After nearly 10 years, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have a new voice behind the bench for the 2025-26 season.
The Penguins and Mike Sullivan have mutually agreed to part ways, it was announced Monday by president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas. Sullivan was under contract with the Penguins through the end of the 2025-26 season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Head Coach Mike Sullivan have agreed to part ways.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 28, 2025
Details: https://t.co/9AB8bPOijIpic.twitter.com/lPeZXj3HC1
“On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to thank Mike Sullivan for his unwavering commitment and loyalty to the team and City of Pittsburgh over the past decade,” Dubas said. “Mike is known for his preparation, focus and fierce competitiveness. I was fortunate to have a front-row seat to his dedication to this franchise for the past two seasons. He will forever be an enormous part of Penguins history, not only for the impressive back-to-back Cups, his impact on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, but more importantly, for his love and loyalty to the organization. This was not a decision that was taken lightly, but as we continue to navigate the Penguins through this transitional period, we felt it was the best course forward for all involved.”
Sullivan has been the coach of the Penguins since Dec. 12, 2015, when he replaced Mike Johnston mid-season after starting the season as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins, Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate. He coached Pittsburgh for parts of 10 NHL seasons and led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.
Between Pittsburgh and the Boston Bruins, Sullivan is 32nd on the NHL's all-time wins list for head coaches, and he is the Penguins' all-time leader in wins. During his 835-game tenure with Pittsburgh - including the regular season and the playoffs - Sullivan was 453-293-89 (.543 win percentage), which is good for 15th all-time for wins with a single franchise.
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