Associated Press
| The Detroit News
When Mike Sullivan’s time in Pittsburgh came to an end after nearly a decade behind the bench produced two Stanley Cup championships, he became the most-sought after coach on the market.
With plenty of vacancies around the NHL, Sullivan had his pick of the litter. He landed with the New York Rangers, tasked with taking over an Original Six franchise that missed last season’s playoffs but is loaded with talent.
Sullivan has coached Sidney Crosby and was picked by USA Hockey to lead the country at the upcoming Olympics in Milan. Starting this journey with the Rangers had him struggling to find a way to capture his emotions.
“This is a new challenge for me,” Sullivan said. “It’s hard for me to express in words how excited I am about this challenge and about this opportunity.”
Sullivan is one of nine coaches with a new challenge in front of him. A look at the changes for nearly a third of the league and what to expect:
Mike Sullivan, Rangers
Sullivan made trips over the summer to begin building personal relationships with his players. The 57-year-old from Massachusetts wanted to get to know players away from the rink and vice versa. When it comes to hockey, Sullivan’s straightforward approach is evident.
“Obviously a good pedigree,” defenseman Carson Soucy said. “He’s intense, very detail-focused and he wants to win.”
The Rangers haven’t won it all since 1994 but reached the Eastern Conference final in 2024.
Joel Quenneville, Ducks
Quenneville is back in the league with Anaheim, four years since resigning from Florida in the wake of an investigation into Chicago’s 2010 sexual assault allegations. Quenneville said at his introductory news conference he understands those who question is return and will “demonstrate (by) my actions that I am a man of character.”
The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup three times with Quenneville as their coach. Only Scotty Bowman has more NHL wins.
“Just to have a voice like that behind the bench guiding and leading our team, we got a good mix of some veterans and some young guys, so I think it’s a great hire and I’m really, really excited to play for him,” winger Sam Colangelo said.
Rick Tocchet, Flyers
Tocchet was nearly as prized as Sullivan after he decided not to renew his contract in Vancouver. Philadelphia is a homecoming of sorts for Tocchet, who played over 700 games in orange and black during separate stints.
“Him being back in Philly and wanting to be there and picking us, his excitement for where we’re headed, I think it excites us as a team and kind of the growth that we’re about to take,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “He’s already a step ahead. He already knows the organization, the city, the fans and so I think that’s going benefit us moving forward.”
Glen Gulutzan, Stars
Dallas fired Peter DeBoer following three consecutive trips to the West final. Pulling franchise goaltender Jake Oettinger in the series-deciding loss and his handling of it afterward played a part.
“You never want to see anyone lose their job,” Oettinger said. “It’s a tough business and with how good we’ve been the last three years, it’s tough. … Looking forward to getting a fresh start.”
That comes with Gulutzan, rehired 12 years after being fired by the Stars his first time around. Gulutzan the past seven seasons has been an assistant in Edmonton, where he ran the power play and earned praise from Connor McDavid for his communication skills.
Marco Sturm, Bruins
Playing over 1,000 games in the NHL, coaching Germany at the Olympics and spending multiple years as a Los Angeles Kings assistant didn’t prepare Sturm for taking over in Boston. It took three full seasons running a bench with Ontario of the American Hockey League to be ready.
“This is the time,” Sturm said. “Timing is everything. And I couldn’t end up in a better spot than Boston.”
Jeff Blashill, Blackhawks
Connor Bedard, the top pick in 2023, might finally have a long-term coach after Chicago fired Luke Richardson last December and played out the season with Anders Sorensen in an interim role. Blashill gets his second head-coaching job in the league after seven years with Detroit from 2015-22.
“We’re excited to have him,” Bedard said. “He’s thrilled to be with us. He’s showing a ton of excitement.”
Lane Lambert, Kraken
Dan Bylsma lasted one season in Seattle after he was promoted from the minors to replace Dave Hakstol. Lambert, fired in January 2024 by the New York Islanders, is tasked with getting the Kraken back to respectability.
“He brings a structure, an emphasis on structure that we desperately need a little bit,” captain Jordan Eberle said.
Dan Muse, Penguins
Muse, who was an assistant under former Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, takes over with Pittsburgh nearing a crossroads. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are still around but a youth movement is coming. Muse has caught players’ attention.
“I came and grabbed dinner here at the rink,” Letang said. “When I left, I think it was 8 o’clock and he was still on his computer working on some stuff. So there you go. You see the passion that he has for the game and trying to work on every little detail to make us better and improve every single guy out there.”
Adam Foote, Canucks
Tocchet’s exit opened a void for the Canucks, who would love to convince elite defenseman and captain Quinn Hughes to stick around beyond the end of his current contract in 2027. Hughes said he had his two best seasons with Foote, a former defenseman, as an assistant, but that guarantees nothing.
“It’s different being a head coach,” Hughes said. “I’m sure there’s going to be challenges as a first-year head coach that he’s going face, just like anyone else would. But I think he’s prepared for it.”
Bowman headlines Pens’ Hall class
Pittsburgh – Scotty Bowman and Ron Francis headline the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Hall of Fame class of 2025.
Bowman, the NHL’s all-time winningest coach, and Francis, the league’s fifth all-time leading scorer, were both important members of the Pittsburgh teams of the early 1990s that claimed the franchise’s first two Stanley Cups.
The duo, both of whom are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, will be joined by forward Kevin Stevens and former coach/general manager Eddie Johnston during an on-ice ceremony when the Penguins host Columbus on Oct. 25.
All four inductees played a role in Pittsburgh becoming one of the league’s marquee attractions during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Johnston was the general manager when the Penguins drafted Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux with the first overall pick in 1984 and later served as the club’s head coach from 1993-97.
Bowman was Pittsburgh’s director of player personnel during the 1990-91 season, during which he helped the club bring in a series of veterans – including Francis – to round out a roster ready to compete for a title. Bowman took over as head coach in 1991 after Bob Johnson was forced to step down because of a brain cancer diagnosis shortly after leading the Penguins to a championship.
Pittsburgh won its second straight Stanley Cup in 1992 with Bowman behind the bench. He then guided the Penguins to the Presidents’ Trophy in 1992-93 but exited the following offseason in a contract dispute.
Francis spent eight seasons in Pittsburgh after coming over in a trade with the Hartford Whalers. He scored 164 goals to go with 449 assists with the Penguins, adding another 100 points in the playoffs.
Stevens was a three-time All-Star across his two stints in Pittsburgh, scoring 260 goals and adding 295 assists in 522 games with the club.
Pietrangelo hopes to avoid surgery
Las Vegas – Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has not ruled out playing again for the Golden Knights – even this season – hoping to avoid surgery as he goes through rehabilitation on his injured hip.
Vegas placed him on long-term injured reserve earlier this year, which gave the Golden Knights room under the salary cap to sign prized sign-and-trade acquisition Mitch Marner.
At the time, it was announced that Pietrangelo would undergo surgery for bilateral femur reconstruction that most certainly would have ended any hopes of playing this season. Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon even doubted Pietrangelo would play again.
But the 35-year-old Pietrangelo said in a news conference Monday he has responded well to rehab and was keeping an open mind about playing this season. He has two seasons remaining on a seven-year, $61.6 million contract.
“Nothing’s really concrete,” Pietrangelo said. “I’m going to take it day by day and go through my process and see where it goes.”
He said his hip has been a long-term issue, but particularly flared up last season.
Pietrangelo had planned to play for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off at the NHL’s mid-season break, but withdrew from the tournament with the hopes of being healthy enough to contribute to a potential deep Golden Knights playoff run. It wasn’t an easy decision because Pietrangelo said he was disappointed that his wife and children didn’t get to see him play in that international event.
As for the Golden Knights, Vegas won the Pacific Division, but was eliminated in five games in the second round by eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton.
“Last year was when (the injury) really took a toll,” Pietrangelo said. “I couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. By the time it really started to get to me last year, to try and address it with how good of a team we had, it would’ve cut the whole year off for me.
“When you have a roster like we did and you have an opportunity you think to win, that’s a tough thing to give up. So that didn’t really cross my mind. I didn’t really know exactly what we were dealing with until the end of the season.”
He talked about the importance not only of keeping this chapter on his playing career open, but also of making sure he was healthy enough to do the things involved with being a good dad and husband.
Pietrangelo has remained in Las Vegas to be close to his teammates and maybe even help younger players either with the main club or the American Hockey League affiliate in nearby Henderson.
As a key member of two Stanley Cup championship teams – St. Louis in 2019 and Vegas in 2023 – Pietrangelo carries the gravitas of an accomplished veteran player. He also has 637 points in his 17-year career.
“I love being part of a locker room,” Pietrangelo said. “Anybody that’s played sports, especially at our age, to get together with the guys, it’s been really, really fun to come here and still see everybody and be part of the group.”
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