Poll: Will Sullivan be the Penguins coach at decade's end

[KG]

https://nypost.com/2025/04/19/sports/ra ... ch-starts/

Sullivan and Rangers already making the rounds. It does make a ton of sense.

I read conflicting information about trading a coach (nothing from the NHL), but pretty much anything the Rangers offered would seal the deal.

Can't trade coaches oficially. But maybe that's where future considerations comes into play. For example, Drury says to let Sully out of his contract and you can have your choice of the 1st round pick this season or next. I'm sure it won't happen but I think Sully would have interest. Not that the Rangers have a great future but it's still an original 6 team.

[longtimefan]

There's nothing officially that addresses the trading of head coaches. They are not addressed in the CBA or anywhere else. The league did institute a rule for one year that compensated teams for lost personnel, but it was a disaster. It was a separate issue and was more put into place to combat the poaching of various front office personnel. Since there's no rule, the league can't enforce it. It's between the two teams.

It also has plenty of precedent. The Rangers have twice traded 1st round picks for coaches. For both Fred Shero and Michel Bergeron. The Pirates traded for Chuck Tanner. It's most prevalent in the NFL. Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl after the Raiders traded him to the Bucs. The Broncos recently paid a kings ransom for Sean Payton. It's been reported that Mike Tomlin has a no trade clause.

It would also appear to be easy to circumvent. "Fire" Sully so the Rangers (or Bruins) can sign him to an identical contract. Then the Pens send Graves to the Rangers for a 7th round pick. That would be nice!

Sullivan is the highest paid coach in the NHL. He makes $5.5M for the next 2 seasons. He and Cooper are the only $5M coaches. If fired and hired, the Pens would still be on the hook for any offset in salary. Which matters to the bottom line. If traded, the acquiring team assumes the contract. It's one of the reasons I don't put this solely at Dubas' feet. FSG is run like a corporation. The $$$ matter. Imagine firing Sully and the Rangers give him a 2 yr deal for $2.75M per. Then the Pens pay him $2.75M to coach the Rangers. If the Rangers opt to give the Pens the 2026 pick, Sully's first season in New York will directly impact the pick.

Dollars matter. And, despite what this fanbase believes, Sully has quite a bit of value around the league. He could take a year off and have the Pens pay him in full while he concentrates on the Olympic team full time. Remote, but possible. The Pens don't want to be on the hook for any part of Sully's salary while also having to pay for a replacement.

Some are frustrated with Dubas and have called for his firing. He has 5 years left on a contract that puts him among the highest paid GM's. Say what you will about FSG's ownership reign, but they aren't shy about paying top dollar for the brass. It's just that it can be cause some problems if things don't work out.

[FLPensFan]

There's nothing officially that addresses the trading of head coaches. They are not addressed in the CBA or anywhere else. The league did institute a rule for one year that compensated teams for lost personnel, but it was a disaster. It was a separate issue and was more put into place to combat the poaching of various front office personnel. Since there's no rule, the league can't enforce it. It's between the two teams.

It also has plenty of precedent. The Rangers have twice traded 1st round picks for coaches. For both Fred Shero and Michel Bergeron. The Pirates traded for Chuck Tanner. It's most prevalent in the NFL. Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl after the Raiders traded him to the Bucs. The Broncos recently paid a kings ransom for Sean Payton. It's been reported that Mike Tomlin has a no trade clause.

It would also appear to be easy to circumvent. "Fire" Sully so the Rangers (or Bruins) can sign him to an identical contract. Then the Pens send Graves to the Rangers for a 7th round pick. That would be nice!

Sullivan is the highest paid coach in the NHL. He makes $5.5M for the next 2 seasons. He and Cooper are the only $5M coaches. If fired and hired, the Pens would still be on the hook for any offset in salary. Which matters to the bottom line. If traded, the acquiring team assumes the contract. It's one of the reasons I don't put this solely at Dubas' feet. FSG is run like a corporation. The $$$ matter. Imagine firing Sully and the Rangers give him a 2 yr deal for $2.75M per. Then the Pens pay him $2.75M to coach the Rangers. If the Rangers opt to give the Pens the 2026 pick, Sully's first season in New York will directly impact the pick.

Dollars matter. And, despite what this fanbase believes, Sully has quite a bit of value around the league. He could take a year off and have the Pens pay him in full while he concentrates on the Olympic team full time. Remote, but possible. The Pens don't want to be on the hook for any part of Sully's salary while also having to pay for a replacement.

Some are frustrated with Dubas and have called for his firing. He has 5 years left on a contract that puts him among the highest paid GM's. Say what you will about FSG's ownership reign, but they aren't shy about paying top dollar for the brass. It's just that it can be cause some problems if things don't work out.

Where did you hear/see anything about offset salary? Not disputing, but I've never heard that. Everything I've heard is that if a a coach is fire with term and $$$ remaining, the firing team is on the hook for the remainder of salary over the term. HOWEVER, if another team wants to hire that coach, I think the firing team still holds their rights, and would have to release those rights to the other team. Typically, that involves terminating the existing contract.

That's my understanding, but if there is something different out there explaining this process, I'd love to read it.

[longtimefan]

It appears that we are both somewhat correct and somewhat incorrect. It's not something that is generally made public. I found the following explanation.

https://hockeyanswered.com/how-much-do- ... y-tracker/

NHL Coach’s contracts are guaranteed

A coach’s salary is on a guaranteed contract. If a coach signs a contract for 3 years they will get paid for the full three years of the contract. Even if they are fired a month into that contract.

There have been many cases where a coach has got fired from a team, and has been hired by another team. This does not necessarily mean they will get paid double.

A team will need to seek permission to talk to the coach who has been fired, because they are still under contract for the other team. What it does mean is that there is probably some sharing of costs on the old contract if the new team wants to hire him.

We can never be exactly sure what has happened in these cases, but if you were the old employer wouldn’t you try to claw back a million or so?

So the contract stays in effect, and the team is on the hook for the full term. The hiring team does have to seek permission, but the contract is never terminated. Hypothetically, Sullivan could collect $5.5M from the Pens, plus whatever salary the hiring team agrees to pay him. But the Pens wouldn't likely allow the interview if the hiring team doesn't agree to pick up at least a portion of his current salary.

The bottom of the article also has a partial list of NHL coaches' salaries. They are not required to be made public, and the only available information typically comes from local sources. You can see that Sully's contract is in a different stratosphere.

[Fast B]

Hopefully Boston and Rangers try to woo him.

Yes, and I intend to go on a date with Scarlett Johansson.

[Puck-Lurker]

How illuminating.

Mike, you're contractually obligated to be the head coach moving forward. Had you intended anything else, you'd be intending to be in breach of contract.

Kyle, fire this guy.

[Antonio]

The more realistic poll should have read "Will Mike Sullivan be the penguins coach at decade's end"

[stonewizard51]

With the current ownership calling the shots ? Probably

[Pitts]

Hopefully Boston and Rangers try to woo him.

Yes, and I intend to go on a date with Scarlett Johansson.

This part was not mentioned in that tweet, from Johe's Athletic article on Team clean out day:

“My intentions are to be the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins,” Sullivan said.

The typically verbose Sullivan cut off his answer after those words, letting silence fill the room.

Few topics aggravate Sullivan more. He told me on two different occasions during one-on-one interviews this season that he has absolutely no intentions of leaving the Penguins, that his loyalty to the franchise is extreme, and that he wants to coach these Penguins until they are champions again.

[Antonio]

Of course he wants to stay forever and his loyalty is extreme. He's gotten to have an unjustly inflated perception of his skill by being over a massively talented roster, a place in history he doesn't deserve as a supposedly great coach, and a franchise that has held him to literally zero accountability for his endless failure for an unimaginable length of time all while being paid the highest or second highest coach salary in the league. Yeah no **** you want to stay *******.

[Daniel]

Of course he wants to stay forever and his loyalty is extreme. He's gotten to have an unjustly inflated perception of his skill by being over a massively talented roster, a place in history he doesn't deserve as a supposedly great coach, and a franchise that has held him to literally zero accountability for his endless failure for an unimaginable length of time all while being paid the highest or second highest coach salary in the league. Yeah no **** you want to stay *******.

Why would Sullivan want to go anywhere, moving sucks and he has no accountability at his job. Same reason Tomlin won't move on, Mediocre Mike's through and through.

[Puck-Lurker]

The one thing that I would take serious issue with is that his performance with a few games with the 'team USA' squad means anything

Came in 2nd with the 2nd best team. The 2nd best team by some margin. A win over Canada when it didn't matter too much then a loss when it did. I am in no way amazed. Jean-Claude van Damme could've performed as well.

[Victor]

The more realistic poll should have read "Will Mike Sullivan be the penguins coach at decade's end"

Take another look at it

[KG]

Would it be shocking to see besties Sully and Torts wind up back in NY together? This time Sully as the HC and Torts as his assistant, like it was during the 4 Nations.

[E-Ramone]

Well, I guess I was wrong!

[FLPensFan]

So does he take the money in NY, or hometown play in Boston?

[longtimefan]

So does he take the money in NY, or hometown play in Boston?

I'm not sure it's quite that simple. If you recall a discussion about how NHL contracts work when fired, the contract doesn't go away. The Pens are on the hook for the $11M they owe Sully. He's still under contract, and any team wanting to negotiate with him must seek permission. Part of that decision will be how much of his current contract is the new team willing to absorb.

Having said that, I don't think there will be any complications. It depends on where he wants to go. He can go home. Or he could take on a team that crashed a season after winning the President's trophy. The Bruins have a big time retool happening. If he wants to win a cup quickly, the Rangers are a better choice I would think.

If he does end up with New York, it will be very interesting to see how it plays out if the Rangers decide to keep this year's pick. We'll be rooting hard against Sully!

[Puck-Lurker]

So long as he's not here.. I don't see a problem. I wish the man all the best, a change was needed.

[EndO FanEra]

I couldn't be more excited for next season now, even if they end up with more losses than this season. I consider this the start of the next generation of Penguins hockey. An influx of youth & a new coaching staff/system to go with it, let's roll!

So, Sully shows up to the meeting with a set of non-negotiable demands? Ok then. Was he trying to get let go, or was he asking for certain players to be traded/not traded? I can't complain about the result, but I am curious as to what exactly went down.

Also, is there any distinction between getting fired and mutually agreeing to part ways regarding salary owed? If he agreed to leave, do the Pens still have to pay him? Or could the Pens say he was not abiding by his current contract with the list of demands, something to that affect, and consider it him leaving on his own terms? I don't really care, he's gone and it's not my money, but it does seem like a weird situation.

LGP

P.S. Thanks for the cups Sully, and good luck elsewhere. No hard feelings...

[Puck-Lurker]

Yes.. firing distinctly means he's still on the books. Mutual agreement to sever the contract just ends every obligation in either direction, except maybe an NDA or whatever and perhaps some financial compensation for ending the contract early, but those aren't a given.

I don't mind the details either way. Got the outcome that we needed

[EndO FanEra]

Yes.. firing distinctly means he's still on the books. Mutual agreement to sever the contract just ends every obligation in either direction, except maybe an NDA or whatever and perhaps some financial compensation for ending the contract early, but those aren't a given.

I don't mind the details either way. Got the outcome that we needed

Gotcha, thanks!

[Puck-Lurker]

Yes.. firing distinctly means he's still on the books. Mutual agreement to sever the contract just ends every obligation in either direction, except maybe an NDA or whatever and perhaps some financial compensation for ending the contract early, but those aren't a given.

I don't mind the details either way. Got the outcome that we needed

Gotcha, thanks!

Yes, sadly, I was mistaken in my interpretation. He's still under contract until such a time he gets hired by a different org.