Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar/ AP Photo
On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins fired head coach Mike Johnston who has been with the team since the start of the 2014 season as well as assistant coach Gary Agnew.The team has hired Mike Sullivan as the interim head coach.
The main reasoning for the coaching change was general manager Jim Rutherford’s belief that the Penguins were not playing up to their full potential under Johnston. General manager Rutherford felt it was time for a change, and looked to Sullivan to revive the team and bring them to their full potential. Just 28 games into the season, the Penguins are fifth in the Metropolitan division.
Rutherford began considering a coaching change just after Pittsburgh’s loss to Columbus on their home ice on Nov.13. The following night in New Jersey, the team fell 4-0 to the Devils. Pittsburgh had a closed-door meeting about the situation.
On Friday, the Penguins fell to the Los Angeles Kings in a shootout, dropping to 15-10-3. The Penguins have had difficulty scoring, ranking 28th in the league. The team is also 26th on their power play despite the ability of their play-makers. Captain Sidney Crosby has also been lagging in the season, only racking up 19 points so far, on track for one of the worst seasons of his career.
Sullivan, the new Penguins coach, was head coach of the Boston Bruins from 2003-06 and was serving as the coach of the Penguins affiliate team in the AHL, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He also has served as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. He was also a player development coach for the Chicago Blackhawks last season, when they won the Stanley Cup.
Rick Tocchet will remain assistant coach and Jacques Martin, who had served as a special assistant, will now be on the bench as an assistant coach.
“I wanted to keep those guys because they know what’s gone on here,” Rutherford said, via NHL.com. “In Mike Sullivan’s case, I wanted somebody new that the players won’t totally know. That he can come in and mold what we’re doing going forward and really take control of the situation of what needs to be dealt with.”
Sullivan will begin coaching immediately. The last time the Penguins replaced a coach mid-season was in 2009 when Dan Bylsma led the team to its third Stanley Cup. He will run his first practice with the Penguins today, before hosting the Washington Capitals on Monday night.
