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

[Le Magnifique 66]

FSG doesn't seem to care either... I believe KD hands are tied here and it's not his call. Hopefully they wake up and fire him at the end of the season. Still have a bit of hope. Nothing is happening until regular season is done!

 

[BallardEra]

Is Malkin hurt? No shots on net over his last 3 games.

He also only has 4 goals over his last 29 games played.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Why? So we can keep our pick at 6th or 7th and let SJ have a top 2 pick next year?

I am aware this is totally going to happen. I just want to let it known how angry it will make me.

I think if you have a top 8 or so pick you take it. You can't admit to your fanbase that you expect to be worse. If San Jose gets a top 5 pick so be it. 2026 is real tank season, hopefully the pens get McKenna.

Is Malkin hurt? No shots on net over his last 3 games.

He also only has 4 goals over his last 29 games played.

He's declined pretty hard this season. And these guys are old, the later into the season it's getting the worse they're looking.

 

[seafoam]

Du(m)bas(s) will bring in Keefe next year.

 

[Bounces R Way]

That extension they gave him has to be one of the dumbest coaching contracts ever handed out in this league. Up there with the Toronto Babcock deal.

 

[BobCole]

I think some people are whipping Sullivan for Karlsson not impacting the team as they expecting.

However, I was on the record to say it was not a good fit when they pulled the trigger, and with respect to Sullivan, it's just past his best before date. He needs a reset as badly as the penguins do.

Karlsson has been the least of the team's problems.

Up until the Guentzel injury, Crosby was playing the best hockey he's played in a decade or more. Guentzel and Rust performed well. Letang and Karlsson produced, despite not being the best defenders. And most noticeably, goaltending has been very good.

The issues have been as follows:
- Absolute dog shit performances from supposed Top-6 wingers Rakell & Smith.
- Anemic offensive output from the entire Bottom 6.
- Probably the worst PP in the league.
- Team defense that BLEEDS oddman opportunities against.
- Terrible performances from other offseason additions, particularly Ryan Graves.
- No coaching adjustments from Sully & co., especially with regards to the PP.

Again, Karlsson is the least of these issues. And it's not as though the Pens could have used the assets they used in the Karlsson trade (literally the team's biggest rejects) in order to improve on the issues above by acquiring other personnel.

I agree that it's evident that the message from the coaching staff has gone stale. But I don't blame Dubas, and I don't blame Sullivan entirely for issues like the marked decline in play from players like Rakell, Smith, and Graves.

 

[karltonian]

I think some people are whipping Sullivan for Karlsson not impacting the team as they expecting.

However, I was on the record to say it was not a good fit when they pulled the trigger, and with respect to Sullivan, it's just past his best before date. He needs a reset as badly as the penguins do.

If you can't fit the best play driving d in the league onto your team it's 100% on coaching

 

[dalewood12]

The crazy thing? I still think it's possible they keep Sullivan for next season.

 

[Extra Texture]

I think some people are whipping Sullivan for Karlsson not impacting the team as they expecting.

However, I was on the record to say it was not a good fit when they pulled the trigger, and with respect to Sullivan, it's just past his best before date. He needs a reset as badly as the penguins do.

That doesn’t really explain the first 15-20 odd games of the season. EK was paired with Petterson, the two immediately gelled, and the put up outstanding numbers, statistical and underlying. Totally possible it was a flash in the pan, but then Sullivan jumbled the pairings bc Graves was such a tire fire, and Karlsson’s play started dropping off while the mistakes and turnovers started piling up.

This is also around when Magic Mike started talking about “correcting” things about his game, and him playing the right way.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Honestly if they fire Sullivan, just like how the Pens went through a carosel of General Managers, they'll find someone a lot worse.

I have a prediction that Crosby ends up a coach/GM of this team at some point.

 

[PaulD]

I like how non-Penguins fans don't think Sullivan should be held accountable for anything. Blame Dubas all you want (something non-Penguins fans seem really eager to do); it still doesn't excuse the crap job Sullivan is doing. I can't believe anyone thinks he's actually doing a good job. The Penguins are not contenders but they also aren't as bad as they are playing.

And to lose 5 straight play off series before missing play offs back to back?
And Sully is completely unaccountable? lol.
In what bizarro world do coaches go unscathed through a losing skid like that.

 

[Bishop7979]

Sullivan needs to shoulder a lot of the blame and should be fired this off-season.

I could probably come up with over 10 issues that are squarely in him for why this team underachieve this season, but, the biggest reason to drop him is

HE DOESNT KNOW HOW TO DEVELOP YOUNGER PLAYERS.

For a team wanting to get younger, who will need to start injecting guys like Yager, Broz, Poulin, ponomarev, koivunen, Pickering, and blomqvist into the line up in the next 2 seasons, Sullivan is not the guy to lead this team.

Not a single one of those players, or anyone drafted in the near future, will meet their potential with these idiots coaching them.

 

[PaulD]

I think if you have a top 8 or so pick you take it. You can't admit to your fanbase that you expect to be worse. If San Jose gets a top 5 pick so be it. 2026 is real tank season, hopefully the pens get McKenna.


He's declined pretty hard this season. And these guys are old, the later into the season it's getting the worse they're looking.

 

[molon labe]

Is Malkin hurt? No shots on net over his last 3 games.

He also only has 4 goals over his last 29 games played.

1. Has needed to shift to wing for about 3 seasons now with a younger C to take the load off in our 2C slot.
2. Mike Sullivan - who wouldn't be depressed on that team.
3. His linemates have pretty much always been scraps. This year has been particularly bad. I lost count after dozenes of assists that were completely dropped because of offensively inept teammates- and that's when I was giving a shit, so back around Thanksgiving.

He's a big time emotion guy/player. I think he's realized the same things the rest of us have realized and doesn't have the utter stubborness like Sid with regard to competing. The team and the staff are hot steamy shit and management hasn't done anything to fix it for several seasons. This is Mike Sullivan's team. Not FSG and certainly not Dubas.

 

[Gurglesons]

Honestly if they fire Sullivan, just like how the Pens went through a carosel of General Managers, they'll find someone a lot worse.

I have a prediction that Crosby ends up a coach/GM of this team at some point.

How does it get worse than no playoffs in two years or playoff wins in 6?

Like this team isn’t making the playoffs with Sullivan as a coach and isn’t scoring either.

How does it get a lot worse?

 

[Gurglesons]

I think some people are whipping Sullivan for Karlsson not impacting the team as they expecting.

However, I was on the record to say it was not a good fit when they pulled the trigger, and with respect to Sullivan, it's just past his best before date. He needs a reset as badly as the penguins do.

We are whipping Sullivan because he’s playing 39 year old Jeff Carter like he’s a defensive shut down match up.

He just came out a few weeks ago and said Harkins - Acciari - Carter is an identity line.

He’s been doing this approach for 5 years now where he absolutely dummies the 3rd and 4th line in the dzone and no matter who is there they don’t score.

Mike Sullivan is responsible for Jared McCann leaving Pittsburgh. He completely dropped his usage when the roster is healthy.

We are seeing that again with Kris Letang playing 26+ minutes a night now.

His roster decisions are a huge reason why this team sucks. We were just rolling out a 1st line in 2024 with Lars Eller on it.

 

[The Great Mighty Poo]

I like how non-Penguins fans don't think Sullivan should be held accountable for anything. Blame Dubas all you want (something non-Penguins fans seem really eager to do); it still doesn't excuse the crap job Sullivan is doing. I can't believe anyone thinks he's actually doing a good job. The Penguins are not contenders but they also aren't as bad as they are playing.

 

[SomeDude]

I think some people are whipping Sullivan for Karlsson not impacting the team as they expecting.

However, I was on the record to say it was not a good fit when they pulled the trigger, and with respect to Sullivan, it's just past his best before date. He needs a reset as badly as the penguins do.

When the trade was made Sullivan said that he thinks he can teach him some things about defense. Yes, he thinks he can get 33 year old Erik Karlsson to change the way he has played and made him one of the most dynamic players of his generation. Mission accomplished, Sully, he sucks now. Just like every player the Pens bring in who had success somewhere else.

 

[PaulD]

When the trade was made Sullivan said that he thinks he can teach him some things about defense. Yes, he thinks he can get 33 year old Erik Karlsson to change the way he has played and made him one of the most dynamic players of his generation. Mission accomplished, Sully, he sucks now. Just like every player the Pens bring in who had success somewhere else.

Karlsson
Smith
Eler
Rackell
Petry
Matheson
Granlund
Graves

off the top of my head

 

[SomeDude]

Karlsson
Smith
Eler
Rackell
Petry
Matheson
Granlund
Graves

off the top of my head

I'll add a couple more: Brassard, Reaves (refused to use him and forced JR to trade him for nothing after spending a 1st on him), Gudbranson, Oleksiak, Kapanen, even Heinen is useful in a depth role for a good team in the Bruins now. Even Dumoulin and Schultz went from liabilities to respectable depth d-men because they are no longer deployed like all-stars at their advancing ages.

All of them played better before and/or after they left Sullivan's system. It honestly feels like 75% of players brought in have this issue. It has to be the players though, right?

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I'll add a couple more: Brassard, Reaves (refused to use him and forced JR to trade him for nothing after spending a 1st on him), Gudbranson, Oleksiak, Kapanen, even Heinen is useful in a depth role for a good team in the Bruins now. Even Dumoulin and Schultz went from liabilities to respectable depth d-men because they are no longer deployed like all-stars at their advancing ages.

All of them played better before and/or after they left Sullivan's system. It honestly feels like 75% of players brought in have this issue. It has to be the players though, right?

Jared McCann

 

[PaulD]

I'll add a couple more: Brassard, Reaves (refused to use him and forced JR to trade him for nothing after spending a 1st on him), Gudbranson, Oleksiak, Kapanen, even Heinen is useful in a depth role for a good team in the Bruins now. Even Dumoulin and Schultz went from liabilities to respectable depth d-men because they are no longer deployed like all-stars at their advancing ages.

All of them played better before and/or after they left Sullivan's system. It honestly feels like 75% of players brought in have this issue. It has to be the players though, right?

Bang on !

 

[brentashton]

FSG doesn't seem to care either... I believe KD hands are tied here and it's not his call. Hopefully they wake up and fire him at the end of the season. Still have a bit of hope. Nothing is happening until regular season is done!

Serious ask. If it’s not KDs decision why is he even the GM?

(I agree, Sullivan shouldn’t be the coach.)

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

How does it get worse than no playoffs in two years or playoff wins in 6?

Like this team isn’t making the playoffs with Sullivan as a coach and isn’t scoring either.

How does it get a lot worse?

Because if they didn't have a coach they'd likely hire someone like Rick Tocchet.

 

[Bishop7979]

I'll add a couple more: Brassard, Reaves (refused to use him and forced JR to trade him for nothing after spending a 1st on him), Gudbranson, Oleksiak, Kapanen, even Heinen is useful in a depth role for a good team in the Bruins now. Even Dumoulin and Schultz went from liabilities to respectable depth d-men because they are no longer deployed like all-stars at their advancing ages.

All of them played better before and/or after they left Sullivan's system. It honestly feels like 75% of players brought in have this issue. It has to be the players though, right?

E-rod and potentially Alex freaking nylander