Mike Sullivan is the longest-tenured head coach in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ history and the only bench boss to lead the franchise to two Stanley Cup titles.
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He is the second longest-tenured head coach in the NHL, behind Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Unlike several of his counterparts hired this decade, Sullivan is clinging to his position based on past regular-season success and accomplishments.
As the Penguins stumble (3-3-0) through another first month of the regular season, is there a point when the management group decides to cut their losses and replace Sullivan, who is just starting a three-year extension?
When Pittsburgh fired their previous head coach, Mike Johnson, in 2015, he was 15-10-3 after 28 games, a position that Sullivan could soon find himself in a decade later.
Since winning their second consecutive title under Sullivan in 2017, the Penguins have won only one playoff series (2018) and produced a postseason record of 12-21, watching their 16-year playoff streak end in 2023.
During Sullivan’s first six seasons behind the bench, Pittsburgh collected the league’s fourth-most wins, with a record of 260-141-53.
In the past 170 games, dating back to the start of the 2022-23 campaign, the Penguins have fallen to 19th overall with an 81-66-23 record.
Yes, the roster, which features future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, is older, but the losses are piling up, the goals against are creeping up, and the power play is no longer one of the most feared units in the league.
Of course, some of the team’s recent mediocre success can be attributed to general managers Ron Hextall (former) and Kyle Dubas (current).
Even though the lineup has been altered numerous times, the one constant remains Sullivan, who keeps his job despite the team seemingly headed in the opposite direction.
At the beginning of his tenure, the Penguins won at least 44 games a year and were a top-three team in the Metropolitan Division. Despite reaching 40 wins in 2022-23, Pittsburgh has remained the fifth-best team in the division.
Since 2022, every team in the Metropolitan Division has changed coaches at least once, with the Carolina Hurricanes still employing Rod Brind’Amour, who was hired in May 2022.
Even though Brind’Amour hasn’t won the Stanley Cup, the Hurricanes routinely win 50 games and advance deep in the playoffs. Additionally, he’s a top candidate to be replaced if the Hurricanes don’t win the Stanley Cup this season, as regular season results can only carry a coach for so long.
Yet, in Pittsburgh, no one talks about Sullivan being replaced; the only ones discussing it are the insiders. At least those people are looking out for the club’s future and the final years of Crosby’s career.
So, for now, it appears Sullivan is safe, but what happens if the Penguins are 15-10-3 in 28 games? Where is the tipping point? There has to be one.
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