Mike Sullivan is entering his 11th season as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. After spending two seasons as the Boston Bruins head coach, he joined the Penguins after previous head coach Mike Johnston was fired. Johnston had a record of 15-10-3 in the 2015-16 season.
Sullivan was hired and thrived as he took the Penguins to the promise lands and won the Stanley Cup back-to-back. They won in 2016 and 2017. Sullivan looked to be one of the best coaches in hockey as he made the playoffs his first seven years and two Stanley Cups as well.
The Penguins dynasty was at an all-time high as they have made the playoffs a league record 16 years in a row. In those 16 years, they won three of their five Stanley Cups.
However, recently, he and the Penguins have not had much success. Yes, the Penguins have previously made the playoffs 16 years in a row. However, the last time the Penguins were able to get out of the first round was in 2018. The Penguins have missed the playoffs two years in a row.
It has been two years since the Penguins made the playoffs and six years since the Penguins have gotten past the first round. With an aging core, they do not have much time left to contend and something needs to change and fast. Something will eventually need to change for the Penguins to get back to winning.
When Does The Mike Sullivan Era End?
Back in 2022, Sullivan was rewarded with a three year contract extension that runs through the 2026-2027 season. That extension officially kicked in this offseason. However, he may still be and could be fired beforehand. During all points of the season and year, there is constant hockey coaching turmoil. Sullivan is entering his 11th season as the Penguins head coach and it might be time to bring someone new in and change the coaching staff depending on how the season is going.
Sullivan could see himself getting fired at some point next season either in the winter or at the end of the season. Evidently, it comes down to if the Penguins are in playoff contention or not.
Who Should Coach The Penguins?
If the Penguins finally cut ties with Sullivan there are two options the Penguins could go with. One of them being Gerard Gallant who recently coached the New York Rangers. Gallant has an all-time record of 369-262-70. His best season was in the 2017-2018 season as he took the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.
Another option could be David Quinn or at least in an interim role. Quinn was just announced an Assistant Coach of the Penguins in the offseason. He will be tasked of coaching the defence and hopefully restoring what once was a lethal powerplay. Quinn is good at developing defenseman and was responsible for Erik Karlsson’s 101 point season two years ago. Quinn’s resume is not currently strong enough for him to potentially be the long-term coach of the Penguins as of now. However, if he gets the chance as an interim and succeeds, he could be the frontrunner for the job.
How Mike Sullivan Avoids That And Keeps His Job?
Simply put, Sullivan in order to keeps his job needs to take this team to the playoffs. That is the standard and even that might not be good enough. To confidentially say Sullivan’s job is safe is to make the playoffs and get past the first round. Anything short of the playoffs and Sullivan will most likely get fired. Clock is ticking on this core group.
Main Photo: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
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