from Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Crosby hasn't looked happy at any point this season. That's the only reason Mike Johnston was the fourth coach to be fired during The Crosby Era.

General manager Jim Rutherford didn't put it that way at a news conference Saturday.

He did put a lot of emphasis on the Penguins power play, which has produced a total of 15 goals.

Rutherford even agreed with a media member's assessment that the power play's putridity — OK, he didn't say “putridity” — could serve as amicrocosm for what's wrong with the club.

He's right.

Look who's still running the power play. That would be Rick Tocchet. He still has a job.

Johnston doesn't. Neither does the only assistant he was allowed to hire, Gary Agnew.

Tocchet oversees a power play Rutherford believes is like these Penguins (“underachieving”), yet he still is around.

“I really like how he communicates,” Rutherford said.

The guess here is it's not Tocchet's communication skills but with whom Tocchet can communicate. Tocchet's advantage for keeping his job is obvious: He's a “Friend of Mario.”

That's probably why players don't listen to him, just like they once again won't take anything Jacques Martin says seriously. They sniffed Martin out as the ownership plant the last time the Penguins tried to involve him in the coaching mix.

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