At the 4 Nations Face-Off, Team USA coach Mike Sullivan's decisions show why the Pittsburgh Penguins value him as much as they do despite some down years.

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan deserves a ton of credit for his work on Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

His success is important to remember in today's NHL, where the coaching carousel spins faster than ever. 

With the Penguins missing the playoffs in the last two seasons and heading toward another miss, Sullivan's coaching on a perennial hot seat. It would have been no surprise if the team fired him last summer or after a slump to start 2024-25.

Sullivan's coached the Penguins since December 2015. Only Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper – Team Canada's bench boss at the 4 Nations – has a longer tenure with his NHL team.

Lasting more than a full decade as a coach is a miracle in the NHL nowadays, as all coaches inevitably pass their “best before” date. But Sullivan's success with Team USA shows the Penguins' decision to keep the three-time Cup champion makes more sense.

Sullivan's decisions have helped Team USA clinch a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada. A major one was pairing the Tkachuk brothers midway through their first game against Finland. The Americans needed some chemistry and a boost, with the game tied at 1-1. Although Brady Tkachuk already scored the equalizer, he added another goal, while Matthew Tkachuk recorded two goals and an assist following the line change.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5r59CBXwt8[/embed]

The American players also clearly enjoy playing for Sullivan. Star center and U.S. captain Auston Matthews told reporters that playing for Sullivan was great. 

"He's very direct, very, very straight to the point," Matthews said of Sullivan. "In a tournament like this, where you only get a couple practices and then you're right into games, the simpler is the better route."

Added defenseman Adam Fox: "He wants to give us kind of a semblance of the structure. But at the same time, it's not being too hands on, and letting us play hockey. (Sullivan has) been great."

Team USA making the final is quite the contrast to the Penguins' outlook.

A team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson could fail to make the playoffs for three-straight seasons. It's tough to imagine any other coach, other than icon Scotty Bowman, keeping his NHL job after that extended failure if the team isn't rebuilding. But Sullivan is showing that, with the right goaltending and deep squad, he can still guide a team to a championship final.

In a way, Sullivan’s success with the American team shifts the blame for the Penguins’ underachieving to GM Kyle Dubas. Of course, he inherited much of the team from previous management, and there's no way he can assemble a lineup with the amount of talent Team USA has to avoid criticism – the American squad's cap hit is much too massive to fit under the league's salary cap. 

However, the Penguins’ decision to commit long-term to goalie Tristan Jarry – who's been to the AHL twice this season while carrying a $5.375-million cap hit for the next three seasons – has made it extremely difficult for Pittsburgh to thrive. That’s entirely on Dubas and not on Sullivan.

Some might say any coach could succeed with the roster the Americans have at the 4 Nations Face-Off. But we don’t believe that’s true. You have to be able to manage top talents with big personalities, and Sullivan has a track record of thriving when faced with that challenge. 

Sullivan won’t last forever in Pittsburgh, but his success at the 4 Nations Face-Off is an indication of the deep respect his Penguins players have for him.

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