Mike Sullivan (ice hockey)

Michael Barry Sullivan (born February 27, 1968) is an American ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a fourth round selection, 69th overall, by the New York Rangers at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft and played 11 NHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes. Internationally, he represented the United States twice, including at the 1997 World Championship.

Mike Sullivan
Sullivan coaching the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018
Born (1968-02-27) February 27, 1968
NationalityAmerican
OccupationIce hockey coach, player

Coaching career
PositionHead coach
General managerPatrik Allvin
TeamPittsburgh Penguins
Previous team(s)Boston Bruins
Stanley Cup wins2016, 2017
Years as NHL player1990–2002
Years as a coach2002–present
Years as an NHL coach2003–present
Years with current team2015–present
Ice hockey career
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Center
Shot Left
Played for San Jose Sharks
Calgary Flames
Boston Bruins
Phoenix Coyotes
National team  United States
NHL Draft 69th overall, 1987
New York Rangers
Playing career 19902002

Sullivan turned to coaching upon his retirement in 2002 and served two seasons as the head coach of the Boston Bruins between 2003 and 2005. He has formerly been an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks, and subsequently served in the department of player development with the Chicago Blackhawks for one year. After serving as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in December 2015, and led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.

Playing career

Sullivan played high school hockey at Boston College High School and college hockey at Boston University where he scored a game-winning goal in the Beanpot Tournament. He was drafted 69th overall by the New York Rangers in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He elected to remain at BU to finish school, and in 1990, he began an 11-year NHL career in which he accumulated 54 goals, 82 assists, 136 points and 203 penalty minutes in 709 games.

Coaching career

Sullivan raising the Stanley Cup in 2017

Sullivan began coaching professional hockey during the 2002–2003 season, when he became the head coach of the Providence Bruins of the AHL. In his only season, his team had a 41–17–9–4 record.

Sullivan was hired as the 26th head coach of the Boston Bruins in 2003 by then-general manager Mike O'Connell. His first season with the Bruins was highly successful, as he led them to a 41–19–15–7 record, 104 points and a first-place finish in the Northeast Division. However, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens. After the lockout, Sullivan and the Bruins struggled to win in the new NHL, as they ended the 2005–2006 season with a dismal 29–37–16 record, missing the playoffs and finishing last in the Northeast Division. He was subsequently fired by incoming general manager Peter Chiarelli on June 27, 2006, and was replaced by Dave Lewis.

Sullivan served as an assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

On May 31, 2007, he was named assistant coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On July 16, 2009, he was named assistant coach of the New York Rangers.

On July 3, 2013, he was named assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

On January 20, 2014, Sullivan was named interim head coach of the Canucks, while head coach John Tortorella served a six-game suspension. On January 21, in his first game as acting head coach, the Canucks would go on to record a 2–1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

On May 1, 2014, Sullivan, along with head coach John Tortorella, were relieved of their respective duties in the Canucks organization. Sullivan subsequently joined the Chicago Blackhawks as a player development coach.

On June 18, 2015, the Pittsburgh Penguins named Sullivan as the new head coach of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[1]

He was named head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12, 2015, upon the firing of then-head coach Mike Johnston.[2]

On June 12, 2016, Sullivan became just the sixth head coach in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after being hired mid-season. He did so when the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.[3] Sullivan joined both Scotty Bowman (1992) and Dan Bylsma (2009) as the third coach in franchise history to win the Stanley Cup following a mid-season coaching change.

Sullivan is also the first coach to lead the Penguins to multiple Stanley Cup championships with their victory over the Nashville Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final.[4]

On December 16, 2017, he recorded his 100th career win with the Penguins becoming just the fourth coach to do so for the organization.[5]

On July 5, 2019, Sullivan signed a four-year contract extension.[6]

Personal life

Sullivan and his wife, Kate, have three children, daughters Kaitlin and Kiley and son Matthew. He is cousins with baseball executive Jared Porter.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1985–86 Boston College High School HS-Prep 22 26 33 59
1986–87 Boston University Terriers HE 37 13 18 31 18
1987–88 Boston University Terriers HE 30 18 22 40 30
1988–89 Boston University Terriers HE 36 19 17 36 30
1989–90 Boston University Terriers HE 38 11 20 31 26
1990–91 San Diego Gulls IHL 74 12 23 35 27
1991–92 San Jose Sharks NHL 64 8 11 19 15
1991–92 Kansas City Blades IHL 10 2 8 10 8
1992–93 San Jose Sharks NHL 81 6 8 14 30
1993–94 San Jose Sharks NHL 26 2 2 4 4
1993–94 Kansas City Blades IHL 6 3 3 6 0
1993–94 Saint John Flames AHL 5 2 0 2 4
1993–94 Calgary Flames NHL 19 2 3 5 6 7 1 1 2 8
1994–95 Calgary Flames NHL 38 4 7 11 14 7 3 5 8 2
1995–96 Calgary Flames NHL 81 9 12 21 24 4 0 0 0 0
1996–97 Calgary Flames NHL 67 5 6 11 10
1997–98 Boston Bruins NHL 77 5 13 18 34 6 0 1 1 2
1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 63 2 4 6 24 5 0 0 0 2
1999–2000 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 79 5 10 15 10 5 0 1 1 0
2000–01 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 72 5 4 9 16
2001–02 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 42 1 2 3 16
NHL totals 709 54 82 136 203 34 4 8 12 14

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1988 United States WJC 6 0 2 2 14
1997 United States WC 8 1 2 3 2
Senior totals 8 1 2 3 2

Head coaching record

NHL

TeamYearRegular seasonPostseason
GWLTOTLPtsFinishWLWin%Result
BOS2003–04 8241191571041st in Northeast34.429Lost in Conference Quarterfinals
BOS2005–06 82293716745th in NortheastMissed playoffs
BOS total16470561523  34.4291 playoff appearance
PIT2015–16 5433165(71)2nd in Metropolitan168.667Won Stanley Cup
PIT2016–17 825021111112nd in Metropolitan169.640Won Stanley Cup
PIT2017–18 82472961002nd in Metropolitan66.500Lost in Second Round
PIT2018–19 824426121003rd in Metropolitan04.000Lost in First Round
PIT2019–20 69*40236863rd in Metropolitan13.250Lost in Qualifying Round
PIT total36921411540  3930.5655 playoff appearances
2 Stanley Cup titles
Total5312841611563  4234.5536 playoff appearances
2 Stanley Cup titles
  • Shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019-20 season. Playoffs were played in August 2020 with a different format.

AHL

SeasonTeamRegular seasonPost season
GWLTOTLPctDivision rankResult
2002–03 Providence Bruins 71 41 17 9 4 .669 1st, North Lost conference quarterfinals
2015–16 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 23 18 5 .783

References

  • Career statistics: "Michael Sullivan player card". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  1. "Mike Sullivan Named Head Coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins". Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  2. "Mike Sullivan Named Head Coach of Pittsburgh Penguins".
  3. Satriano, David (June 12, 2016). "Penguins join select group of champions". NHL.com. NHL. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  4. Werner, Sam (May 27, 2017). "Mike Sullivan, Peter Laviolette make Stanley Cup final history". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 17, 2017. Mr. Sullivan is also now the first to lead a team to the Cup final in back-to-back seasons
  5. Kasan, Sam (December 16, 2017). "Snap Shots: Pens 4, Coyotes 2". NHL.com. Pittsburgh Penguins. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  6. "Penguins and Head Coach Sullivan Agree to a Four-Year Contract Extension". NHL.com. July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  7. Joyce, Greg (December 16, 2020). "Mets GM Jared Porter could have had an NHL career". New York Post. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
Preceded by
Bill Armstrong
Head coach of the Providence Bruins
2002–03
Succeeded by
Scott Gordon
Preceded by
Mike O'Connell
Head coach of the Boston Bruins
2003–06
Succeeded by
Dave Lewis
Preceded by
Mike Johnston
Head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins
2015–present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
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