John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
The Pittsburgh Penguins had their fair share of doubters ahead of the season. The team’s first 10 games only fuelled those doubts.
Pittsburgh hasn’t won in the last five games, going 0-4-1 after Saturday’s loss against the Vancouver Canucks. They now sit second-last in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-6-1 record, and they’ve been outscored 32-12 in their seven losses. Those aren’t numbers that support the team keeping coach Mike Sullivan around for another season, with playoffs being an imperative goal.
After not winning a playoff round since 2018, patience can only last so long, making Sullivan a candidate to be the NHL’s first coach fired this season.
Sullivan has been on the job with the Pens since December 2015, making him the second-longest-tenured bench boss in the NHL behind Tampa’s Jon Cooper. But Sullivan is clearly under the gun now.
Although Penguins majority ownership at Fenway Sports Group gave Sullivan a vote of confidence before the season, there has to be a line in the sand for Sullivan, just as there is for every NHL coach.
Pittsburgh has struggled mightily on defense and in goal, allowing 4.20 goals per game. Tristan Jarry is in the AHL on a conditioning stint because of that.
“He’s a high quality goaltender, he’s a high quality person… It’s our responsibility to help players through some of the struggles that players inevitably go through in this league.”
Head coach Mike Sullivan on Tristan Jarry#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/RrtEGAju4L
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) October 26, 2024
Their offense hasn’t been lighting it up either, recording three goals per game. This subpar streak is an all-around struggle that points back to Sullivan.
The Penguins have soft touches in the schedule – Anaheim, Montreal, Columbus and San Jose – and tougher tilts against Minnesota, the Islanders, Carolina, Washington, Dallas and Detroit. If the Penguins can’t come out of that 10-game stretch with at least 14 of a possible 20 points, they will be fighting just to be on the periphery of the Stanley Cup playoff race.
Even the man Fenway Sports Group chairman Tom Werner called “one of the two or three best coaches in hockey” shouldn’t keep getting stuck in this position, even if the roster might not be what he needs to succeed. Changing the coach sends a massive wake-up call to the crew, just like it did when Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston midway through 2015-16 and led the team to the Stanley Cup.
Besides, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas already has a potential Sullivan replacement on board in current assistant coach David Quinn, the former coach of the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks.
There are other options for Pittsburgh as well, including former Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft, former Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, former Kings coach Todd McLellan and current AHL coach Mitch Love. Dubas reuniting with former Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe could’ve been another option in the off-season, but the Devils scooped up Keefe.
Before too long, the point of no return will arrive for Pittsburgh. Another year without playoff hockey – the third straight season of no playoff hockey for the Penguins – is indefensible, and someone has to pay for that failure with their job. It’s probably not going to be Dubas or any of the Penguins’ core star players. That leaves Sullivan.
You have to give Sullivan his due – he’s won two Cups, and when he does move on from Pittsburgh, there will be no shortage of organizations interested in hiring him to run their team. But the Penguins need a fresh voice to overcome what currently ails them.
We’ll be amazed if Sullivan remains Pittsburgh’s coach at the end of this season. This isn’t a critique of him and his tactics but a comment about the transitory nature of the modern-day NHL coaching business. Let’s see what happens.
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