It can't be easy to publicly criticize.
It also can't be easy to hold back when you really want to say something.
I mean, think of the situation Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was in on the night of Feb. 20.
Should he be heavy-handed like his pal Torts and rip into a player?
Should he ignore the questioning and just move on?
Should he go some other route; somewhere in the middle and give some sort of non-answer.
Oh, the possibilities.
This was a postgame Zoom conference where Sullivan had to face a question or two about why Kasperi Kapanen didn't play --- not one stinkin' second --- over the final 13 minutes in a 3-2 win against the Islanders.
That doesn't happen by accident when there is no noticeable injury; coaches pull you because coaches are mad. There simply isn't any way to get around that.
And it wasn't some fourth-liner, who-cares-about-the-guy-anyway either.
This was Kapanen, the 24-year-old who is supposed to be part of that new wave of Penguins' forwards that is going to propel this organization through the final years of the Sid/Geno era and, hopefully keep them stable and unwavering beyond it.
So what did Sullivan say on that night?
"I was trying to find guys that were bringing it tonight," the coach opined.
"Guys that were competing hard and were going to give us the best chance to win."
Translation: Kapanen wasn't.
But here's the thing --- Sullivan didn't need to come out and bury him and explicitly or unambiguously state as much. What he said could allow everyone to imply Kapanen needed to pick things up.
In a world where dealing with the modern-day athlete can be part coach, part psychologist, part friend, part enemy, part father-figure and part dictator, Sullivan's message ended up being perfect.
It was pitch-perfect.
Think about it: Since that game, Kapanen has scored four times, notched five assists, picked up a pair of game-winning goals and seemed to have solidified a place on the Penguins' second line.
His speed, skill and now stability alongside Evgeni Malkin just might just end up getting Malkin going as well.
Who knows if it will be a turning point in the season for Kapanen (has been to this point though) or maybe even a moment of revelation in his career? There had been a bit of a complacency that set in, that much can't be argued.
Sullivan had a choice after making the on-ice choice that everyone could see with their own eyes.
The coach could pile on with a bit of overkill and hammer Kapanen in the media or he could deftly sort of navigate through the questioning, understanding nothing more was to be gained by verbally finishing the Finn.
You have to give it to Sullivan. He was spot on. His words (and actions) ended up being perfect on that night.
At least to this point they have.
He's getting the most out of Kapanen right now. I'd like to think a lot of it is because of how he handled everything when he needed to send a message.
