Could a rift be forming between two key figures within the Pittsburgh Penguins?

PITTSBURGH – After a disappointing 2023-24 season, many have begun to speculate what the future of the Pittsburgh Penguins coaching staff may look like. On the surface, it seems that head coach Mike Sullivan will remain in place while his assistants won’t return.

An early rumor speculated that Sullivan might be interested in the job opening with the New Jersey Devils, but there has been no communication that would allow that scenario. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff added to the debunked rumor by saying there are conversations about the coaching staff as a whole.

In his tweet, Seravalli referenced the entire Penguins coaching staff and what may be in store for them.

During his show, Daily Faceoff Live, Seravalli went further to say there may be a rift between Sullivan and general manager Kyle Dubas. Seravalli states that Dubas wants to make changes to the assistants, while Sullivan has pushed back on the idea.

“My understanding is there’s a bit of a power struggle ongoing between Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan,” Seravalli said. “Kyle Dubas would like to make changes to the coaching staff in the assistants and Mike Sullivan has been resistant of that.”

It’s well known that Sullivan is loyal to his assistants, but the Penguins need a shakeup in the voices leading the team. Todd Reirden ran a power play that spit out a 15.27% success rate, good for 30^th in the NHL. Mike Vellucci manned the forwards, and the Penguins were one of the worst-scoring teams in the league.

The Penguins need a change, and it’s always been unlikely that Sullivan will be among those moves this summer. Reirden and Vellucci's removal seemed the likely outcome since the middle of the season.

Things could get ugly if there is a real power struggle between Dubas and Sullivan. Dubas wields the power in the organization as president and general manager. He calls the shots and can select or fire coaches as he sees fit. Sullivan is the head coach but has significant support for the ownership group.

Sullivan may be loyal to his guys, but this is one change he has to let happen. If the power play was even slightly better than it appeared, the Penguins would have easily made the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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