Every chart we've made this season has been an enormous jinx. Given the desperation of the Pens' current situation, let's try a reverse jinx.
Dan Bylsma won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins having coached less than half a season. That seems crazy, but it's possible that he had a better chance of winning the Cup in 2009 than he has (had?) of winning the Cup this season. Or next.
The surprising numbers, after the jump...
The following chart lists the Stanley Cup winning coaches since 1990 and shows how long they were in that job when they won the Cup that season.
The average tenure of a Stanley Cup winning coach since 1990 is 2.36 years. If you take Scotty Bowman out of the equation, the average Stanley Cup winning coach since 1990 has been in that position for only 1.83 years when he won the Cup. Dan Bylsma has been the Pens' coach for 4.5 years.
Someone will repeat this year, but the fact remains that NHL coaches win early, not often.
So the question isn't whether the Pens can win a Stanley Cup with Dan Bylsma. They already have. The question is whether they can win another one.
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