Penguins and Mike Sullivan agree to part ways

[Lomez]

Rust is one of my favorite non-Bruins to watch but including him in that list of people is hilarious.

My thought exactly, I love Rusty but had to do a double take when I read that.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

Noooooooooooooooo, was hoping they would keep him forever

 

[bobholly39]

FINALLY!!!!

I don't even dislike the guy. I can see him get hired elsewhere for next season, and have a ton of success maybe even in year 1. But it was crystal clear it wasn't working in Pittsburgh anymore.

I think Penguins make the playoffs next year with thie move.

 

[super6646]

Every metro division rival fan is crying rn.

Tbh it wasn’t really his fault but it was time

 

[John Mandalorian]

Isn’t Boston looking for a coach?

 

[The don godfather]

Welcome to Boston sully.

 

[jmelm]

Should the Sabres hire him and move Lindy to a President or senior advisor position?

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Sully is a proud Boston guy... Could see him going back home to ol' Bean Town.

 

[BHD]

One of the most important players in franchise history (Crosby) liked him after they won back-to-back Cups, which was in 2017. Since then, they have only won one(!) playoff series, and that was in 2018.

So for anyone claiming he's falling on the sword for this season... It's more management finally acknowledging that he isn't the right coach anymore. If we're being honest, he should have been dismissed after they lost to Montreal during the COVID year. So five years ago...

All that having been said, he did a tremendous job when he first took over. Whoever hires him will get a shot in the arm, granted they have the personnel.

 

[Koivu11]

 

[Homelander]

There's your next head coach of the New York Rangers. Drury's gonna bullshit and say he's done an 'exhaustive' search, but everyone and his/her mother know that Sullivan is going to be the next HC.

 

[Homelander]

New York Rangers announce Mike Sullivan as new head coach.......

Coming Soon!

Or the Bruins...but Drury is gonna outspend the Bruins for Sullivan

 

[Homelander]

Oh, a new benchmark for a HC who hasn't won the Stanley Cup in years and has struggled with Crosby and Malkin?

So Rangers.

 

[Toby91ca]

When I think of the Penguins core, Bryan Rust immediately comes to mind

Sounds a bit weird, but looking it up, he's been there for 11 seasons....only the other 3 where there when started. 11 years is a long time, but does seem weird, he's a bit of "whatever" type player. But, he's in the top 10 in franchise games played and goals.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Pens fans, how much of the Sullivan hate is the job he’s done and how much of it is that the team has naturally been on the decline and it’s difficult for anyone other than like Crosby to come out of the last few years looking good?

Could he do a better job with a different team? And do you believe he’s as good of a coach as his record of 2 Stanley Cups suggests?

The reason I ask is because he’s obviously going to be the next Rangers coach.

 

[Homelander]

Welcome to Boston sully.

Rangers and Bruins go on a double-date with Torts and Sully, but the question is, who gets whom?

 

[Michael Farkas]

We never did that. He never tried to play a more defensive game. And yes a lot of that probably had to do with what the players wanted but it was his responsibility to be the bad guy in the situation.

All righty...I've intently watched every single minute of every single Penguins game of the Sullivan era, I'm quite sure that we had some 1-2-2 passive elements in our game for stretches. In my notes, I'd point you towards January and February 2024, for instance. There was a not insignificant stretch where we became a top 5ish defensive team in there, despite the roster/goaltending combo. There was a lot of 1-2-2 structure in that, and then they tried to build a strong side wall in the NZ to immediately force plays into the gutter (or really rushed indirect passes to the right side for Letang and Karlsson, two very toes-y d-men). Then F1 would actually fold back underneath through that and we didn't get beat back to our net nearly as much as, say, this season...all season.

Then we went through a stretch in March where we didn't score any more...so Sullivan opened things up, and we almost looked like the vintage Penguins (ya know, the team that used to win games and have fun haha) for a bit. That's when Nedeljkovic went on a run and all that.

I'm not claiming it was years of Johnston-era hockey or anything...but the "we never did that" claim...that doesn't hold water, with all due respect.

 

[DrDangles]

3-4 years overdue but I'll take it

 

[Vukotal Recall]

So, joking aside, question for thoughtful Pens fans: is Sullivan now a terrible coach overall (irredeemably stubborn, etc.) or did he just become a terrible coach for that particular franchise/situation after its Cup wins?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don’t understand why there would be compensation to the Pens from another team that hires him.

Didn’t they announce they are parting ways?

 

[Turin]

So, joking aside, question for thoughtful Pens fans: is Sullivan now a terrible coach overall (irredeemably stubborn, etc.) or did he just become a terrible coach for that particular franchise/situation after its Cup wins?

Probably more a case of getting stale in one organization and being around certain players for too long. Unlike with Bylsma I think Sullivan actually is a good coach but he should be have let go 3 years ago already at the latest. Like before trading Guentzel or any of that stuff.

 

[eXile3]

All righty...I've intently watched every single minute of every single Penguins game of the Sullivan era, I'm quite sure that we had some 1-2-2 passive elements in our game for stretches. In my notes, I'd point you towards January and February 2024, for instance. There was a not insignificant stretch where we became a top 5ish defensive team in there, despite the roster/goaltending combo. There was a lot of 1-2-2 structure in that, and then they tried to build a strong side wall in the NZ to immediately force plays into the gutter (or really rushed indirect passes to the right side for Letang and Karlsson, two very toes-y d-men). Then F1 would actually fold back underneath through that and we didn't get beat back to our net nearly as much as, say, this season...all season.

Then we went through a stretch in March where we didn't score any more...so Sullivan opened things up, and we almost looked like the vintage Penguins (ya know, the team that used to win games and have fun haha) for a bit. That's when Nedeljkovic went on a run and all that.

I'm not claiming it was years of Johnston-era hockey or anything...but the "we never did that" claim...that doesn't hold water, with all due respect.

Everyone uses a 1-2-2 forecheck at various points in a game. We never played it at any kind of consistent amount of time. Players weren’t held accountable, the defense was rotated three-four times to no success. Sullivan changed very little after winning those cups.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

He's 100% going to the NYR. Drury apparently went hard after him in 2021, where Sullivan said he wasn't interested in changing teams at the time.

If Tochett doesn't re-sign I think he ends up in Vancouver.

I know he wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh but he's an excellent coach and let's be honest, that roster the last three years hasn't exactly been great.

That being said it's absolutely the right move for you guys considering you guys are likely headed for a proper rebuild and that usually involves a new coach that can navigate that Scenario. Sully likely wants to win now and management might want a voice tailored more to that.

I wonder what this means for Sid? Wasn't he a big reason for Sully lasting this long?

 

[Golden_Jet]

I don’t understand why there would be compensation to the Pens from another team that hires him.

Didn’t they announce they are parting ways?

He has 2 more years on his contract,
so team hiring him has to pay the 5.5 million, or if the team hiring him wants to pay him 4 million, Pens pick up the rest, is how it usually works.

 

[SomeDude]

I wonder what this means for Sid? Wasn't he a big reason for Sully lasting this long?

People always assume/claim that Sid meddles with off ice things despite no evidence of it. The one exception is apparently he made a phone call regarding Malkin’s last contract when things came down to the wire.

He’s been through many coaching changes, had his closest friends traded, etc. The guy just plays hockey.