Will the Pittsburgh Penguins head coach stay behind the bench for the length of his new contract?
The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their off-season trend of extending their most important pieces when they announced coach Mike Sullivan signed a new contract. Despite having two seasons remaining on his current deal, Sullivan agreed to a contract extension that keeps him as the head coach through the 2026-2027 season.
With management committing another five seasons to Sullivan as bench boss, what are the reasons to believe Sullivan can lead this team to success for the duration of his deal?
The Greatest Coach in Team History
Mike Sullivan is arguably the greatest coach in Penguins' history. He is the organization's leader in the following coaching categories: games coached, regular season wins, post-season wins, and Stanley Cups. Entering his 8th season as the head coach of the Penguins, Sullivan has eclipsed all of the great coaches before him, passing a list including Stanley Cup winners like Dan Bylsma, Bob Johnson, and Scotty Bowman.
Not only has he guided the Penguins to two Stanley Cups in his eight seasons, he managed to do so by revitalizing the playoff careers of two of the game's best players in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. After playoff struggles and embarrassing exits between 2010 and 2015, Mike Sullivan's fast-paced, 200-foot system ignited the roster from top to bottom.
The Penguins went from underachievers to champions of the league in Sullivan's first two seasons. Sidney Crosby's complete game flourished, resulting in back-to-back Conn Smythe awards as playoff MVP for the captain. Similarly, Evgeni Malkin's offensive output in the playoffs skyrocketed as the Penguins' gameplan pushed the pace and collapsed opposing team's defense. Without Sullivan's firm hand and the accountability he brings and demands from his players, there is no telling if the Penguins would have achieved playoff success again in the Crosby-Malkin Era.
What Have You Done for Me Lately?
After the Penguins back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Penguins advanced to the second round of the playoffs only to be eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup winners, the Washington Capitals. Since the 2018 postseason, however, the Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled in the past four postseasons. Not only have they struggled, there have been some incredibly disappointing losses.
In 2019, the Penguins faced the New York Islanders in the first round. The series was perhaps the most embarrassing defeat of Coach Sullivan's tenure. They were outplayed every minute of the series and failed to muster one win in the series. The Islanders swept the Penguins in four games.
In the COVID bubble of 2020, the Penguins faced the lowly Montreal Canadiens in the qualifying round of the playoffs. The shortened series of five games was another blow to Coach Sullivan and the Penguins. The team had no answer for Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, and the once great Matt Murray faltered in his final season in Pittsburgh. The Penguins fell 3 games to 1 in a series that no one saw coming.
In their most recent playoff defeat, the Penguins held a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers. They had three chances to close out the Rangers and move on to the second round, but they failed to clinch the series. They lost in seven games, failing to figure out Igor Shesterkin over the last stretch of the series.
Have these playoff failures solely been the fault of Coach Sullivan? Absolutely not. Between red-hot goaltending and simply being outplayed, the Penguins have drawn difficult matchups in the postseason. Not only that, in each of their last five playoff losses, the team that defeated them advanced to the conference finals or championship round. But the fact remains that this team has come up short lately, often in disappointing fashion.
With the core of players all over 35, Coach Sullivan needs to make adjustments to his system to maximize the remaining years of his superstars' careers. This team still has all of the pieces to compete, including one of the best coaches in the league. Hopefully, Sullivan can find the secret recipe to another run with this core. He has five years to figure it out.
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