Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan signs a long-term deal to remain in the Steel City
If you're a fan of the NHL, there's a good chance know just how good Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan truly is at his job. Not only is he the only American-born coach in NHL history to have won two Stanley Cups, but he has also gone long stretches without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and still never missed the playoffs with the Pens.
Well, all that hard work has paid off for Sullivan, as the Penguins announced on Tuesday that they have come to terms with the 9-year veteran on a multi-year contract that will keep him in Pittsburgh through the 2026-27 season.
Sullivan's head coaching career began with the Boston Bruins way back in 2003-04. He coached the team for two seasons, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in the quarterfinals in 2004 and then failing to make the playoffs the following year.
The 11-year NHL veteran, who played 709 career regular season games with the Sharks, Flames, Bruins and Coyotes, took a step back in his coaching career in 2007, accepting a position as an assistant coach in Tampa Bay for the 2007-08 season. He went on to continue as an assistant coach in New York and Vancouver until 2014, before accepting a position as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2014-15.
Sullivan stepped in to coach the Pens as an early season replacement for then head coach Mike Johnston in December of 2015, coaching the Pens to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
Sullivan earns the extension despite not having won a playoff round since 2018. At the moment, the Pens are dealing with an aging veteran core who is hungry for one last Cup run. Ron Hextall and Brian Burke are putting a lot of faith in Sullivan that he can lead the Pens to the promised land one more time before Crosby, Malkin and Letang ride off into the sunset, but also faith that he can handle the job of a total rebuild once the Pens' core leadership group is ready to hang up their skates.
The 54-year-old was also originally named head coach of the 2022 Men's US National Olympic team, though the NHL pulled out of the event due to COVID concerns, thus leaving Sullivan without an opportunity to coach for his country. He'll undoubtedly get that opportunity again.
