It was after practice on Monday while Edmonton Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish was speaking to the media when he had to stop talking -- he was coughing too bad to continue -- and said that "the coach was sick" and I'm guessing tired of dealing with mounting questions about Dustin Penner.
After the game on Friday against Minnesota he discussed why Penner had been pulled off the first line. Following the game against Nashville on Sunday he took it a step further and said Penner wasn't playing well enough to be on the first line.
Monday the conversation once again quickly turned to the left winger and his play. The coach has been down this road this season. You may remember November and MacTavish said a lot of things about the 26-year-old's fitness, attitude and commitment.
Whether Penner liked the assessment or not, it worked as he played his best hockey. Now that's not the case anymore, and to his credit Penner sees that and admiitted that he's in a valley right now and can't quite figure a way to get out of it.
The two biggest problems surrounding Dustin Penner are his size and the size of his contract. At 6-foot-4, 245 pounds he has soft hands but when they're not working fans want him to run people through the boards... or pick a fight or two or six... that's not him and never will be. They want to see an effort, an inspired one, and when they don't get one there aren't enough open lines on the local sports radio shows to handle the response from the public.
Secondly his deal has left him open to criticism because of what he makes. Fans will not let it go -- and bring it up all the time -- their belief is this: when he's not scoring and he's not doing anything else it doesn't matter how hard he tries it never looks to be hard enough to keep the guy in front of his TV set or the guy who is sitting in section 236 row 29 seat 11 happy.
Am I writing this blog or are you reading it if he makes half as much? The price-tag taunting isn't doing anything to help this kid. And he still is one from a hockey sense. Critique his play if you will but not his pay. MacTavish said Monday it's not about the contract anymore but about the player.
The Oilers saw potential in Penner and paid a premium for it. It's still there -- he did score 23 goals last year, and 29 the year before. But the work continues in trying to get the best out of him.
Monday the media wanted to talk to Penner also but MacTavish told the Oilers manager of communications and media relations, J.J. Hebert, that there was nothing left to be said. No more dialogue about this as Penner will do his talking after Tuesday's game with Chicago. What he says then will be determined by what he truly says to people, about himself, during the game.
