PITTSBURGH -- Dan Bylsma couldnt avoid speculation about his status as the Penguins coach in the days following Pittsburghs four-game pratfall against Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, even in his own house. Shortly after the Bruins swept the Stanley Cup favourites out of the playoffs last week, Bylsmas son Bryan asked his dad if he still had a job. "I would be lying to say that I was able to block all that stuff out," Bylsma said. Now he wont have to. The Penguins signed the second-winningest coach in franchise history to a two-year extension through 2016 on Wednesday, a very public vote of confidence after Pittsburghs quest for a Stanley Cup to bookend the one it captured in 2009 ended with four miserable losses to the Bruins. "I have a very good coach moving forward that I want to lead this team," general manager Ray Shero said. "I want to reward him with an extension that shows him and shows people that hes my coach and I believe in him." Its a belief Shero stressed was not shaken despite a fourth straight spring without a Cup for one of the NHLs most talented teams. Assistants Tony Granato and Todd Reirden will also be retained after the Penguins decided it wasnt time to change course following a regular season in which the Penguins posted the second-best record in the league. Shero, who met with owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle earlier this week, was prepared to go to bat for Bylsma, who is 201-92-25 since taking over for Michel Therrien in February, 2009. Turns out, Shero didnt have to step up after Lemieux and Burkle told him they were fully on board with keeping Bylsma in the fold. "They were 100 per cent supportive," Shero said. Even if the Penguins are just 3-4 in post-season series since captain Sidney Crosby raised the Cup after beating Detroit in Game 7 of the 2009 finals. Pittsburgh has fallen to a lower-seeded team each time, though the fourth-seeded Bruins hardly qualified as a major underdog. Boston didnt play like one, never trailing as the Penguins were swept for the first time in 34 years. Most galling was a 6-1 defeat at home in Game 2 that changed the tenor of the series. Pittsburgh regrouped and played well in a double-overtime loss in Game 3 and a 1-0 loss in Game 4, pretty clear evidence Bylsma had not lost the dressing room. He certainly didnt lose Shero. "We did some very good things over the course of the season," Shero said. "We won the Atlantic Division championship. We won 15 straight games that put us in position to have home-ice (advantage)." Those accomplishments and Bylsmas solid relationship with stars Crosby and Evgeni Malkin proved more powerful than the sting of disappointment. Malkin is entering the final year of his contract and the Penguins are intent on keeping him. Having the coach who helped turn Malkin into the league MVP a year ago certainly wont hurt. Shero understands the lure of blowing things up. It happens frequently in Pittsburgh. Bylsmas 319-game run is the longest since the franchise was founded in 1967. Bringing in a new face didnt make sense to Shero, who pointed to the stability of franchises like the Detroit Red Wings as the key to being a consistent Cup contender. Besides, while the new deal brings a sense of momentary calm, it hardly assures a sense of long-term security. Therrien was fired halfway through the 2008-09 season even though he signed a three-year extension a few months earlier. Shero also cautioned the deal doesnt absolve Bylsma or the players of what happened against the Bruins. It also doesnt mean the window for this group has closed. "Weve been to the conference finals three times in the last six years," Shero said. "We want a Cup. We want to get back there." Bylsma in particular. He called the extension "important" and in some ways a relief. He traded texts with his brothers assuring them he was "OK" after the loss to the Bruins. Now he can head into the off-season trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. His first order will be finding a new goaltending coach. Longtime goaltending coach Gille Meloche will move into a scouting role and whoever inherits his position will have to find a way to restore the confidence of Marc-Andre Fleury. The former No. 1 pick imploded in the opening round against the New York Islanders and lost his job to Tomas Vokoun. Bylsma and Shero insist the 28-year-old Fleury remains a part of the teams future. "Does he understand situation hes in? I think he does," Bylsma said. "Going forward there is not repair work to do with Marc-Andre Fleury and the coach and our team. Hes a good goalie ... hes going to win the majority of the games for us." With Bylsma at the helm. "We want to put ourselves into situations to win the Stanley Cup every year," Bylsma said. "We felt weve done that with our team." Cheap Football Jerseys Authentic . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Cheap Jerseys From China . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. http://www.cheapfootballjerseys.us.org/ . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Wholesale Football Jerseys Online . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Veteran Brisbane Lions defender Daniel Merrett says he can understand why supporters of the embattled AFL club are staying away in droves.Just 10,195 people watched Brisbanes 79-point thumping against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday, the clubs worst-ever crowd at the Gabba.While there were mitigating factors - such as rain and the low levels of support for the Giants in Brisbane - Merrett said players were getting the message.I suppose youre not going to watch your team get beaten every week, are you? Merrett told reporters on Wednesday.All we can do is stick together as a group, train hard and build for the future.If you get caught up in that you can let it affect you.The only way to raise those crowd numbers is by playing good footy.Merrett missed the Giants match due to illness, but is expected to return to the Lions side for Sundays likely wooden spoon playoff against Essendon at Etihad Stadium.The Lions say they wont sack coach Justin Leppitschh if they lose, but a 13th straight defeat, to the suspension-ravaged Bombers would seriously ramp up the pressure on him.ddddddddddddMerrett said Brisbane wont be handling the match any differently despite the stakes at hand.Its a way to build the game up this weekend, he said.(But) its no good putting extra emphasis on it.Well prepare the way we always prepare, well train well this week, stick together and be united.Merrett said he felt the scrutiny on Leppitsch, who is contracted to the end of 2017, was unfair.A lot of the performance comes down to the players, and as senior players, we take responsibility for that, he said.The best way the senior players can support our coach is by putting on a good performance this weekend.There is a lot of external noise, and thats all it is.Internally, were still tight, were united. ' ' '