Dan Muse And Mike Sullivan Set To Begin New Chapters On Opposite Sides
The Pittsburgh Penguins will open their 2025-26 campaign against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, and the game will hold extra significance for the head coaches on both sides.
Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan will try to get a win against his former team after coaching the Penguins for the previous ten seasons. It appeared he would coach the Penguins for an 11th season once the 2024-25 season ended, until he and the team decided it was best to part ways.
Penguins general manager and president Kyle Dubas explained during an April presser that there were times during last season when he felt that it may be time for a change.
“I talked to him every day throughout the year, worked with him every day throughout the year,” Dubas explained. “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.”
Once Sullivan was fired, the Rangers made him their top priority, as they had fired Peter Laviolette at the end of the season. They didn’t live up to expectations and missed the playoffs a year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy. Sullivan was hired less than a week after he and the Penguins parted ways and will try to return the Rangers to the playoffs this year.
Sullivan missed the playoffs in his previous three seasons as Penguins head coach but helped them win two Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. He’s the winningest head coach in the franchise’s history.
Dan Muse was an assistant coach with the Rangers for the previous two seasons under Laviolette before the Penguins hired him to replace Sullivan. He just finished up a grueling and competitive training camp and is ready for his first game as an NHL head coach. However, he’s being a little bit coy about how much it means to go against his former team.
“I’ll see how it feels tomorrow. Honestly, I can’t tell…
