The New York Rangers have hired Mike Sullivan as coach, days after he left his job with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sullivan’s deal is for five years and will make him the highest paid coach in NHL history, sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Mike Babcock previously made the most at $6.25M annually when he coached the Maple Leafs.
General manager Chris Drury announced the move Friday, bringing in the organization’s top candidate who was out of work for less than a full business week.
“Mike Sullivan has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in the NHL,” Drury said. “Mike brings a championship-level presence behind the bench. … As we began this process and Mike became an available option for us to speak with, it was immediately clear that he was the best coach to lead our team.”
Sullivan replaces Peter Laviolette, who was fired after the Rangers missed the playoffs following a trip to the Eastern Conference final last year. Sullivan, who coached Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup back to back in 2016 and ’17, is tasked with trying to turn the Rangers back into an immediate contender.
Drury made the move to get Sullivan not long after receiving a multiyear contract extension of his own.
“Mike’s track record and success in the NHL and internationally speaks for itself, and I look forward to seeing him behind the Rangers bench,” owner James Dolan said. “I would like to welcome Mike back to the Rangers organization.”
Sullivan, 57, spent four seasons as a Rangers assistant under then-coach and still close friend and confidant John Tortorella from 2009-13. He coached Drury during that time, and the two have worked together professionally through USA Hockey, most recently at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and are part of the U.S. contingent for the 2026 Milan Olympics.
Tortorella — who was fired as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in late March — spoke to the Rangers, but will not join Sullivan’s staff as he did at the 4 Nations, a source told Kaplan. No assistant hires were confirmed Friday and the organization is expected to discuss those openings in the coming days.
Sullivan had been with the Penguins since getting hired midseason in December 2015 when Mike Johnston was fired months into his lackluster tenure. This is his third head-coaching job in the NHL after a short stint with the Boston Bruins in 2003-04 and ’05-06 sandwiched around the lockout that wiped out an entire season.
New York getting Sullivan leaves seven teams around the league with vacancies: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Anaheim, Seattle and Vancouver. Multiple teams that initially reached out to Sullivan will now have to pivot to other experienced options, including Rick Tocchet, Joel Quenneville and Laviolette, as well as a couple of college coaches with recent national championships: Denver’s David Carle and Western Michigan’s Pat Ferschweiler.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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