As the Pittsburgh Penguins move on from Head Coach Mike Sullivan, who agreed to part ways with the team today, a bright future may be ahead of them.
Sullivan no doubt led the Penguins through a golden era. He came up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL in 2015 and went on to become the winningest coach in Penguins’ history, with 409 wins under his belt and back-to-back Stanley Cup victories.
In this past hockey season, he coached Team USA to the 4 Nations Championship game.
In addition to his undeniable talent, he had a great relationship with Sidney Crosby as well as the rest of the core of the team. Sullivan’s departure will likely mean a challenging adjustment for them, considering Sullivan has been with the team for 10 years.
The average coach in the NHL lasts about two years with a team. Sullivan obviously stayed with the Penguins a lot longer than that. Over time, even the best coaches’ tactics become repetitive to a team.
Over the past few seasons, the Penguins have seemed to be tuning him out. A lack of inspiration could be a big reason for the team’s struggles.
The Penguins have been in a retooling stage for the past two or so seasons. But with this huge change for the Penguins, General Manager Kyle Dubas could be making a move to begin transitioning into a rebuild.
With an aging core and a lack of team chemistry, it was inevitable that a big change was on the horizon. A new coach could spark a change within the team’s mentality. And with the NHL Draft approaching, Dubas could be bringing in multiple young prospects to add to the team.
Despite these positives, there are still many unanswered questions. With three bad contracts in Tristan Jarry, Erik Karlsson, and Ryan Graves, Dubas has a lot of work ahead of him during this offseason.
