Planet Sullivan
Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins
He's one of the NHL's longest-tenured coaches, but his seat should be scorching.
The Penguins are a disaster this season, giving up nearly four goals per game on average, mustering only 2.5 goals per game offensively, and currently with a 1.9% chance of making the Stanley Cup playoffs, per Money Puck. It's a team with a veteran core of star players that seems destined to finishing outside of the postseason for a third straight season.
Normally, this would get any coach fired, especially one who has been with a team for a decade. But Sullivan is still there, behind the Pittsburgh bench, watching the definition of insanity play out on the ice every night.
He's under contract through 2026-27 but wouldn't suffer from lack of options if he and the Penguins ever parted ways. Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and Fenway Sports Group ownership have backed Sullivan in public and private. Sullivan told The Athletic that he's not going to leave on his own accord.
"I'm invested in the Pittsburgh Penguins," Sullivan said. "I care very, very deeply about this organization. I care deeply about the group of guys who have been in that locker room for a very long time. I love this organization with all of my soul. This organization and so many people associated with it have changed my life in so many ways. And so, for me, the challenge of trying to move this team forward and transition this team, it's a different kind of challenge, but it's one that I am welcoming."
That tracks with what sources in the coaching community believe.
"He's committed to win with that team. He knew what he was getting into," a source said. "I think he's the best coach in the league. People in Pittsburgh don't realize that these guys are all years older from when the last time they won, and there's just not a lot of young fresh talent there."