Does Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan Make Sense for the Devils? 

Sullivan is the franchise leader in coaching wins, has two Stanley Cups, and made the postseason in seven consecutive seasons with Pittsburgh. His coaching ability and talent are unquestioned, and he has engendered loyalty from his players, who routinely praise his communication skills and teaching ability. Sullivan is linked to Crosby, the two having their greatest successes together. The player attributes it to Sullivan’s ability to convey his evaluations honestly and consistently faithful to a process rather than constantly making changes based on outcomes. His attributes check all the boxes Fitzgerald laid out at the start of the coaching search. His success is unquestioned, and the hire would immediately shift the narrative with the fanbase, providing hope Sullivan can do for Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier what he did for Crosby and Malkin.

Sullivan May Not Be Right for New Jersey Now

The qualifications are unquestioned; Sullivan meets the criteria any team in the NHL would set out in a coaching search. The one sticking point is, despite being qualified, is Sullivan the right coach for New Jersey at the right time? The answer may not be as simple as it appears.

No coach has won a Cup with a second franchise since Scotty Bowman did so with the Penguins in 1993 after capturing five with the Montreal Canadiens. Sullivan’s best seasons in Pittsburgh were his first two, ending in hoisting the Cup. In the seven years since winning his second Cup, his teams have only won one playoff series and none since 2018. Should the inability to win in the playoffs despite having Crosby, Malkin, and others give the Devils pause? Perhaps that, along with the failure to make the playoffs now in two consecutive seasons, is enough for New Jersey to decline to give up compensation for Sullivan and then pay the likely steep price tag for his services.

Historically, Sullivan’s teams are not known for stifling defensive systems. Instead, their success was predicated on aggressive forechecking, with speed in the neutral zone to stifle passing lanes and lead to counterattacks. When the aggressive forechecking was not as effective, he switched tactics to force opponents to dump the puck deep by clogging the neutral zone, hoping his defensemen could get quick retrievals and spring counterattacks. The ability to tweak his tactics for his team would be important in a transition to New Jersey, but with so many players signed with term, does Sullivan’s system fit the talent?

As with any coach, there are questions about tactics, specifically how a team with high-caliber offensive talent could be mired at the bottom of the league in power-play percentage, finishing 30th in the NHL with a 15.3% success rate. This season’s Penguins finished with the same number of wins as the Devils (38) and a paltry plus-four goal differential. There are also questions about relying too much on veterans in creating line combinations and ice time, but that may be as much a function of roster construction as it is philosophy, as he has been able to develop talented young players throughout his tenure, like Marcus Pettersson or Jake Guentzel.

Is Sullivan the Best Coach Available?

Fitzgerald has to be certain Sullivan is the guy he wants to fasten his professional future to because making such a move certainly poses substantial risk should it fail. Sullivan’s pedigree is unparalleled amongst the coaches rumored to be available to the Devils. While a case can be made that the Devils are better off looking for their own version of Sullivan, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper, or Colorado Avalanche’s Jared Bednar, it would be extremely difficult for Fitzgerald to walk away from an opportunity to secure Sullivan.

This would be the most-heralded transaction of Fitzgerald’s tenure and likely the most impactful decision the franchise has made since selecting Hischier over Nolan Patrick and Hughes over Kaapo Kakko. Acquiring Sullivan would put the rest of the NHL on notice that the Devils have entered their championship window and are determined to be firmly in the hunt for the Stanley Cup for years to come.