Penguins Must Pressure Mike Sullivan With Next Hire
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PITTSBURGH – The annual NHL coaching carousel is ready to roll as the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs kicks off, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have a unique spot on the ride. While teams are searching for head coaches at the NHL level, the Penguins will soon be on the hunt for a replacement for associate coach Todd Reirden and new faces to man the AHL squad.
President of hockey operations Kyle Dubas isn’t even a full year into his Penguins tenure and is already about to hit a second offseason full of change. He’ll head the search for a new assistant while assistant general manager Jason Spezza leads the charge for a new AHL staff. Dubas will likely have his hand in that search, as well.
With Mike Sullivan’s spot as head coach likely set in stone, he will aid in the hunt for new partners, but the Penguins front office should be looking for high-quality candidates. Not just coaches with experience but faces who could fight for Sullivan’s job one day.
Sullivan has been behind the Penguins bench for about 10 years, and he’s had great success, but the shine has worn off. The last two seasons speak for themselves, as the Penguins have missed the playoffs both years. In the four years before that, the Penguins failed to make it out of the first round.
The players and the organization still fully believe that Sullivan is the right man for the job, but he’ll need to make a few changes. Adding a skilled coach who could one day take over should light a fire under Sullivan.
Sullivan says that competition between players brings out the best in them, so why would competition in the coach’s room be any different?
There will be plenty of names for the Penguins to choose from for the assistant opening and the AHL squad. When the Penguins announced they would open a search for new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coaches, they stated their goal of making that team the “premier developer of players and staff that can help the Pittsburgh Penguins win Stanley Cups.”
It wouldn’t be surprising to see an NHL head coaching hopeful join the Penguins organization in an AHL role. The same goes for the assistant opening next to Sullivan.
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