Penguins Update: Is Mike Sullivan Reinventing Himself?

Anyone who’s read PenguinPoop for any length of time knows black-and-gold coach Mike Sullivan doesn’t receive a whole lot of love on our blog.

I’ve personally been critical of his work on occasions too numerous to count. I’ve called for him to be fired at least twice. The first time, following the 2022-23 season when we let an all-but-assured playoff berth slip through our grasp. The second, earlier this season when the Penguins seemed to be disintegrating before our very eyes.

I had issues with his system, his personnel decisions, his perceived bias against kids and physical players, not to mention his seeming reluctance to adjust his philosophy to fit the talent on hand. To say nothing of his inability to solve problems, such as coughing up leads and odd-man breaks, that had run unchecked for the better part of two seasons.

Frankly, I thought he’d grown stale. I thought we needed to make a change. Somebody, anybody else. Just not Sully.

I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. As the Pens sank to the Metro basement, he began to take heat from other sites both locally and nationally. The situation reached its nadir with a disgraceful 6-1 loss to Utah on November 23, when the team basically quit on home ice.

Who’da thunk the Pens would embark on a 7-2-1 turnaround, basically using that dreadful defeat as a springboard and against some tough opponents to boot?

Certainly not I.

A huge chunk of credit goes to Sullivan and the way he’s risen to the challenge.

For starters, he blew up at his charges in practice, grabbing their attention and literally shaking them back to life. The message was crystal clear. He wasn’t quitting on them and he wasn’t going to let them quit on themselves.

But it’s more than that. Along with reviving his team, Sully seems to be reinventing himself as a coach. He’s tweaking and adjusting his system, something he’s seemed reluctant to do in the past. As a result, a heretofore error-prone bunch is playing with desperately needed discipline and structure. They’re no longer being lured into track meets where their weaknesses can be exposed. To the contrary, they’ve become opportunistic, preying on foes’ weaknesses.

And they’re grinding. The gritty, hard-earned victory over the Kings was a testament to our new-found willingness to battle. It’s been a hallmark of several wins recently, including the ones over the Maple Leafs and Bruins.

That’s a direct reflection of Sullivan’s competitive nature and burning desire to win.

Too, he’s tirelessly worked and reworked his line combinations and defense pairings to find the ones that function the best. He’s doing his best to squeeze the most out of the modest talent on hand.

In short, this may be Sully’s best coaching job since he first took over for Mike Johnston almost nine years ago to the day.

Given their limitations, the Pens aren’t likely to recapture the Cup this season. After all, no coach is a miracle worker, not even the best. They may not even make the playoffs. But they’re scrapping and competing and playing with a purpose.

Their coach has a lot to do with it.