In a stunning development, the Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways with coach Mike Sullivan on Monday in a move that sent shockwaves throughout the NHL.
Sullivan guided the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 and is the all-time winningest coach in franchise history with 409 victories in 10 seasons behind their bench. The 57-year-old had two years remaining on his contract. But the Penguins are a team in transition and haven’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past three seasons.
He is widely considered one of the best coaches in the NHL; and this past season Sullivan coached the United States to a second-place finish at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He will coach the U.S. team at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, as well.
There are six teams other than the Penguins with a coaching vacancy to fill this offseason, and others that don’t have a job opening might check in on his interest, as well. Simply, if Sullivan wishes to coach this season, he’ll have many options available to him.
Let’s check out the five most intriguing options for Sullivan.
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1. New York Rangers
Sullivan was an assistant under coach John Tortorella with the Rangers from 2009-13, and coached Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider at the 4 Nations tournament in February. So, he’s got Rangers ties. General manager Chris Drury, like Sullivan a Boston University alum, has been hunting Sullivan for years to be the Rangers next coach. You’d have to think the Rangers will do anything and everything possible to land Sullivan as Peter Laviolette’s successor. New York is coming off a brutal and dysfunctional season, but there’s still plenty of talent to work with there — Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, Fox, Miller, etc — and in 2024 they were two wins from reaching the Stanley Cup Final. It’d be a desirable landing spot for Sullivan, and one within the Penguins’ division too.
2. Boston Bruins
Sullivan has strong ties to Boston and the Bruins. He’s a Massachusetts native, B.U. grad, and previously coached the Bruins for two seasons beginning in 2003-04. Oh, and his son-in-law is Charlie McAvoy (pictured above), the Bruins standout defenseman. The Bruins aren’t as deep as the Rangers, and just dealt away Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic and Brandon Carlo ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, but they will retool this summer. Remember, the Bruins are only two years removed from setting NHL records for most wins (65) and points (135) in a season.
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3. Anaheim Ducks
It’s well-documented that Sullivan is an East Coast guy. But a move out West to Orange County could be intriguing for many reasons, not the least of which is that the Ducks have boatloads of young talent and appear ready to make a move into playoff contention next season. The Ducks were 35-37-10 this season, their 80 points 21 better than the season prior. Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Jackson LaCombe, Owen Zellweger and Lukas Dostal are among the young studs the Ducks are building around. Sullivan would be an amazing hire to take the Ducks to the next level, especially if they invest in veteran reinforecments this offseason.
4. New York Islanders
Yes, the Islanders have a coach, and a high profile one in that, with Patrick Roy. And their lineup is getting old and in need of a shake up. And they don’t have a deep nor impressive prospects pool. But the Islanders are in position to offer Sullivan power that extends beyond the bench. Since they just parted ways with Lou Lamoriello, the Islanders could, if they wanted, bring in Sullivan as coach and GM, and then hire a team president above him. Roy would be a casualty here, but rumors have been rampant for a bit that the Islanders have interest in Sullivan. Let’s see how badly they really want him.
5. Philadelphia Flyers
It can probably be argued that the Detroit Red Wings are the more attractive option than the Flyers for Sullivan, among teams seeking to hire a new coach this offseason. But the Flyers are on the East Coast and he could remain in the Metropolitan Division, where he’s been the past 10 seasons, so let’s give them a slight edge over the Red Wings. This would seem like a long shot, assuming the Rangers and Bruins, specifically, are also interested in Sullivan. But the Flyers are hoping to turn the corner soon, after re-tooling their roster the past several seasons, and there are some intriguing young players like Matvei Michkov to work with.
