Photo: Yahoo
The New York Rangers named Mike Sullivan as their next head coach on Friday morning, four days after he mutually parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team fired Peter Laviolette on April 19 after he spent just two seasons as New York’s head coach.
“Mike Sullivan has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in the NHL,” Rangers GM Chris Drury said in a press release. “Given his numerous accomplishments throughout his coaching career – including two Stanley Cups and leading Team USA at the international level – Mike brings a championship-level presence behind the bench. I’ve gotten to know Mike very well over the years, including as teammates in the 1997 World Championships, when he coached me as a player in New York and through our shared time working together with USA Hockey. As we began this process and Mike became an available option for us to speak with, it was immediately clear that he was the best coach to lead our team.”
“I would like to welcome Mike back to the Rangers organization,” said James L. Dolan, MSG Executive Chairman and CEO. “Mike’s track record and success in the NHL and internationally speaks for itself, and I look forward to seeing him behind the Rangers bench.”
Sullivan has posted a 479-311-15-112 record in 917 games as head coach with the Boston Bruins (2003-04–2005-06) and Pittsburgh Penguins (2015-16-2024-25). During his tenure with the Penguins, he led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 2015-16 and 2016-17, and in the process, he became just the second head coach in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup in each of his first two seasons with a team. Sullivan is also the only American-born head coach in NHL history who has won the Stanley Cup multiple times but the two sides parted ways after Pittsburgh missed the postseason for the third consecutive season.
During Sullivan’s tenure with the Penguins, the team posted a 409-255-89 record in 753 regular season games. He helped Pittsburgh reach the postseason in each of his first seven seasons behind the Penguins’ bench, and the Penguins posted a 44-38 record in 82 postseason games with Sullivan as their head coach. Sullivan is the Penguins’ all-time leader in several coaching categories, including regular season games coached, regular season wins, postseason games coached, and postseason wins.
In addition to his head coaching experience in the NHL, Sullivan has been a part of coaching staffs for several NHL teams. He has eight years of experience as an Assistant Coach with four different NHL teams: Boston (2002-03), the Tampa Bay Lightning (2007-08 – 2008-09), NY Rangers (2009-10 – 2012-13), and Vancouver (2013-14). Sullivan was also the development coach for the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2014-15 season when they won the Stanley Cup. Sullivan also served parts of two seasons as a head coach in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins (2002-03) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2015-16).
Internationally, the Marshfield, Massachusetts native has coached with Team USA in several tournaments. Sullivan served as Team USA’s head coach at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, and he was named the head coach for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics. Sullivan had also initially been named the head coach for Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics (ultimately did not coach in the tournament after NHL players were unable to play). He also served as an Assistant Coach for Team USA at the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The Rangers finished 12th with a 3.11 goals-per-game average, 19th with a 3.11 goals-against per game average, 28th with a .176 power-play efficiency, and 11th with a .803 penalty-killing efficiency in a season where they traded six starters from their opening night roster, including captain Jacob Trouba.
New York went an NHL-worst 5-16-0 (.238) from November 20-January 4, which included a 3-1 loss to the 29th-placed Philadelphia Flyers on November 29, 5-3 loss to the 27th-placed Seattle Kraken at home despite leading 3-1 on December 8, 2-1 loss to the 31st-placed Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden the following day, and 2-0 loss to the 30th-placed Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on December 17. They also got outscored 14-3 in two losses to the 26th-placed Buffalo Sabres and fell 3-2 at home to 24th-placed Pittsburgh on February 7 despite the fact that neither Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin suited up for Pittsburgh that night.
Sullivan will be New York’s third coach in four seasons.
The Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh, and Seattle Kraken are the only teams in search of a new head coach.
By Harrison Brown
