Rangers hire Sullivan as new head coach; Tortorella not joining staff
Published
The New York Rangers have their man.
The team has announced the hiring of Mike Sullivan as the 38th coach in franchise history on Friday morning.
Sullivan, 57, mutually parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday after 10 NHL seasons.
He succeeds Peter Laviolette, who was fired by the Rangers last month after two seasons.
“Mike Sullivan has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in the NHL,” general manager Chris Drury said in a 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.”
As for speculation that John Tortorella could join Sullivan behind the bench in New York, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports he does not believe there is anything to that.
Tortorella, who coached under Sullivan at the 4 Nations Face-Off for Team USA, was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers in March with the team owning a 28-36-9 record with nine games remaining.
It’s a return to Broadway for Sullivan who spent four seasons as an assistant with the Blueshirts, from 2009 to 2013, under John Tortorella.
A native of Marshfield, Mass., Sullivan became the head coach of the Boston Bruins in 2003 less than two years after starting his coaching career. He was fired by the team after two seasons.
Following stints on the benches of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Rangers and Vancouver Canucks with Tortorella, Sullivan was named head coach of the Pens' American Hockey League-affiliate Wilkes-Barre Penguins in the fall of 2015. He was promoted to head coach of the Pens that December upon the firing of Mike Johnston.
In June of 2016, Sullivan became the sixth coach in NHL history to lead his team to a Stanley Cup triumph after a midseason hire. The Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions in 2017, making Sullivan the first American-born coach to win multiple titles in league history.
He leaves the Penguins as the team's all-time winningest coach with 409 regular-season victories.
A centre as a player, Sullivan appeared in 709 career games with the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes from 1991 to 2002. He had 54 goals and 82 assists.
After a conference finals appearance last spring where they fell in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the Rangers took a big step back this past season. The team finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division on 85 points, missing the playoffs by six points.
Despite the poor campaign, general manager Chris Drury was rewarded with a contract extension last month.
Sullivan becomes the seventh American-born coach in Rangers history.