PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Olczyk will rebuild team with defense

Former broadcaster Ed Olczyk is the Penguins' fifth coach in five years.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ed Olczyk made it official on his first day as the Pittsburgh Penguins' coach: They will rebuild around defense, not offense.
That means no more selling out on defense for a possible chance to score. No more leaving the goalie vulnerable to odd-man rushes. No more risky gambles, no more Western Conference-style 6-5 shoot-outs. No more complaining about teams that trap.
As the broadcaster-turned-coach said, players such as Jaromir Jagr and Alexei Kovalev are long gone, so the Penguins must start playing like it.
Olczyk, a surprise choice as the Penguins' fifth coach in five years, said they must discard the take-all-risks style they've embraced for 20 years if they are to successfully rebuild around youth, speed and defense.
Lemieux may retire
He will make the change even though he doesn't know if owner-player Mario Lemieux, one of the greatest scorers in NHL history, will play next season. Lemieux is expected to retire, but hasn't made it official.
"If you can't play defense in this league, you're not going to win, as you just saw in the Stanley Cup finals with the Devils," Olczyk said Wednesday.
If anything represents how dramatically the Penguins have changed since they began paring their payroll, shedding their stars and embracing a new way of playing hockey, it's that they're now emulating the Wild and the Mighty Ducks.
"Look at Minnesota; they trap and they wait for their opportunities. When they have a chance, they go for it. I see a lot of our young guys have the kind of speed [Minnesota] does," Olczyk said. "I just hope we can be half as good on defense as they are."
Optimistic
Even if it won't be a style their fans warmly embrace, Olczyk is convinced the speed and quickness the Penguins acquired in numerous trades can be harnessed into a hard-playing, quick-strike team that scores off turnovers.
"We're going to be relentless, I can promise you that," Olczyk said. "We're going to create offense by being relentless. We have some guys who can flat out fly."
Olczyk's hiring came nearly two months after former coach Rick Kehoe's firing. Olczyk has no coaching experience on any level, but he's been around the team for three seasons as a broadcaster. Veteran assistant coaches Randy Hillier and Joe Mullen will be retained from Kehoe's staff.
During numerous talks with Olczyk, general manager Craig Patrick said the 16-season NHL veteran began to remind him of a young Bob Johnson, who coached the Penguins' 1991 Stanley Cup championship team.
Johnson's oft-repeated motto was, "It's a great day for hockey." Olczyk's new slogan: "It's a great day to be playing hockey in Pittsburgh."