PITTSBURGH — The Mike Sullivan Blame Tour is making the rounds with reckless abandon these days.
After all, the Penguins are 2-0 under Sullivan’s replacement coach in Pittsburgh, Dan Muse, and have exceeded early expectations. Their first win was convincing, and it came against Sullivan’s new team, the New York Rangers.
So, the mess that preceded this season was all Sullivan’s fault.
Those three years without a playoff appearance? Blame Sully!
That 2022 series against the Rangers with Louis Domingue as his goaltender? Blame Sully!
That 2021 series against the Islanders with Tristan Jarry as his goaltender? Blame Sully!
The Penguins are relying on their youth, with Ben Kindel, Harrison Brunicke and Filip Hållander helping mightily. Matt Nieto need not apply. Sullivan would never deploy young players, so … blame Sully!
Sullivan wasn’t perfect. It was time for him and the Penguins to part ways. He made his share of mistakes in his final seasons in Pittsburgh and, in his most honest moments, he’d probably admit it. Plus, in pro hockey, coaches have an expiration date more than in any other sport. I haven’t a clue why, but it’s real. Sullivan probably should have exited alongside Ron Hextall in 2023, and I don’t mean that to tie their legacies together in any way. However, when Sullivan couldn’t push the Penguins past a Blackhawks team that was actively trying to lose while Pittsburgh was desperately trying to make the playoffs, we should have known something was wrong.
So, yes, it was time, and no, his final seasons in Pittsburgh weren’t ideal.
Still, it would be foolish to let those realities cloud your judgment of what Sullivan did in Pittsburgh.
Maybe the ending wasn’t all that satisfying, but it was still one hell of a movie.
Of the countless times I’ve interviewed Sullivan, I always go back to the last one, and not just because it’s the freshest in my memory. Late last season, when I think he knew his exit was possible, Sullivan and I spoke about his desire to remain in Pittsburgh and his love for the city and the organization. It was all sincere.
Then, the conversation turned.
Sullivan was always acutely aware of outside criticism of his work. He knew some Penguins fans were critical of him for never using young players. So, during our discussion, he pointed toward a door and said, “I don’t see Jake Guentzel or Bryan Rust walking through that door.”
His point was clear: I would play young players if I had any.
He’s not wrong. Sullivan never had Kindel at his disposal. He was blown away by what he saw from Brunicke as an 18-year-old, but the Penguins were never going to keep the young defenseman in the NHL last season.
Which young players, exactly, did Sullivan refuse to use? Valtteri Puustinen? Samuel Poulin? Emil Bemström? Marc Johnstone? Joona Koppanen? Alex Nylander? Jonathan Gruden? Vladislav Kolyachonok?
What exactly was he supposed to do? Those aren’t NHL players. Apparently, Muse and Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas agree.
No, Sullivan wasn’t perfect. Yes, he and his staff could have done a better job developing the young players they had, but in all seriousness, how much talent did he have to work with?
Sullivan knew this could happen. He didn’t want it to and didn’t leave on his own, but he knew, which was evident at the end of that last conversation we had. After expressing that he would have enjoyed having better young players, Sullivan ultimately had Dubas’ back. And Hextall’s back. And Jim Rutherford’s back. All of those general managers, at one point or another, mortgaged the future for the present. Dubas was guilty of that only in his first few months on the job, but all three did it in the name of chasing championships.
Rutherford succeeded. In the end, that’s what mattered to Sullivan.
Dubas respects and understands that line of thinking. He talks about the desire to win championships, not just make the playoffs, as his only goal for the Penguins. How can you not respect that? Dubas and Sullivan understood each other and were on the same page. Dubas simply didn’t feel Sullivan was the guy to lead a new iteration of the Penguins to a championship when the time comes, many years from now.
As Sullivan was starting to head back to his office following our conversation, he stopped for just a moment. He pointed to the championship banners hanging at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
“They don’t ever take those down,” Sullivan said, before briskly walking back to his office.
In the end, I’d suggest you remember Sullivan in that way.
In 2015, when they should have been great, the Penguins had utterly lost their way. Then Sullivan showed up, and the Penguins made history. They wouldn’t have done it without him.
Sullivan’s final years in Pittsburgh serve as proof that winning in the NHL is outrageously difficult. Even when you’ve done a masterful coaching job, Jarry can pass a puck to the Islanders, or a third-string goalie can be facing Igor Shesterkin in a best-of-seven series.
Just like that, it’s over, and you’ve become the villain.
That’s the way it works for hockey coaches, but Sullivan is no villain. They don’t take those banners down, and I’m convinced those two banners wouldn’t exist if not for him.
Just like Sullivan wanted more young players he trusted, fans wanted more championships. In the NHL, it’s extremely hard to have it both ways, and the Penguins could not. But for a couple of magical springs in Pittsburgh, Sullivan coached as well as anyone in franchise history. That, above all else, should be his legacy in Pittsburgh.
Notes
• The Penguins were given the day off on Friday and will have a full morning skate on Saturday before hosting the Rangers at 7 p.m.
• The Rangers canceled their scheduled practice in Pittsburgh on Friday and will also have a full morning skate on Saturday. Sullivan is expected to speak with the Pittsburgh media following the Rangers’ morning skate.