By Dave Holcomb
August 14, 2017
Head coach MIke Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates with the Stanley Cup trophy after defeating the Nashville Predators 2-0 in Game Six of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Bridgestone Arena on June 11, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Frederick Breedon/Getty Images North America)
Two years ago, Mike Sullivan was preparing for his first season in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization … as the head coach of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Pittsburgh hired Sullivan in June 2015, and before that, he wasn’t behind any bench, holding the title of player development coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Now heading into just his second full season as bench boss of the Penguins, Sullivan is already the greatest coach in franchise history.
Many will probably argue its too early to make such an outlandish statement, and in a way, they are correct. Sullivan is tied for ninth on the franchise’s all-time wins list. He needs to lead the Penguins back to the playoffs four or five more times to usurp Dan Bylsma for the No. 1 spot.
And it’s not as if Pittsburgh hasn’t seen other great coaches such as Scotty Bowman, Bob Johnson and Michel Therrien walk through its doors. Bowman has 250 more victories than anybody else in league history while Therrien, Johnson and Bylsma have combined to win nearly another 1,000 games.
But Sullivan has something that none of those coaches do — multiple Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh. Johnson could have done that had he not died after the 1991 title, but he didn’t get a chance to lead the team to its second championship in 1992. Bowman could have as well, but after the huge upset playoff loss to the New York Islanders in 1993, he bolted for Detroit.
Coaching in Pittsburgh longer than either of them, Bylsma had more chances to become the first Penguins coach with multiple rings. But while talented, his teams were mentally weak. Inferior opponents routinely got Pittsburgh off its game during the postseason, and it led to early exits. The Penguins blew two 3-1 series leads during the playoffs in a four-year span under Bylsma, and the second one led to his dismissal.
It’s hard picturing a Sullivan team squandering a 3-1 series lead. They nearly did against Washington in the second round this past spring, but then put together an epic 2-0 road victory in Game 7. Under Sullivan, the Penguins have lost three games in a row (without getting a point) just once since January 2016, and never in the playoffs.
Furthermore, Pittsburgh has lost consecutive games in the postseason just three times in two years. What’s the best recipe for Stanley Cup playoff success? Have a coach who knows the pulse of his team so well that every adjustment he makes is correct one, which leads to a 14-3 postseason record following a loss.
And being better prepared than any team heading into the series too. Pittsburgh is 5-3 in Game 1s under Sullivan.
As much as anything, that combination is why the Penguins are back-to-back champions. The team that loses Game 1 has no way to win the series without stringing together at least two consecutive wins. That’s hard to do against the Penguins in large part because of Sullivan’s ability to adjust after losses.
And not enough can be said about the mental toughness he has provided Pittsburgh in his two years. The Penguins were routinely outshot and looked beaten and tired at various points on their latest run. Yet, like they did in Game 7 versus Washington, they always responded following a bad game.
When it mattered most, the Penguins were never out-willed during the 2017 postseason. Pittsburgh has an extremely talented roster, but make no mistake, without Kris Letang and Matt Murray for a half the run, not to mention the numerous other injured players missing games or playing hurt, Pittsburgh grinded its way to a second title. The Penguins even had to play a game without Sidney Crosby, yet they still found a way to beat the best regular-season team in the NHL.
It all points to outstanding coaching.
Now, that’s not to say Sullivan is ahead of Bowman is terms of all-time best NHL coaches. Bowman remains king there, but not enough of Bowman’s success came in Pittsburgh for him to be the No. 1 Penguins coach of all-time. Actually, he lasted just two years with the team, so he only coached 28 more games with Pittsburgh than Sullivan.
And again, the Penguins have seen a coach maintain long-term success, but it’s hard not to think Sullivan is only getting started in the Steel City.
If Sullivan leads the Penguins to three more playoff series victories, he will own the most postseason victories in franchise history. Should Sullivan last four more years in Pittsburgh, and win about 42 games per season, he will also have the most regular-season victories for the Penguins.
It will take him a few more years to accumulate those totals. But while the numbers might not suggest it just yet, the two Stanley Cups and Pittsburgh’s newfound playoff mental toughness say Sullivan is already the greatest Penguins coach there ever has been.
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