Mike Sullivan is the Right/Wrong Coach for the Penguins

Confused about my title?

Imagine how I felt trying to write the article!

To digress, I’ve been discussing the plight of our Penguins quite a bit lately with my PP colleagues, Caleb DiNatale and Other Rick, as you can well imagine. More often than not the topic of our conversation centers around head coach Mike Sullivan.

I’ll be honest. I would have dismissed Sullivan at the end of the 2022-23 season as part of the Ron Hextall/Brian Burke purge. With the Pens in full control of their playoff destiny, he was unable to guide to us to a needed victory over the lowly (and I mean lowly) Blackhawks, effectively ending our 16-year run of postseason appearances.

This on the heels of four-straight opening round postseason exits and five-consecutive series losses. Frankly, I thought he’d reached the end of his shelf life here.

Nothing that’s transpired over the past season and change has altered my opinion, not even our 8-2-2 finish last spring. A fevered run that’s looking more and more like the last dying gasp of respectability from our great championship teams.

As recently as October 30, following yet another embarrassing come-from-in-front loss to the Wild, I once again called for Sully’s dismissal.

But now?

I’m not so sure.

Do I still think Sullivan is the wrong coach for the team? Absolutely. He won’t adjust his hard-on-the puck forechecking system to match the aging talent on hand. Nor will he commit to a more structured style of play that might take the heat off his struggling defense and beleaguered, overtaxed goalies.

As often as not, I think his choices and in-game decisions contribute to the team’s woes.

Which is precisely why he’s the right coach for this team. Let’s face it, there aren’t any miracle turnarounds in store for this bunch. And you don’t get rewarded for being mediocre and finishing, say, 20th.

It truly is to our benefit to be as bad as possible in order to have a shot at one of the top young talents in the draft. There happen to be several standouts turning draft eligible, including hulking 6’3″ Brampton power forward Porter Matrone and slick ‘n’ skilled Boston College forward James Hagens. To say nothing of the Next, Next One, Gavin McKenna in 2026.

If Sully continues to stubbornly employ a system that doesn’t fit his troops, we’re pretty much a lock to be that bad, whereas another coach might actually make some meaningful adjustments and squeeze out a few more wins. Perhaps even pushing us into bubble-team range.

That’s not the best thing for the team and the organization as a whole.

It’s time to think long-term.

However, there’s another mitigating factor concerning Sully, one that could work against us. He’s ultra-competitive and tries to win every game. Normally, a most admirable trait. However, we aren’t good enough to be in “win-now” mode any longer. Player development should take priority and trump on-ice results, especially with kids like Sam Poulin and Vasily Ponomarev coming on board.

Frankly, that’s never been a Sully strong suit. I do worry that his penchant for playing veterans over youth, again in an effort to secure every point, will undermine the development of our kids, both individually and collectively.

Which makes him the wrong coach for our team.

Still confused?

Don’t worry, so am I!