Mike Sullivan was named the 38th head coach in New York Rangers history on Friday morning.
Sullivan mutually parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins after 10 years behind their bench just four days ago. He will replace the fired Peter Laviolette as bench boss of the Rangers after Laviolette led New York to a 39-36-7 record in the 2024-25 campaign, finishing outside of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
The 57-year-old former NHL forward was drafted by the Rangers in the 1987 NHL Draft but never played a game for the club. He was previously an assistant coach for the team for four years under John Tortorella from 2009 to 2013.
The Rangers missed out on this year’s postseason after finishing with the best regular season record in the NHL a year ago and reaching the Eastern Conference Final.
“Mike Sullivan has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in the NHL,” general manager Chris Drury said in a statement. “Given his numerous accomplishments throughout his coaching career – including two Stanley Cups and leading Team USA at the international level – Mike brings a championship-level presence behind the bench.”
Sullivan won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017 and ranks 32nd on the NHL’s all-time head-coaching wins list. He owns a 479-311-15-112 record over 917 games as head coach of the Penguins (2015 to 2025) and Boston Bruins (2003 to 2006).
Per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, Tortorella, recently fired by the Philadelphia Flyers, was a candidate to join Sullivan as an assistant with the Rangers, but will not do so despite speaking with the team. Tortorella fulfilled the same role under Sullivan with Team USA during the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year.
Kaplan adds that Sullivan’s contract with New York is believed to be for five years and is the highest annual salary for a coach in NHL history.
After Sullivan’s hiring, there are still seven head-coaching vacancies remaining throughout the league, including with the Flyers, Bruins, Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Seattle Kraken, and Vancouver Canucks.
