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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have insisted during their extensive front office overhaul that the on-ice product doesnt need to change much for the franchise to return to the NHLs elite. Small tweaks, not big ones, are required. Mike Johnstons job is to figure out which ones to make and -- perhaps even more importantly -- how to make them work. The Penguins hired the well-travelled Johnston to replace Dan Bylsma on Wednesday, charging the hockey lifer with creating the right system for stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to thrive in both the regular season and beyond. Considering the talent at his disposal, the 57-year-old Johnston likes his chances. After spending the last six years with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League preaching an uptempo attack, Johnston welcomes the opportunity to work with one of the most explosive offences in the NHL. "The core group is exactly where I want it," Johnston said. Good, because theyre not going anywhere. Instead, its everything around Malkin and Crosby -- who earned his second Hart Trophy as the NHLs Most Valuable Player on Tuesday -- that is changing. Johnstons hiring ends a tumultuous six weeks in which the Penguins were bounced from the Eastern Conference semifinals by the New York Rangers after blowing a 3-1 lead, fired Bylsma and general manager Ray Shero, and brought in longtime Carolina Hurricanes executive Jim Rutherford to clean up the mess. Rutherford settled on Johnston after a lengthy interview process that included an ill-fated run at Willie Desjardins, who opted to take the vacant job in Vancouver. Regardless of the path taken, Rutherford is confident he ended up at the right destination. "I feel very strongly that weve got the right coach," Rutherford said. One whose success will depend on his ability to take Pittsburgh on extended playoff runs. Bylsma won more games than any coach in club history but was fired on June 6 after going just 4-5 in post-season series since leading the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup title. Johnston understands the onus to win on a given night, but stressed the focus will be on preparing Pittsburgh for the challenges of hockey in May and June, not October or November. "The bottom-line expectation for me is that, from training camp through the first part of the season, everything we do is setting the table for the playoffs," Johnston said. "The score is relevant but its not as relevant as the habits that we are going to have to make us successful in the playoffs." Pittsburgh is Johnstons first NHL head coaching job, though he spent two previous stints as an assistant with Vancouver and the Los Angeles Kings. He said he has a bit to learn about the challenges of an 82-game NHL season, which is one of the reasons the Penguins also brought in Rick Tocchet to serve as Johnstons top assistant. Tocchet played 18 years in the NHL, including two seasons in Pittsburgh, where the four-time All-Star helped the Penguins win their second Stanley Cup championship in 1992. The 50-year-old Tocchet also spent more than a season as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2008-10. While Tocchet said that his old team has underachieved in recent springs, he doesnt see that as a stumbling block. "There are teams that wish they had (Pittsburghs) problems," Tocchet said. "The way Mike is going to coach this team, the way these guys play is high tempo. Its something guys are going to enjoy." Tocchet replaces Todd Reirden and Tony Granato, holdovers from Bylsmas staff who were let go on Wednesday. The Penguins retained goaltending coach Mike Bales and video co-ordinator Andy Saucier. Assistant coach Jacques Martin will also remain with the team in an undetermined capacity. Johnston is hardly a novice when it comes to dealing with pressure or highly skilled players. He was a part of Canadas coaching staff at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first Games in which NHL players were allowed to compete. It led to nearly a decade as an assistant with Vancouver (1999-2006) and the Kings (2006-08) before he landed in Portland, where he spent six years helping young players navigate the choppy waters of professional life. The seas will be only more tumultuous in one of the NHLs most high-profile jobs. Johnston is OK with the pressure. With the 26-year-old Crosby and the 27-year-old Malkin in the midst of their primes, there are worst places to start. "This group wants to win," he said. "Theyve won the Stanley Cup, and I believe they want to do it again." http://www.officiallionsgear.com/Lions-Tj-Jones-Draft-Jersey/ . -- Rookie Victor Oladipo came off the bench to score 20 points and Glen Davis had 18, leading the Orlando Magic to a 112-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. http://www.officiallionsgear.com/Lions-Tracy-Walker-Draft-Jersey/ . - The Green Bay Packers got back to work on Friday without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. http://www.officiallionsgear.com/Lions-Sam-Martin-Draft-Jersey/ . The weekend at Oriole Park has been less kind, with three players suffering varying degrees of injury. The worst ailment of the three, at least optically, is the deep bone bruise suffered by Adam Lind when he fouled a pitch off the top of his right foot in the sixth inning of Saturdays game. Matthew Stafford Jersey . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. Theo Riddick Jersey .com) - Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 12 points in the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 70-55 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins made official Monday what hes been telling folks all along: Hes headed to the NBA after his only season with the Jayhawks. The 6-foot-8 forward, who was voted second-team All-America earlier in the day, is expected to go in the top three picks in the June draft. Many believe he could go first overall. "It wasnt an easy decision because the fans showed me so much love here," said Wiggins, choking up briefly during a news conference at Allen Fieldhouse. "I just wish I had more time. College goes by so fast. I can see why people stay all four years." The Canadian was the top-rated recruit when he arrived at Kansas, and his brief career was a bit of a roller coaster. He struggled early in the season, caught fire midway through, and then flamed out when it mattered most in an NCAA tournament loss to Stanford. Wiggins, from Vaughan, Ont., only scored four points on 1-for-6 shooting in the third-round defeat. Afterward, he said despondently that he let his team down with his poor performance. That ultimately didnt have any bearing on his decision, though. He announced he was going pro while joined by Kansas coach Bill Self, his parents -- former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and Olympic silver medallist Marita Payne Wiggins -- his older brother Mitchell Jr., and several of his teammates, including fellow freshmen Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid. Selden has already announced hes returning for his sophomore season. Embiid has not made a decision, even though hes also expected to be a top-five pick in the draft. Wiggins certainly had a historic season at Kansas. He averaged a freshman-record 17.1 points and nearly six rebounds per game, and was voted the APs Big 12 freshman of the year and first-team all-conference. "Obviously this announcement needed to happen," said Self, who believes one of the biggest challenges Wiggins will face is realizing that basketball will suddenly become his job. "Its not like this year. He came in with so much hype, and whether he knew it or not, everybody was salivating for a chance to go against a guy with that much hype," Self said.dddddddddddd. "And hes going to the next level with a lot of hype, but men are going to be saying, Whoa, whoa, whoa, rook. Ive been doing this a long time and youre going to have to earn your way." Wiggins simply flashed a smile when asked if he was ready for it. "Just listening to him now," his father said, "Im thinking about when he was that little bitty kid that was dirty, and not listening, and now? Hes a young man that I think gets it. I think hes going to do very well." Hes also made it through his freshman season healthy. Unlike Embiid, Wiggins never had to deal with any nagging injuries, and his mother said that factored into his decision. "The best thing is hes not injured. Hes able to go ahead and complete part of his goals," she said. "Every day is a new day. He has no injuries and hes ready to go." Self said Embiid is still wrestling with his stay-or-go decision. The 7-footer from Cameroon was waylaid late in the season by a stress fracture in his back, and that could factor into Embiids draft status, along with the fact that hes only been playing basketball for a few years. Embiid slipped out of the room immediately after Wiggins had finished speaking Monday, but Self told a few reporters that he had not made his decision, despite a report last week that said Embiid would enter the draft. "That doesnt mean he couldnt still do that, but that was gun-jumping," Self said. "It certainly upset him, because somebody that was a source obviously didnt have good information." Self doesnt expect Embiid to make his intentions known anytime soon. "The decision he needs to make is whats best for him," Self said, "whether to stay another year or to go, and I could see him do either one of them. And I think you could make a case that either one would be a good decision. 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