Mike Sullivan Is Penguins’ Biggest Winner in Dubas Hiring
The Pittsburgh Penguins got their guy and it should bring positive change to head coach Mike Sullivan.
There were many things that were frustrating about Mike Sullivan’s coaching tactics with the Pittsburgh Penguins last year. The swapping of Rickard Rakell between Sidney Crosby’s line and Evgeni Malkin’s. Giving Jeff Carter every waking chance to keep his lineup spot. Even his goaltending decisions were questioned from time to time.
Looking back on it, Sullivan’s hands were tied. Whether you choose to believe any of The Athletic’s reporting on the mess that was last season is on you but one clear message came across to me after reading that: Sullivan did not enjoy working for the bosses that he had.
Brian Burke is the antithesis of what the Penguins are supposed to be. With Burke wanting to play a heavy-hitting game, Sullivan sees the Penguins as a team primed to play a speed and skill game. Hextall, an antiquated hockey dinosaur himself, didn’t do much to give Sullivan the type of players he would’ve preferred.
Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) hiring of Kyle Dubas is a fun gamble the Penguins were willing to take. Dubas’ Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t have much playoff success but their rosters were always loaded with talent and played well in the regular season.
Of course, no one cares if that doesn’t amount to anything. Just ask the Boston Bruins about that.
However, Dubas’ roster construction has the potential to rejuvenate Sullivan and make him look like one of the league’s premier coaches again. As long as he’s got the core three, he will be fine. But the help around him is what’s important.
The Penguins had next to nothing in the bottom six in regards to their scoring production. That’s almost assuredly going to change with Dubas at the helm.
This team isn’t one or two moves away. They’re in need of a lot of help but they’ve got a core of players and approximately $20 million in cap space to alleviate the pressure on the core and supplement them with actual bottom-six talent. Not overpaid players like Mikael Granlund and Kasperi Kapanen.
Sullivan is held in high regard by FSG and Dubas gave him a ringing endorsement at his introductory press conference on Thursday by saying Sullivan “could coach forever.” I’d like to think he and Dubas will see each others’ visions a lot better than Sullivan and his former bosses did.
Sullivan will be rejuvenated and may come out of this situation as the biggest winner of them all.
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