On Monday, Pittsburgh Penguins’ president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas shook the hockey world when he announced that head coach Mike Sullivan would not be returning to coach the Penguins in 2025-26.
With the Penguins and Sullivan mutually agreeing to part ways, Dubas and the organization will allow other teams to speak to the Penguins now-former head coach, who still has two years remaining on his contract. Sullivan figures to be scooped up by someone rather quickly, while the Penguins will begin their search for a new head coach immediately.
Dubas spoke to the Pittsburgh media on Monday following the announcement, and there was a lot to unpack from his press conference. Here are a few takeaways from Dubas’s presser.
The decision was in the works for a while
Dubas made a point to emphasize - like all GMs do when something like this happens - that it wasn't a decision that was made lightly or hastily.
According to Dubas, there were several instances throughout the season that gave him pause on whether Sullivan was still the right guy to lead the team through a transition or if they needed a change.
“I talked to him every day throughout the day, worked with him every day throughout the year,” Dubas said. "And there were times throughout the year where I started to think that it may just be time for a number of reasons. It's a lot to ask of somebody when they've done such a long and successful job here to be managing that and continue to transition the team through."
Dubas had his final formal meeting with Sullivan the day following Dubas's season-ending presser on Apr. 21. It’s clear that Dubas had some conversations with Sullivan that day that helped solidify his conviction, and he said he walked out of the conversation with a feeling that a change might be in order.
All NHL coaches have a shelf life, and Dubas simply felt that the time for a change was now after a culmination of events and factors during his Pittsburgh tenure.
BREAKING: Penguins And Head Coach Mike Sullivan Mutually Part WaysAfter nearly 10 years, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have a new voice behind the bench for the 2025-26 season.
Sullivan isn’t the coach for a period of transition
“Mutually parting ways” can mean a lot of things. But, in this case, it does sound like that's exactly what may have happened. Dubas and Sullivan simply weren't on the same page anymore, and they wanted different things.
Like any relationship, sometimes those things - although amicable - are irreconcilable. That seems to be the case here. The Penguins are navigating a transitional period, and, as Dubas said, it’s rare to see coaches stick around through the entire process from competing on to a transition on to competing again.
"Sometimes you just leave conversations with people, and especially with that, when it's a relationship between the general manager and the coach... for me, part of the reaffirmation of where we're at is, 'Is he still up for this? Does he want to go through this? Where does he sense it's at, and what's his energy and passion for it?'" Dubas said.
"In a perfect world, you would love to grind and see it all the way through with the Penguins. But - I think, in my mind - after my conversation with him last week and more contemplation during the week, there's not any one thing that I would look at and say that 'we had mass disagreement on these two areas'... it was just, in general, the feeling that the demands of this and what we're asking, it was, to me, time for him to elsewhere to apply and for us to move on as well."
Sullivan accomplished a lot in Pittsburgh, and he was the winningest coach in franchise history. But in order to see the Penguins’ rebuild process - however long it may be - the entire way through, he simply may not be the right guy for that job.
That said, Dubas emphasized Sullivan's high regard as a head coach, and it's relatively obvious that the organization expects him to have a new head coaching gig at the NHL level in pretty short order. It's no secret that Sullivan - who will coach Team USA at the Winter Olympics in 2026 - is in high demand.
Mike Sullivan's Departure From Penguins Paves The Way For Rangers To Swoop In The Pittsburgh Penguins announced on Monday morning that they have parted ways with longtime head coach Mike Sullivan.
Development is the priority for any new coach
Aside from the “why” for Sullivan’s departure from the Penguins, the biggest question is: “Who is next?”
Even though Dubas said that the team will have a “wide net” in its search for a new head coach, it did sound like they have a pretty good idea of the type of experience they’re looking for in the position.
Of course, there are veteran coaches like John Tortorella, Gerard Gallant, and Peter Laviolette available, with potentially a few others like current Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet on the market soon. But Dubas seemed to emphasize the importance of player development given the stage that the Penguins are in, and it seems the priority might be finding a coach who works well with young players - and who might have a lot of experience in developmental leagues like juniors, college hockey, and the AHL.
“We'll have deep questions as we go through the process on what their experience has been developmentally,” Dubas said. "Sully had that. Sully was in player development with Chicago, he coached in the American League, an [NHL] assistant coach...that's something I think, especially now in the salary cap era, you have to be developing your own guys."
Dubas mentioned Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery and Los Angeles Kings coach Jim Hiller as examples of coaches who had plenty of head coaching experience but none at the NHL level prior to being named head coach of their respective organizations.
This may lend to the idea that Dubas will be looking for similar types of coaches who are able to balance prioritizing the development of younger players while also being vigilant in maintaining a winning culture for the Penguins’ talented and experienced core of veterans.
Dubas and the Penguins plan to conduct virtual interviews from now through near the end of May, and they will hold the next round of interviews in the following few weeks. Dubas expects a new head coach to be hired sometime at the beginning of June and prior to the NHL Draft on June 27-28.
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