Mike Sullivan steps away from Rangers for personal reasons, new coach named on emergency basis


Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan

Photo credit: ESPN

New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan is stepping away from the team due to personal reasons for tonight’s game, and his coaching duties will be split.

The New York Rangers play the Detroit Red Wings tonight at Madison Square Garden, but they will not have head coach Mike Sullivan behind the bench per a recent announcement.

Sullivan is stepping away from the team to deal with a personal matter, and the head coaching duties will be split between assistants Joe Sacco and David Quinn.

Mike Sullivan will not be behind the Rangers bench tonight (personal reasons). David Quinn and Joe Sacco will split head coaching duties in his absence.

No specific reason was given as to the nature of the personal issue that Sullivan is attending to.

Quinn, who is in his second tenure behind the Rangers bench, now serves as an assistant; he was previously the Rangers head coach before being let go in 2021.

Sacco was an assistant coach for several years with the Boston Bruins and also served as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. Last year, after the Bruins terminated Jim Montgomery, Sacco became the Bruins’ head coach on an interim basis, but he was not retained under new coach Marco Sturm.

Mike Sullivan Is In His First Year Behind The Rangers Bench

Sullivan coached the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, and helped them remain in contention for several years before things started to go downhill.

Last year, the Penguins missed the playoffs for the third straight season, the longest drought in the careers of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.The Penguins didn’t bring Sullivan back, and he landed back on his feet almost immediately as coach of the Rangers after they let Peter Laviolette go.

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Mike Sullivan steps away from Rangers for personal reasons, new coach named on emergency basis

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