Until a shade after 9:00am today, I was fully prepared to write about the Steelers’ 2025 draft class. There is no shortage of material, and I am very pleased with how things transpired from Thursday to Saturday. 

However, I received a notification at 9:03am today. Chris Johnston, the excellent NHL insider for The Athletic, TSN Hockey, and sdpn, tweeted, “The #pens announce that they are parting ways with head coach Mike Sullivan.” Thirteen words, a hell of a lot of substance. 

Sullivan was hired in December of 2015 when the Penguins were one of the worst teams in the NHL about a third of the way through the 2015-16 season. Mike Johnston (no relation to Chris) was fired, and Sullivan was promoted from his role as head coach of the Penguins’ AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to coach the NHL club after going 18-5-0 in 23 games at the helm. 

It did not take long for the Penguins to acclimate to Sullivan’s coaching style, as they went 33-16-5 in his 54 games in relief of Johnston, finishing second in the metropolitan division and making the postseason despite their poor start. 

In the playoffs, the Pens would barrel through the Rangers in five games, beat the Capitals in six—the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy for most points in the league—and then outlast the Lightning in seven games in the Eastern Conference Final before facing the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final, where the Pens would lift the Cup for the fourth time in franchise history and first time since 2009. 

The following year, Sullivan’s Penguins would set out to do what no team in the league had done since the institution of the salary cap: win back-to-back Stanley Cups. Guess what? They did it, knocking off the Predators in six games to hoist their fifth cup, and second-consecutive trophy. In doing so, Mike became the first American head coach to win multiple Stanley Cups. 

Would it be possible to win a third in a row? Unfortunately, no. In the 2017-18 season, the Penguins would advance past the first round, only to lose to Washington in the second. That would be the last playoff series they would win under Sullivan’s leadership, and in the past three years, they have failed to qualify for the postseason in all of them. At the time of his dismissal, Mike Sullivan’s record as the Penguins’ head coach was 409-255-89 with a 44-38 playoff record, seven playoff appearances, and two Stanley cups. 

I would be lying if I have not called for him to be fired numerous times over the past few years. Part of that, naturally, is being spoiled by the enormous success Sully had at the beginning of his tenure. Now that the day is here, though, I am a bit emotional. Most importantly, though, I am very grateful to him for the awesome memories he afforded me during high school, which was a rough time for me personally. 

I am not sure where the Penguins turn for a replacement, but I do know that Sully will find work very quickly if he wants another job. I wish him well…unless he ends up behind the Rangers’ bench.