Confirmed with Link: Penguins and Mike Sullivan part ways

[edog37]

Privet! Ya tozhe iz Rossii. Really big chunk of us, Pens fans, (the smart ones hehe), are got tired of him years ago..

I wish he wold go to the West, so we'd just see him less.
He's a coach with a lot of flaws - stubbornness, bias towards some players, bad at adjusting,just to name a few.
A fresh start would benefit him, but I wouldn't expect miracles. A leopard can't change it spots. Some Sully traits are default.

Not that I’m comparing the two, but it would’ve been hilarious reading these boards when Scotty Bowman was around. It was often said about him from the players… “you hated him for 364 days & on the 365th, you received your Stanley Cup ring”

 

[DesertedPenguin]

I didn't like that pick from the get going. As far as I can remember, there were better prospects available, but JR was fixated on him. Trading a 1st for Kap was even dumber.

That said, I think lots of players didn't really get a fair chance under Sullivan. Bias..just one of Sully's many flaws.

Rutherford had Kappy's dad, Sami, in Hartford and Carolina.

Every GM has "his guys" and Rutherford was no different.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Apparently Sully got a hole in one the day he took the Rangers job

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Just had to come back to this thread to make sure it was real and not a dream.

Mate it still doesn’t feel real. Like a lot of us gave up on hope years ago, the direction they were heading where he had a lot to do with how he used the players and just destroyed any chance of hope for certain players etc.

It’s weird to say this but I finally felt proud to be a fan of the Pens, which like who gives a f***, it’s just a team, but it made me not dread keeping track again.

 

[metalan2]

Given what's happened with the last few Rangers' coaches, I could see Sullivan taking them to the ECF next year, then disappointing in 2027.

I've done a full 180 on Dubas the last year.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I've done a full 180 on Dubas the last year.

My only issue with Dubas was the Sullivan stuff and he sorted that and it was refreshing to hear that he had thought about it during the season and that likely planted the seed of doubt in his mind to finally just move on from Sullivan.

Otherwise what has he done wrong? The following are things he did:

• He has hired a lot of very good people in all areas of management and etc to bring the Penguins back up to date, they were severely lacking and it was needed.
• He used cap space to add picks and really didn’t hurt the team with the cap while doing it.
• Traded away Jake to get back some very good prospects and a pick, some were whiny about it when it happened, but they should be happy to see the progress of those players and especially more so now that the team will hire a coach that will utilize them correctly.
• He didn’t wait until year 4 of more Sullivan, he shitcanned the Masshole wanker literally in his 2nd year as Pens GM and Dir of Hockey Ops.

In 2yrs of work, he got this franchise back on the right path that JR absolutely shit all over by allowing Sullivan to dictate moves and Hextall just fell into the trap of the same shit and also was punted for it. Dubas luckily was someone that FSG had a raging boner for, thank goodness for that, because I don’t think they’d let anyone else do it this early into their tenure as a GM.

 

[plaidchuck]

The move was long overdue but I'm not getting excited over anything since it's going to be a process. People really need to temper themselves and prepare for when the team is in the basement in December with no end in sight and the new coach invevitably does something unpopular.

 

[SomeDude]

The move was long overdue but I'm not getting excited over anything since it's going to be a process. People really need to temper themselves and prepare for when the team is in the basement in December with no end in sight and the new coach invevitably does something unpopular.

In that scenario, the most unpopular thing this new coach could do is start winning.

 

[GilbertSeinfeld]

The move was long overdue but I'm not getting excited over anything since it's going to be a process. People really need to temper themselves and prepare for when the team is in the basement in December with no end in sight and the new coach invevitably does something unpopular.

I fully expect this team to suck again in 2025-26, and maybe even 26-27, but I'm excited because I am fully expecting the likes of McGroarty and Koivunen to actually play in the NHL and be put in positions to succeed.

 

[Slaaapshuter]

In that scenario, the most unpopular thing this new coach could do is start winning.

This was worthy of a LMAO