The Penguins are moving on from head coach Mike Sullivan, per a team announcement.
“On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to thank Mike Sullivan for his unwavering commitment and loyalty to the team and City of Pittsburgh over the past decade,” said president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas. “Mike is known for his preparation, focus, and fierce competitiveness. I was fortunate to have a front-row seat to his dedication to this franchise for the past two seasons. He will forever be an enormous part of Penguins history, not only for the impressive back-to-back Cups, his impact on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, but more importantly, for his love and loyalty to the organization.”
It’s not a true firing – rather, a mutual decision for Sullivan to pursue another opportunity and for Pittsburgh to find a new identity behind the bench in the twilight of their core’s careers. Sullivan had two years left on a three-year extension. It’s unclear whether the Penguins will still pay him the money owed on that deal.
“A thorough search for the next head coach of the Penguins will begin immediately,” the team said. The Pens join the Blackhawks, Bruins, Ducks, Flyers, Kraken, and Rangers as teams with active vacancies at head coach.
It was another underwhelming 2024-25 season for Sullivan and the Penguins, who continued their slide down the standings and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season. With a 34-36-12 record, Pittsburgh finished under .500 for the first time since going 22-46-14 in Crosby’s rookie season in 2005-06.
Sullivan has been the Pens’ bench boss for essentially the latter half of the Crosby-Malkin-Letang trifecta era. Promoted from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton midway through the 2015-16 season after Pittsburgh fired Mike Johnston, he immediately led the team to back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017. But after beating the Flyers in the first round in 2018, Sullivan’s Penguins have yet to win a playoff series.
The 57-year-old was the second-longest tenured head coach in the league behind the Lightning’s Jon Cooper. His illustrious Pittsburgh era concludes with a 409-255-89 record (.602) in 753 regular-season games, holding the franchise wins record by a considerable margin over Dan Bylsma (252). Including his two-year tenure behind the Bruins’ bench in 2003-04 and 2005-06, Sullivan’s 479 career wins as head coach rank 32nd in NHL history. Since Sullivan assumed his duties in Pittsburgh on Dec. 12, 2015, the Pens rank eighth in the league in points percentage.
While Pittsburgh has significantly overhauled its depth ranks over the past few seasons, the vast majority of its core remains in place outside of Jake Guentzel, whom they traded to the Hurricanes at last year’s deadline. This is a more unexpected major change – Dubas told Wes Crosby of NHL.com last week he was expecting Sullivan back behind the bench for 2025-26. Perhaps today’s news is more at Sullivan’s request than the team’s.
Sullivan will be a person of interest in every active head coaching search. The Rangers have pursued him aggressively in the past, especially before he signed his extension in 2022. There’s no firm enough reporting yet to call them a frontrunner, but with Peter Laviolette out the door and Chris Drury still in his post as general manager, it’s nearly a given they’ll be among the most well-equipped teams to land his services.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Finally. This is going to be the beginning of a great season.
The next head coach of the Boston Bruins?
I hate that we couldn’t trade him.
Nope, they’ve done that before. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the rangers or Canucks though.
Intruding the next NYRs head coach.
Steelers, take note: a fresh start with a new coach is sometimes needed.
You think a different head coach was taking that team farther than Tomlin did??
You don’t think Tomlin has a large say so in personnel matters? Ok
Wonder if this is why the HC of Denver backed out of the blackhawks search. Never know with a college coach but please anyone other than a retread
Undoubtedly, you screamed retread when Vegas hired Bruce Cassidy and Florida hired Paul Maurice – then they won Cups. Barry Trotz, Mike Sullivan, Joel Quenneville, Darryl Sutter. In common? Other “retread” hires in the past decade or so who won Cups. In the current playoff field, in addition to Cassidy and Maurice, there are six coaches that would fit your definition of retread. Meanwhile, Don Granato, Derek Lalonde, Greg Cronin, Luke Richardson, Pascal Vincent are recent firings that you likely loved as hires because they fit the “anything other than a retread” model. Some retreads work. Some don’t. Some first timers work. Some don’t. To toss around the retread label as a blanket bad thing is uninformed and lazy.
Sullivan and Bylsma might be 2 guys to at least interview for the Hawks gig. I’m not sure what AHL coaches have earned at least an interview but those 2 at least deserve an interview I would think. As long as it’s not one of the oldest retreads. Hey I heard Q got an interview. But nahhhhhhh. Pass. LOL
One of those guys is a great coach and the other is a very nice man.
Seems pretty obvious some tampering occurred here.
What tampering? Just make that up? Bylsma just got fired by the Kraken so………Who are they tampering with? The unemployment office?
Do you want audio from the room or something?
They planned to keep him. Now, he wants out to talk to other teams. Did he blindly quit a decade long high paying gig without knowing the other offers were there?
Reading is one thing. Comprehension is another. It says, It was a mutual parting which means both parties said it’s time. Key word being ” MUTUAL”. You don’t think for one second that either guy knew there would be other teams interested in their services if they left? Pretty sure that would be common knowledge. Fact is the Penguins are getting older and not willing to rebuild so he’s doomed to patchwork plastering a team around Sid the Kid, Who isn’t a kid anymore. Of course he’s not interested. There’s no future in that.
Is there tampering when it comes to a coach?
And let’s also be fair about “mutual decisions.” Sometimes that’s more a polite euphemism than an accurate description.
Lucky man. NY Rangers next stop. Bylsma to the Penguins.
Or Boston I feel Boston will coach his son in law
Hopefully no retreads, just another young guy like Dubas. Thankfully he traded Guentzel and brought in Karlsson and without his track record of never making it past the first round, the Pens might still be in contention. Maybe Derek Lalonde? Awesome, Dudes!
Do I sense sarcasm here? ;)
At this rate, Mario may have to save the franchise a second time.
I can’t speak to the Penguins situation, but Sullivan scratching Kyle Connor from Team USA’s lineup so he could play Kreider and Nelson instead is a fireable offense. :(
Just sayin’, it worked out the last time he replaced Bylsma.
It did. Except for the part where that’s not actually what happened.
There’s this other guy you have to hire first…and he is NOT good.
Why would Sullivan want to go where a good coach already failed with a pretty talented team? Maybe Vancouver isn’t as talented as they think. As for Sullivan it all depends on what he’s looking for and How long he wants to keep coaching or if he wants to move up to a FO gig. If he wants to build another team from the ground up-Hawks. If he wants to win a CUP next year maybe Rangers or ? We’ll see
psst: Bylsma was in Seattle Tocchet is in Van City
Ok, well, no wonder I forgot him. Eww, gross, he’s with Portland? At least he’s a short drive away. Hire-and-fire before the day is over! So quick that the gas jockeys won’t know he left that state!
So, its starts to make sense. Perhaps Canucks management were not thrilled with the way Tochett managed the whole Pettersson/Miller issue. Perhaps they have encouraged him to look elsewhere hoping their number #1 alternative and a guy who has strong connections to Vancouver considers returning. Welcome home Mike Sullivan!
Yet the Steelers Tomlin and the Pirates Shelton remain at their jobs. Happens all the time, a new voice can revitalize a team.
Or it can set them back years
Hire Edzo and get McKenna.
I would rather get rid of Dubas.
Normally I wouldn’t put any stock in a rumor from a radio host but the one in question worked for the Pens for a few years so he would absolutely have sources…
Word is Sully had a list of demands (presumably about competing, maybe about staff or roster construction, etc.) and they said, “yeah, no.”
It’s fine. No reason to ask him to tank after all the winning here. He’s not going to play young guys anyway. And there are a bunch of good jobs for him open.
Just wish we could have traded him.
This did not happen: link to x.com
I have no idea whether it did or didn’t, but I’ll just say separately that I trust Dorin Dickerson far more than I do Rob Rossi. Unless the story is about Malkin, I put near zero stock in his word.
The Pens have had a history of hatchet jobs after the fact, too, even when it’s not necessary so, maybe it didn’t.
I still tend to think a team or teams whispered to Sully’s agent who whispered to him that the grass was greener.
Hahahahaha “I don’t know if something happened or not but I will confidently post about it online cuz 90 seconds of research is really hard.”
Keep trying, Bud.
Turn your sadness into forced laughter. We’re all totally fooled by it, don’t worry.
A little surprising to see Mike Sullivan released from his coaching duties from Pittsburgh especially after it looked like he was staying.
Sullivan will be a hot commodity for open coaching gigs. He’s one of the better coaches in the NHL. I would have to say the Boston Bruins are going to be the front runners for his service followed by the New York Rangers. But I think he’ll end up in Boston & coach his son-in-law Charlie McAvoy. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Dubas will save the franchise by appointing himself Head Coach!!!! This would be the ultimate narcistic move he could do, so h will do it!
That would be a lot of fun. I hope you’re right.
Hahaha!!! When he said he was gonna look for a GM and then appointed himself GM days later I stopped believing anything he says. I used to love laughing at him when he was in Toronto, but now that he runs my team it is a bit depressing.
Sullivan knows what’s about to happen, he wasn’t going to stick around for the carnage. Whoever takes that job is walking into it, they’re going to have to find somebody to take one for the team.
The Rangers have a toxic room and GM right now, not sure if he wants to wade into that either lol.
What if the Rangers offer him stupid money? Not disagreeing with you about the toxicity in the Rangers organization right now, but money has a way of making people overlook things.
I’m sure Sullivan is good moneywise. It’s all about where he wants to be.
Seven days ago:
The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be among the few teams looking for a new bench boss this summer. In an article from Wes Crosby of NHL.com, the Penguins will retain head coach Mike Sullivan through the 2025-26 NHL season.
Rumor is that Sullivan had a list of demands and he wasn’t on same page as Dubas. I’ve read that Quenneville’s name has popped up for some coaching vacancies. Could be interesting fit for the Pens.
Sully will go coach his son-in-law at Boston. It will be a family thing!
Uh…so about 10 minutes ago I read for the first time that Sully’s son in law is Charlie McAvoy?
I know I don’t pay much attention to the peripheral or off ice stuff that doesn’t matter on the ice, but…you think that one would have trickled in. When did this occur?
The NHL’s version of Deion and Shedeur, except the slight personality differences.
If you watched the 4 Nations tournament it was only like mentioned every 10 minutes. Especially when he got injured.
If I watched with the sound on, you mean.
I have no use for most of the broadcast crews these days.