Mike Sullivan is the worst Head Coach in the league now and the Penguins don’t care.

[orby]

The team has problems besides Sullivan, but his system is clearly not working and hasn't been for around 5 seasons now. He is a bad fit, and the amount of leeway he's been given is unfortunate.

 

[AvroArrow]

Not like the core players are all nearly 40 or anything

 

[Michael Farkas]

Mike Sullivan is the best coach in the league and the Penguins do care. There, now the universe is even.

 

[stevo61]

hes not even the worst coach in the division

 

[ninetyeight]

PIT offers:
- Sullivan

NJ offers:
- Green
- 7th Round pick
- 4 Taylor Ham Pork Rolls

 

[Wattsburgh]

Lmao, these points are all absolutely hilarious. Nylander having an off game when he's failed in multiple spots pre Pittsburgh? Granlund sucked in Pittsburgh and was never going to play in their top 6 with Sid/Malkin obviously being the two pillars down the center. Being a point producer on a shit team isn't something to cry about. And Vegas clearly traded Reilly Smith for a reason to Pittsburgh in the first place, shouldn't the player take some onus in that regard as well? I'll gladly take Sullivan in NJ if you're sick of him.

Well at least you give happy endings.

 

[Wattsburgh]

Not like the core players are all nearly 40 or anything

Not like Sullivan would play any young prospects or anything. If Cole Caufield or Seth Jarvis were drafted by him they’d still be in the AHL.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Sully still coaching like his team is full of 20-year-olds.

f***ing loser.

 

[jcs0218]

I don't think many people realize how Kyle Dubas operates.

Kyle Dubas isn't the type of guy who likes to take responsibility or accountability.

He doesn't like having a microscope on him and he doesn't like having his performance as a General Manager scrutinized.

The moment he fires Sullivan and brings in his own guy is the same moment that he will no longer have "poor coaching" to use as an excuse for why Pittsburgh is a bad team.

Once he fires Sullivan and brings in his own guy, then Dubas decision-making will be put under the miscroscope, and this is the same microscope he likes to avoid.

Because if his own brought-in coach can't turn the Penguins into a good team, then Dubas will be questioned as to why he decided on this coach.

Dubas will also be questioned about his roster construction and personnel transactions if his hand-picked coach can't solve the Penguins problems, because then the criticism will divert to the roster.

The longer Dubas keeps Sullivan around, the longer he extends his own "grace period" or "honeymoon phase" as it relates to his employment as the Penguins GM.

People complaining about Sullivan being a very bad coach is exactly what Dubas wants, because it keeps the attention away from him.

Sullivan being criticized as a very bad coach distracts people from seeing the awful job Dubas has done in his 1st season as Penguins GM, such as acquiring Erik Karlsson at his terrible contract and thinking that the Penguins were an Erik Karlsson away from contending.

Keeping Sullivan extends Dubas job security.

 

[HisIceness]

His wristwatch game is baller though

 

[Goptor]

the Penguins have won all 3 out of their 4 Cup runs

I like this line.

 

[Chips]

I’ve thought they needed a fresh start for years

But honestly I’m pretty sure Sullivan is dug in. I half suspect Crosby is the only one who could give the okay to fire him lol

 

[Our Lady Peace]

Holding onto any coach for a long time, irrespective of the success they had a hand in on with their team, is almost always going to bite you in the ass.

The players change and the game changes. What worked beautifully in 2017 won't necessarily work in 2024. For both the reasons mentioned.

I hated the fact they were so good when he joined the Pens, but now I feel bad for the team kind of because I have huge admiration for Crosby and Karlsson. Especially Karlsson because he's still without his cup.

 

[Pens x]

His extension showed that the owners have no clue as to what they are doing.

 

[Guess]

Don't worry, soon they'll have a new coach.. For the rebuild

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

It’s blatantly obvious to anyone with a brain (and has been for years) that FSG care solely about $$$$ over having actual on-ice franchise success.

f*** them and their “Beantown Boytoy” Mike Sullivan.

 

[KapG]

He has been for a while lol

 

[EdJovanovski]

Sheldon Keefe says hello

 

[TooManyHumans]

It isn't Dubas' decision. FSG loves Sullivan.

And, btw, while Sullivan can be defended by pointing to the age of the team and poor depth, good luck actually mounting a positive case for the job he's doing.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

It's funny that some folks seem to think Pens fans are wrong about Sullivan considering HF also thought we were wrong when we were calling for Bylsma's head a few years ago.

"LOL look at his winning percentage"
"Bylsma's a great coach! He even wins when Sid and Geno are hurt! You guys are just spoiled"

Now the same stuff is being said about our opinion of Sullivan, so it's going to f***ing hilarious when Sullivan finally does get fired and goes to another team to fall flat on his face, like Bylsma did after leaving Pittsburgh, only for HF to be all "herp derp what happened? he was so good in Pittsburgh?"

 

[Voight]

Gotta love when fanbases turn on their coach after telling the rest of HFB hes the best in the league.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

It's funny that some folks seem to think Pens fans are wrong about Sullivan considering HF also thought we were wrong when we were calling for Bylsma's head a few years ago.

"LOL look at his winning percentage"
"Bylsma's a great coach! He even wins when Sid and Geno are hurt! You guys are just spoiled"

Now the same stuff is being said about our opinion of Sullivan, so it's going to f***ing hilarious when Sullivan finally does get fired and goes to another team to fall flat on his face, like Bylsma did after leaving Pittsburgh, only for HF to be all "herp derp what happened? he was so good in Pittsburgh?"

Gotta love when fanbases turn on their coach after telling the rest of HFB hes the best in the league.

I like the dichotomy of these two comments. Encapsulates these forums pretty well.

First comment about Pens fans telling the rest of HF that Sullivan is cooked while the rest of HF says that he's a good coach.

Second comment about Pens fans "turning" on Sullivan after saying he's a good coach, while the rest of HF tells them he wasn't a good coach.


As with just about everything, the truth is somewhere in between. Sully was a great coach for a long time, and I think he still is a good coach. But his system is getting stale and doesn't have the type of roster he had when it was more successful.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Gotta love when fanbases turn on their coach after telling the rest of HFB hes the best in the league.

I don’t recall any pens fans speaking of him positively in the last several years

 

[golfortennis1]

Holding onto any coach for a long time, irrespective of the success they had a hand in on with their team, is almost always going to bite you in the ass.

The players change and the game changes. What worked beautifully in 2017 won't necessarily work in 2024. For both the reasons mentioned.

I hated the fact they were so good when he joined the Pens, but now I feel bad for the team kind of because I have huge admiration for Crosby and Karlsson. Especially Karlsson because he's still without his cup.

This is my biggest disappointment in the whole affair: so long as Sullivan is the coach, Crosby has played his last playoff game. Plain and simple. Unless he gets traded tomorrow, Crosby is finished in the playoffs. The Penguins are not even trying to avoid that fact.

I don't think many people realize how Kyle Dubas operates.

Kyle Dubas isn't the type of guy who likes to take responsibility or accountability.

He doesn't like having a microscope on him and he doesn't like having his performance as a General Manager scrutinized.

The moment he fires Sullivan and brings in his own guy is the same moment that he will no longer have "poor coaching" to use as an excuse for why Pittsburgh is a bad team.

Once he fires Sullivan and brings in his own guy, then Dubas decision-making will be put under the miscroscope, and this is the same microscope he likes to avoid.

Because if his own brought-in coach can't turn the Penguins into a good team, then Dubas will be questioned as to why he decided on this coach.

Dubas will also be questioned about his roster construction and personnel transactions if his hand-picked coach can't solve the Penguins problems, because then the criticism will divert to the roster.

The longer Dubas keeps Sullivan around, the longer he extends his own "grace period" or "honeymoon phase" as it relates to his employment as the Penguins GM.

People complaining about Sullivan being a very bad coach is exactly what Dubas wants, because it keeps the attention away from him.

Sullivan being criticized as a very bad coach distracts people from seeing the awful job Dubas has done in his 1st season as Penguins GM, such as acquiring Erik Karlsson at his terrible contract and thinking that the Penguins were an Erik Karlsson away from contending.

Keeping Sullivan extends Dubas job security.

I don't disagree that what you say is true, but I don't think it applies here. FFS, FSG said Sullivan would be consulted on who the new GM would be. Outside of the fact there are only so many GM jobs, what GM worth his salt would take a job under those circumstances? It's pretty obvious Dubas' hands were tied from the get go on this one.

 

[Lolonegoal]

Both things can be true:

Mike Sullivan is a good hockey coach.
Mike Sullivan is not the right coach for the Penguins at this moment.

If a coach makes it to the NHL, its very unlikely he's a 'bad' coach. He's had to be proven successful at other levels. Even coaches that are given opportunities with minimal experience are trusted because they've established some kind of hockey experiences at a high level, eg. Martin St. Louis. Coaching almost always comes down to the right fit. And sometimes the right fit is different the same team even 2-3 years down the road.