The Penguins have had a few great coaches, not least Stanley Cup winners like Mike Sullivan, Bob Johnson and Scotty Bowman. (Yeah, I know one guy is missing. I said “great,” not “opportunistic.”)
“Miracle” worker Herb Brooks had a brief tenure.
Eddie Johnston was underrated and a skilled tactician.
But the Penguins’ best coach ever died Wednesday. Lou Angotti, RIP.
When Angotti coached the Penguins in 1983-84, there was only one acceptable result: Finish dead last in the NHL, then draft Mario Lemieux. Zero wiggle room.
With Johnston pulling the strings as GM and a glut of rotten players, Angotti did it.
The Penguins’ margin was close: They went 16-58-6, finishing just three points behind New Jersey.
The tank job was obvious, but that’s what the system rewarded. If the Penguins don’t finish last, they might be in Kansas City with no Stanley Cups instead of five.
That Penguins season was the subject of a TSN documentary called “Playing to Lose.”
Angotti is featured. He talks about making “a conscious decision” to lose. After goalie Roberto Romano had a few good starts, Angotti says Romano was sent to the minors to “weaken our team.” Angotti talks about “coaching not to win.”
Angotti presents himself as a martyr. With all due respect to the dead, that’s a laugh.
If the Penguins didn’t want to finish last, they wouldn’t have hired Angotti. He was a lousy coach. Angotti wasn’t “coaching not to win.” He was just coaching.
Angotti got fired after the season. He’d served his purpose. He never coached in the NHL again.
Angotti had one job to do, and he did it. Bravo.
Angotti admits to tanking in that documentary. Johnston never has. Bravo. The world would be a lot better if kayfabe got broken a lot less.
