The Rise And Fall Of Mike Sullivan...

[Rodgerwilco]

I find it kind of sad that Sid appears to be ending his career on a team going nowhere.

Really sad to see. Huge 600 goal milestone overshadowed by a 6-1 stomping by a mediocre expansion team.

 

[BallardEra]

Sullivan remains stoic!:

"I'm invested in the Pittsburgh Penguins," he 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."

Penguins' Sullivan not concerned about job security

Head coach Mike Sullivan is focused on getting the Pittsburgh Penguins' season on track rather than the noise surrounding his potential dismissal."I'm not concerned about it, no," Sullivan said of getting fired, per The Athletic's Josh Yohe. "I'm well aware of what I signed up for. It's the...

www.thescore.com

 

[serp]

Is there even a candidate out there that makes any sense to replace Sullivan with that could give the team a bump ? Like the team clearly needs a change but it's not like the roster is all that good in general. Their best players are all in their late 30's and their defense and goaltending are a bucket of suck. Thats not something a coaching change magically fixes.

 

[TooManyHumans]

-34 goal differential. Their record is not the worst in the NHL but their play is. Absolutely insane that Sullivan is still the coach. There seems to be nothing he can do to get fired.

 

[Darren McCord]

Down 2-0 after the 1st.

Now 5-1.

He is definitely getting fired now.

You don’t know the pens front office and owners very well do you?

Is there even a candidate out there that makes any sense to replace Sullivan with that could give the team a bump ? Like the team clearly needs a change but it's not like the roster is all that good in general. Their best players are all in their late 30's and their defense and goaltending are a bucket of suck. Thats not something a coaching change magically fixes.

Pens fan don’t expect them to be fixed. We just want them to show some pride and stop playing old players in the bottom 6. It’s one thing to have an old core. It’s another to have a 4th line that’s average age is like 34

 

[LevelingSolo]

If they really wanted to fire Sullivan, he would’ve been gone a long time ago

His contract extension is just getting started. He’s not going anywhere

Not sure if this matters, he would be hired by another team and Pens would be off the book

I wonder if they are subtly just trying to tank and he’ll be let go at the end of the year

 

[wpgallday1960]

Really sad to see. Huge 600 goal milestone overshadowed by a 6-1 stomping by a mediocre expansion team.

As a fan of Jets 1.0, I object to calling Utah an expansion team (though not too strenuously).

 

[ijuka]

Is there even a candidate out there that makes any sense to replace Sullivan with that could give the team a bump ? Like the team clearly needs a change but it's not like the roster is all that good in general. Their best players are all in their late 30's and their defense and goaltending are a bucket of suck. Thats not something a coaching change magically fixes.

? they are in win now mode

Why are people going out of their way to defend Sullivan like this?

 

[Misery74]

? they are in win now mode

Why are people going out of their way to defend Sullivan like this?

Until they rebuild, they are in “win now” mode.

Sullivan needs to be fired, but management must also accept the fate of the organization as well.

 

[elmaco]

Hope they get rid of him.

 

[Bishop7979]

Is there even a candidate out there that makes any sense to replace Sullivan with that could give the team a bump ? Like the team clearly needs a change but it's not like the roster is all that good in general. Their best players are all in their late 30's and their defense and goaltending are a bucket of suck. Thats not something a coaching change magically fixes.

It's not even about a bump at this point... It's about moving forward in the best possible way.

At one point you could look at this roster and say it wasn't going to be great, but it wasnt bottom three in the league bad, and that's on Sullivan. I think at this point you could bring in almost anyone with coaching experience and you'd get some sort of "bump" by just being a new voice in the room.

The real concern is his absolute inability to develop young players. He had his group of kids he brought up from the AHL with him when they won the cup the first year and pretty much after that he hasn't met a younger player whose development hasn't stagnated. Who was the last young guy who really hit their potential playing under Sullivan who wasn't part of that first wave of AHL guys?

Sullivan sat there and forced McCann into limited minutes as a third line defensive forward when we all knew he could score more if given a shot, but Sullivan kept trying to mold him into something he wasn't.

Plus he can't adjust to the roster he's been given and either fights with or tries to change veteran players to fit his "system" whatever the hell that is now. He's basically pissing into the wind at this point. I feel like other than Kessel Sullivan rarely has gotten the best out of creative players not named Crosby, Geno, and Jake. and even with Kessel the pens really only got what they got out of him because of his relationship with tocchett. Have they had success with rust? Yes, but that's because hes one of Sullivan's "guys" and is a grinder who happens to score.

Look at karlsson. Day one Sullivan basically said he was going to "improve" karlsson's game and it's just been downhill from there. Same with graves, he graves wasn't going to be a top pairing guy, but graves has struggled since Sullivan got his hands on him and had Sullivan try to change the way he plays. Both players have regressed in since the start of last year.

 

[serp]

? they are in win now mode

Why are people going out of their way to defend Sullivan like this?

They are ? According to what metric ? This is a terribly contructed roster that maybe has the upside of sneaking into the playoffs and annoying a higher seed thanks to generational , albeit aging , talent on the roster. No team is winning anything with a roster that old these days

 

[GoldenKnight]

Unbelievable that he hasn't been fired yet.

 

[614 CBJ]

I'll add to those who are surprised he's still Pittsburgh's coach

It not just that they are losing, but how bad and out of place they look many nights

appears ownership doesn't want a dead HC contract on the books for 2.5 years

 

[Ghost of Murph]

If management truly feels the roster it has built can compete for a playoff spot then it makes no sense to keep Sullivan. His system with this roster just isn't getting the job done. My feeling at this point is that the roster is the main issue regardless of any coaching shortcomings. One thing is for sure, if Sullivan is fired he will end up with a new gig as fast or faster than Montgomery, if he wants it.

 

[Fordy]

i really enjoy reading the takes of people who haven’t been immersed in the sullyverse for the last how many years earnestly believing that this latest catastrophe will finally lead to him being fired. that would be logical wouldn’t it

 

[McVechkin]

I think he’s a very good coach and will be successful elsewhere. But this is the nhl and coaching changes can be a good spark… the way this team is built, he’s really the only string they have to pull.