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Top 10 Ways Pittsburgh Penguins Ownership, Old or New, Can Improve the Franchise

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Charles LeClaire - USA TODAY Sports

Top 10 Ways Pittsburgh Penguins Ownership, Old or New, Can Improve the Franchise

Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins Co-Owner
Charles LeClaire - USA TODAY Sports

Not long after I posted the five biggest Pittsburgh Penguins rumors entering the offseason, another significant rumor surfaced that was later corroborated. The Lemieux Group, led by co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, has retained Morgan Stanley to help examine possibilities for selling some, if not all, of its stake in the team.

How can the Penguins make a good investment better, no matter who sits in the owner’s box? Let’s explore.

10. Due Diligence

Mario Lemieux shakes hands with Jim Balsillie
Harry How - Getty Images

10. Due Diligence

Mario Lemieux shakes hands with Jim Balsillie
Harry How - Getty Images

Not to cast aspersions, but let's just say a guy from a wannabe NHL market flying into town to buy a fledgling hockey team came off a little suspect. BlackBerry's Jim Balsillie is one past suitor who never got the chance to taint Lemieux's legacy (or not).

Mario now has the luxury of being choosy. Having learned from the curious exploits of Balsillie, "Boots" Del Biaggio and others, and the malfeasance of ex-owner Howard Baldwin, he will be.

9. Burkle's Millions

Ron Burkle, Pittsburgh Penguins Co-Owner
Bruce Bennett - Getty Images

9. Burkle's Millions

Ron Burkle, Pittsburgh Penguins Co-Owner
Bruce Bennett - Getty Images

If you’re building a better franchise or saving a troubled one, it’s not a bad idea to have a friend who’s made more money than the Vatican and spends it generously.

The best news to come from Wednesday’s announcement was Lemieux’s intent to stay involved with the Penguins. The second-best news was Burkle’s. Any NHL club would benefit from Burkle’s vast resources and business skills, and the Pens shouldn’t take their relationship for granted.

8. The Steeler Way?

Dan Rooney, Steelers owner, accepts Lombardi Trophy
Al Bello - Getty Images

8. The Steeler Way?

Dan Rooney, Steelers owner, accepts Lombardi Trophy
Al Bello - Getty Images

I digress, but let’s think for a second: How did the local football team become a model franchise in its own league? It had the right talent in the right places, the right coach and a cordial owner who only meddled when totally necessary.

This formula should sound familiar. The Pens, under the Lemieux Group, followed it as their worst-to-first journey came full circle with their Stanley Cup championship in 2009. Any buyers had better be aware.

7. Home-Ice Advantage

New York Rangers celebrating a win at CONSOL Energy Center
Gregory Shamus - Getty Images

7. Home-Ice Advantage

New York Rangers celebrating a win at CONSOL Energy Center
Gregory Shamus - Getty Images

Fans love longing for the good ole days of the Igloo. If they read Andrew Conte's tell-all book ('Breakaway') about the soap opera that was the necessary conception of CONSOL Energy Center, they'd be more careful what they wish for.

It's not the building. It's the team inside. The Pens are 10-13 in playoff games at CEC, 0-5 in OT. All things considered, there's no excuse for them not to make it more like the fortress the Civic Arena once was.

6. Discipline

Sidney Crosby talking to NHL officials
Len Redkoles - Getty Images

6. Discipline

Sidney Crosby talking to NHL officials
Len Redkoles - Getty Images

Lemieux should be commended for wanting to put a team on the ice that stands up for itself against the bastardized gameplay and rulebook indifference we’ve seen this NHL season. Sometimes they’ve taken that too far.

In all objectivity, I don’t believe the Penguins “whine” any more than any of the 29 other NHL teams. But they need to get back to the days when their response to bad officiating was to outplay opponents -- and avoid bad penalties.

5. Loyal To A Fault?

Rick Tocchet, Pittsburgh Penguins Assistant Coach
Bill Wippert - Getty Images

5. Loyal To A Fault?

Rick Tocchet, Pittsburgh Penguins Assistant Coach
Bill Wippert - Getty Images

Lemieux reciprocates loyalty, an admirable practice. But sometimes loyalty slips into cronyism, which is never a good way to run anything. Watching the Pens' power play under-perform miserably under assistant coach and ex-Penguin Rick Tocchet is the latest example to make us wonder.

It's time for the Pens to stop playing favorites in certain areas. Their pass-happy tendencies under Tocchet must disappear next season, lest he disappear.

4. Hands Off

David Morehouse, Pittsburgh Penguins President
Gregory Shamus - Getty Images

4. Hands Off

David Morehouse, Pittsburgh Penguins President
Gregory Shamus - Getty Images

Team president David Morehouse is a successful person. Another very successful businessman, Microsoft's Bill Gates, once said, "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces intelligent people into thinking they can't lose."

Morehouse won't win by continuing down the path of his recent power trip, and neither will the team. He should stick to marketing and day-to-day stuff, and let his more hockey-savvy decision-makers make the hockey decisions.

3. Forward Thinking

Jordan Staal at the NHL Draft
Jeff Vinnick - Getty Images

3. Forward Thinking

Jordan Staal at the NHL Draft
Jeff Vinnick - Getty Images

Take a good look at former Penguin Jordan Staal, because he's one of just two Pens draftees since 2006 to sustain success as an NHL forward. And don't bother tooting the horn of Jake Muzzin, because then-GM Ray Shero never saw him play in Pittsburgh.

Despite the inexact science behind the NHL Draft and a GM's job, the Pens are doing themselves a deadly disservice if they don't improve their organizational depth up front immediately.

2. Give The Kids A Break

Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Kasperi Kapanen with Team Finland
Minas Panagiotakis - Getty Images

2. Give The Kids A Break

Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Kasperi Kapanen with Team Finland
Minas Panagiotakis - Getty Images

Taking Finnish prospect Kasperi Kapanen with their top pick last year was a good step in that direction. Point blank, they need to get younger, faster, cheaper and more skilled. Kapanen, who checks off all those boxes, should make the team out of camp.

There's no guarantee he or Oskar Sundqvist and Conor Sheary, two other promising youths, will put on Penguin sweaters and turn into Tyler Johnson. But the Pens could do worse. They already have.

1. "He Had More Patience (Patients) Than Mercy Hospital!"

Mike Johnston, Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach
Jeff Vinnick - Getty Images

1. "He Had More Patience (Patients) Than Mercy Hospital!"

Mike Johnston, Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach
Jeff Vinnick - Getty Images

Interpret that goal call by Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Mike Lange any way you like; it’s an all-around apt quotation.

Fans should relax. Whoever owns the Penguins, taking their financial history into account, is getting a much sweeter deal than in past sales. Generally, all they need now is a cleaner bill of health for their key players and more time for head coach Mike Johnston and his staff to implement their system and cultivate new talent.

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