BREAKING: Sullivan out as Penguins coach.

By Justin Sobieralski - @Just_A_Robi

On Monday, April 28th, 2025, in a shocking turn of events, it was announced that long-time Pittsburgh Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, and the organization have parted ways. 

Not the news that any Penguins fans, much less the hockey world, were expecting to hear. If you were a betting person, you would have thought the Penguins would stick with Sullivan through the rest of the Crosby era, or at least finish out his contract, and be allowed to walk away when he wanted to.

Sullivan led the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 and is the organization’s all-time winningest coach with 409 wins.

Unfortunately, the Penguins have not won a playoff series since 2018 and have failed to make the playoffs for three straight seasons. This recent lack of playoff success is not entirely on Sullivan’s shoulders. 

So, why the move now? 

In his press conference, Penguins President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas explained the events leading up to the change:

“I’ve talked to him (Sully) every day throughout the year. And there were times throughout the year that I started to think that it may just be time for a number of reasons. Last week, Sully and I spoke about a lot of the same stuff we talked about the whole year, and it just became clear to me that it was probably time for a change and to move on”, Dubas said. “I went yesterday and met with Sully, sat down with him in Boston, and just kind of went through that with him. Sometimes there are disagreements when you have those conversations, and other times there are agreements; I don’t want to speak for him and how he views it, but I would say it was very amicable in the conversations and continued to stay that way.”

Dubas was asked if the Penguins are required to grant permission (the difference between mutually parting ways and being fired is somewhat confusing), and about receiving compensation should Sullivan be hired by a new team, since there is term left on Sullivan’s contract. He responded that the team would not receive compensation, according to NHL league rules. 

“Teams are going to reach out and ask for permission. It’s Mike Sullivan. He’s got term remaining on this contract, so they’ll reach out, we’ll grant permission, there will be no issue at all”, Dubas explained.

“The league… a couple years ago, had rules that governed this where if you had a person under contract and you allowed them to go to another team you got draft pick compensation, and they (NHL) eliminated that in years past, so you are not entitled to any compensation from another team if you want to trade the coach, per se. I can’t trade Jason Spezza, Amanda Kessel, or Mike Sullivan and get anything back by league rule.” 

Dubas explained that if Sullivan lands another job, the new team has to pick up his remaining contract, meaning the Penguins would no longer be obligated to pay Sullivan.

Rumors around the NHL have speculated for some time now that the New York Rangers would be “all in” on hiring Sullivan as their head coach if he were to be made available. Maybe there was some truth to this. After all, he had worked for the Rangers before joining the Pens.

The Boston Bruins, Sullivan’s hometown team, also have an opening at the head coaching position. He was their head coach of the Bruins back in 2003-2006, only for two seasons. His son-in-law is Charlie McAvoy, and he also plays for the Bruins. Something to watch there.

The Vancouver Canucks have a bit of drama right now with their coach, Rick Tocchet, which we all know his ties to the Penguins organization, and most recently he was an assistant to Sullivan on the Penguins 2016-2017 championships. We also know that Jim Rutherford and his staff in Vancouver love to bring in “his guys.” 

Don’t be surprised if landing Sullivan’s services turns into a bidding war for several teams. He is without question the top coach available on the market.

So, what’s next for the Penguins? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure—as the rebuilding continues, out with the old and in with the new is a real concept. Between now, the draft, and NHL free agency, it’s going to be an exciting time for Penguins fans. 

“We’ll cast a wide net on the search”, Dubas said. We’re going to turn every page to find the best person for the job.”

After hearing Dubas at his press conference, this was Dubas’ decision to move on from Sullivan. It also sounded like he feels that Sullivan’s style doesn’t seem to fit where the organization is. He started the press conference by saying essentially that coaches do not win championships, rebuild the team, and then win again with the same organization. It just never happens, and Dubas decided to try and make a big move while maximizing the remaining years of Penguins’ legends Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.

Ultimately, this is a changing of the guard, albeit a shocking and somewhat unexpected change, but one could argue that it was a necessary change. 

Time is of the essence, so if Dubas had waited any longer to make this move, it would have been at the risk of setting the organization’s direction back considerably. The good news is, moving on from the head coach now allows Dubas to do a deep search into Sullivan’s replacement. 

With all the draft capital the Penguins currently own, plus free agency in July, and now a search for a head coach, these next few months could be the biggest, most important stretch in Penguins history, and Dubas cannot afford to miss. His tenure with the Penguins organization may depend on it.