The first shoe has dropped in Pittsburgh, albeit a tiny one. Pittsburgh Penguins goalie coach Gilles Meloche won't return in the same capacity next season and will act as a team consultant, according to Renaud Lavoie of RDS.
Penguins offseason change begins on Tuesday
The Pittsburgh Penguins have parted ways with goalie coach Gilles Meloche. It’s likely the first of many changes coming this summer.
Jared Wickerham
The move was expected, as Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on Sunday that Meloche was expected to announce his resignation at some point this week. Meloche has been employed by the Penguins for the last 27 seasons and has acted as the goalie coach for the last seven.
Obviously, the Penguins are currently in a strange position. Coming off a shockingly poor performance in the Eastern Conference Final, pressure is mounting about potential changes that could be coming to the club. The inconsistent play of Marc-Andre Fleury in the postseason has amplified the attention being paid to the goalie position and his $5 million annual salary has increased awareness about the salary actually being paid to the goalie. Compliance buyout talk has been a constant in relation to speculative conversations. Whether it's a course of action the organization would consider remains to be seen.
Some believe the organization might be searching for a way to present change to the fan base without drastically altering the club. Hard to imagine a new goalie coach will satisfy that need (if it truly exists). In any event, Tuesday could be the first of several moves for the Penguins this offseason. The team has multiple unrestricted free agents entering the market on July 5, in addition to the expiring contracts of Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Now, the team needs to find a new goalie coach, as well.
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