at some point will be ready to move, and there might be some offensive players that he might be ready to move."
Click the audio below to hear more from Pierre on the way the Pens have handled their injuries from the start of the season to now, which Jim Rutherford moves have made the most positive impacts this year and if he thinks Alex Galchenyuk can turn his season around and live up to the potential many saw in him.