Penguins and Mike Sullivan agree to part ways

[Empoleon8771]

Funny that the prevailing opinion on HF was that he should have been fired long ago and he was terrible. But now the mainstream media is saying that every team needing a coach is tripping over each other to hire him now that he's available.

I mean, I get it. HF loves to point fault, and the NHL is a boys club that re-uses coaches endlessly. But it's still a bit odd.

Both can be true that Sullivan grossly overextended his stay in Pittsburgh by years while he's still a great coach.

All coaches have shelf lives.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Funny that the prevailing opinion on HF was that he should have been fired long ago and he was terrible. But now the mainstream media is saying that every team needing a coach is tripping over each other to hire him now that he's available.

I mean, I get it. HF loves to point fault, and the NHL is a boys club that re-uses coaches endlessly. But it's still a bit odd.

Most Pens fans will tell you he's both the best coach we've ever had and should have been fired years ago. Every coach has a shelf-life and Sullivan was past his in Pittsburgh.

Coaches with multiple rings rarely hit the market, so it makes sense that a bunch of teams would be extremely interested in him. Just because he's the wrong coach for the Penguins doesn't mean he's not capable of being the right man for another job.

I think the head coach was largely immaterial to that 2009 Cup win. Sullivan's fingerprints are all over those 2016 & 2017 Cups, though. Especially 2017.

 

[SEALBound]

Most Pens fans will tell you he's both the best coach we've ever had and should have been fired years ago. Every coach has a shelf-life and Sullivan was past his in Pittsburgh.

Yup. Been said by many in this thread thus far. Just want to reiterate it again.

Firing Sully...
For some reason it feels like being in a bad relationship so long that you don't know how to feel without it.

I'm not happy as much as I am just free from the hatred. Feels good man.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I've said my opinion on the matter a million times now, so I'll just leave it at this -- Thanks for 2016 and 2017, but this firing should have happened about 6 or 7 seasons ago.

 

[Andre Palot]

Great coach but yeah it’s definitely time

I guess he’s NYR bound?

I base this on nothing substantial but a hunch but I could see the Rangers going after Tocchet while I think Vancouver gets Sullivan.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

I base this on nothing substantial but a hunch but I could see the Rangers going after Tocchet while I think Vancouver gets Sullivan.

Sully makes a ton of sense given the connections with players and management.
Personally I think that would be a huge upgrade, I was not a big fan of Tochetts systems, or his lineup decisions.
While being a two time cup winner with experience, Sully at least from afar seems current and not at all a dinosaur.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

Most Pens fans will tell you he's both the best coach we've ever had and should have been fired years ago. Every coach has a shelf-life and Sullivan was past his in Pittsburgh.

Coaches with multiple rings rarely hit the market, so it makes sense that a bunch of teams would be extremely interested in him. Just because he's the wrong coach for the Penguins doesn't mean he's not capable of being the right man for another job.

I think the head coach was largely immaterial to that 2009 Cup win. Sullivan's fingerprints are all over those 2016 & 2017 Cups, though. Especially 2017.

This largely expresses how I feel. Sullivan is a VERY good coach. And yes the 16 and 17 Cups do not happen without him. Full stop, he engineered a team to win and win now. All that said, he isn’t the coach the Pens need right now. He doesn’t know how to adapt his coaching to both utilize veterans on their last 1-3 years and also scheme situations to have young guys get their shot and show their ability. He knows how to do one… or the other… and defaults to trying to utilize the vets over the young guys. So VERY good coach, not the coach the Pens need right now. And he has at least over stayed his welcome 2-3 years at least. Wish him the best, thanks for the Cups, hopefully he doesn’t end up with a division rival.

 

[SelltheTeamFrancesco]

I've said my opinion on the matter a million times now, so I'll just leave it at this -- Thanks for 2016 and 2017, but this firing should have happened about 6 or 7 seasons ago.

This is delusional no offence. You wanted him fired a season a season after they could have 3-peated if Murray didn't play like sieve against the Capitals. Talk about being ungrateful my goodness.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

Well look at you!

All kinds of bad faith opportunism to go along with the requisite amount of cognitive dissonance needed not to see what Dubas is doing to your club and the players that continued Lemieux’s legacy.

Intended as camaraderie but taken as slight. Dubas attracted the same types in our fanbase as well.

Ick, lol.

So did Benning in Vancouver, sadly up until the OEL trade I was one of them some people myself included felt he was put in an impossible situation and we're blinded by EP, Quinn, JT, Brock and Demko.
But there was that one leafs fan he had a pic of Dubas as his profile pick, man that guy was either the biggest troll or Dubas himself lol.
The mental gymnastics he performed to justify all the bad was crazy.
In the end I actually think he wasn't as bad as the many leaf haters said he was but from the outside looking in, he's been terrible in Pittsburgh.

 

[3074326]

Well beyond his shelf life. Best of luck to Sully, he will help a team.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

I've said my opinion on the matter a million times now, so I'll just leave it at this -- Thanks for 2016 and 2017, but this firing should have happened about 6 or 7 seasons ago.

Should have happened after the 2019 sweep to the isles or 2023 missing the playoffs.

2020 was a loss after 5 months off coming in cold. Very strange circumstances.

2021 pens won the division and dominated the isles in the first round. Jarry blew that series singlehandedly.

2022 pens choked a 3-1 lead against the Rangers but they were down to their 3rd string goalie and Crosby got head shotted mid series.

Considering rope for a multi cup winning coach he probably should have been fired in 2023 after they finally missed the playoffs.

 

[Turin]

Should have happened after the 2019 sweep to the isles or 2023 missing the playoffs.

2020 was a loss after 5 months off coming in cold. Very strange circumstances.

2021 pens won the division and dominated the isles in the first round. Jarry blew that series singlehandedly.

2022 pens choked a 3-1 lead against the Rangers but they were down to their 3rd string goalie and Crosby got head shotted mid series.

Considering rope for a multi cup winning coach he probably should have been fired in 2023 after they finally missed the playoffs.

Yes. But you can't fire him after 2019. Looks horrible on the organization to can him at that point and I don't think it would have made any sense to do that. You don't know if it's a one off or if you just need another goalie or a tweak or what yet. 2023 was the time. FSG coming in screwed up the timelines for everything.

 

[ITM]

So did Benning in Vancouver, sadly up until the OEL trade I was one of them some people myself included felt he was put in an impossible situation and we're blinded by EP, Quinn, JT, Brock and Demko.
But there was that one leafs fan he had a pic of Dubas as his profile pick, man that guy was either the biggest troll or Dubas himself lol.
The mental gymnastics he performed to justify all the bad was crazy.
In the end I actually think he wasn't as bad as the many leaf haters said he was but from the outside looking in, he's been terrible in Pittsburgh.

After his negotiation shenanigans with Shanahan, I think he was revealed as being worse than even the most positive of us believed.

From Toronto to Pittsburgh he seems scattered in his approach. Duplicitous even?

 

[Empoleon8771]

I base this on nothing substantial but a hunch but I could see the Rangers going after Tocchet while I think Vancouver gets Sullivan.

He's 100% going to the Rangers.

 

[Brookbank]

I base this on nothing substantial but a hunch but I could see the Rangers going after Tocchet while I think Vancouver gets Sullivan.

Per the press conference , Sullivan is already ruled out in Van. JR talked to him, he's staying in the east

 

[SomeDude]

He's 100% going to the Rangers.

I love how JR blabs so much he’s spilling someone else’s tea who he doesn’t even work with anymore.

Hope Sully wasn’t planning on using a western team as a negotiating chip for more cash from the Rags.

 

[Ugene Magic]

I love how JR blabs so much he’s spilling someone else’s tea who he doesn’t even work with anymore.

Hope Sully wasn’t planning on using a western team as a negotiating chip for more cash from the Rags.

Sullivan just has his current contract swing over to his new team provided Dubas/Pens allow them to court him.