My grandma Etel Friedman liked to say “There are three sides to every story: Your side; My side; and the truth.”
When it comes to the latest Rangers coach hire, there are about 23 sides to the Mike Sullivan saga. Start with the fact that Sullivan and GM Chris Drury are bosom buddies. So there.
Friendship, friendship; that’s the perfect blendship!
Add the fact that Drury – despite all the outside guessing – had nobody else in mind for the job but Michael. You gotta believe that the hire was conceived the very moment that Sullivan’s Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention.
But that matters a lot less than what Sullivan can do to rehab the ruined Rangers for 2025-26.
Some savvy fans who I know are tickled that Sully is in charge now. Lloyd MacKay from the West Side of Manhattan puts it this way:
“It’s a good hire,” MacKay explains, “because Sullivan knows the structure of the Rangers organization. Plus, he’s had a long-term stable relationship with the Penguins without dramatics.
“Once you’re in ‘The Stanley Cup Winners Club’ you’ve proven that you are capable of winning the whole thing.”
Former Islanders goalie – current Devils radio analyst – Chico Resch is more equivocal with his Sullivan X-Ray:
“The Rangers got their guy,” says Resch. “But it will be the same players, so it will only help for a while.”
Another Manhattanite and longtime Rangers fan, Mark Linde, chimes in with doubts similar to Resch’s.
“I’m not so sure that Sullivan is the right man,” Linde argues. “It seems to me that he’ll have the same core issues in New York that he had in Pittsburgh – players who feel they have reached a point in their careers where they are above coaching and benching.
“And Sullivan’s reluctance to give young players a fair crack at playing time seems like ‘Peter Laviolette 2.0.’ Sullivan has to give the kids a real shot at finding their NHL game; and not a few games for a few minutes here or there.”
THE MAVEN’S VIEW: Since the logical assumption is that – going forward – Drury is going to shake up the roster and add a free agent, it’s too soon to make any judgement about next season’s lineup until the end of training camp.
Really, it’s time for Rangers fans to have amnesia about what Sullivan did and focus on the present and his moves as they develop ahead!
In the end, whether you like the coaching change or not, it’s time to look beyond the blue horizon and hope for a playoff-bound season .
Let Sully show the Gloom Dodgers that there are still plenty of W’s in his bag of tricks! (OK, readers, so what’s the PunchLine?)
Correct: TIME WILL TELL!
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