Confirmed with Link: Sullivan signs 3-year extension

[SUBdrewgANS]

http://www.wtae.com/article/penguins-head-coach-mike-sullivan-signs-3-year-extension/8536826

Click to read more...

 

[ColePens]

Good call. Being discussed in other threads, but definitely deserving of it's own. Copy/pasta (Degen reference) from the other thread:

Awesome news! Great coach.

It's only been a year. But so far..

Great
- Built a culture of accountability (The #1 thing the Pens needed)
- Got the stars to ignore the **** after the whistle.
- Preached a fast/fearless game which fits our identity built by JR.
- Probably made the Pens the best they've ever looked...ever.
- Not afraid to play youth that he coached in WBS
- Stuck with a rookie goalie that he trusted

Meh
- I don't understand the Guentzel thing at all
- Still seems to favor Kunitz albeit he did limit #14's minutes a lot in key games last year
- Adjusting lines to see what works right now, but not trying everything to his ablility (No Sid/Hags/Kessel, Cullen/Hags/Kessel, Geno/Rust, etc.
- Favoring some players and not benching everyone who deserves it.

In one year, the great far outweighs the meh and the most important, to me, is how he created accountability basically out of nowhere for this team. I never thought a guy would do that in one year. The two biggest issues were identity and accountability. JR/Sully did it. They conquered a beast and paid off in a Stanley Cup instantly.

But now the hard part. Sustainability as an NHL coach is not easy. Sully has to find a way, and it seems he's working with Bowman, on how to move forward instead of relying on what happened last year.

 

[BHD]

Awesome news. I trust him as the coach for the remainder of this core's window.

 

[ColePens]

I don't think any of us will know what he will do. We just have to agree it's deserved. They really had no other option. He just deserved it. DB technically deserved it, too. But it's up to Sully to not repeat the same mistakes.

Sully has had a lot of consultation and been a part of winning organizations to hopefully figure it out. He was part of the Hawks org and had conversations with Bowman. That has to be big time information to work with to start his Pens coaching career.

 

[EliteGoaltending]

For me Sullivan is the main man behind the Cup. With his arrival not only team's game on the ice itself changed but some things in the organization, like finding identity of the team and trusting young players (maybe it was only for one year tho, as we see some vets like Kunitz getting undeserved ice time this year).
I give credit to JR for hiring him for the WBS job and then replacing MJ with him and for some trades and signings JR made prior Sullivan arrival, but we can't deny it was more of JR's collecting names, while building the team, that wouldn't work with every coach, as we saw with MJ. What Sullivan did is found an identity for the team - speed and quick puck movement and it became easier to JR to know what kind of players to target (like Hagelin and Schultz). Had JR hired any other coach, like Guy Boucher or other names that were brought up at the time, Pens wouldn't have their 4th Cup right now and Sid and Geno wouldn't have their 2nd. But it's just my opinion. Sullivan's team has looked like a well-oiled machine for some stretches, including playoffs.

Don't know what the future beholds, but not trading Fleury and Kunitz this summer kinda spoiled their chances of the repeat, imo. But we'll see what happens this year and year after that, but by that time there will be a lot of new names probably.

 

[WayneSid9987]

Nice guarenteed pay day for him. Well deserved.
Probably makin' 2-3M a yr.

In the end JR+Sully may end up(or probably will end up) > than Shero+DB.
Time for JR to get to work.

 

[Jacob]

 

[Empoleon8771]

He's been the best Penguins coach in a long time, it's great to see. Hopefully he doesn't sour on the team like Therrien did, but he's a solid coach right now. The complaints about him are microscopic compared to Bylsma.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Good call. Being discussed in other threads, but definitely deserving of it's own. Copy/pasta (Degen reference) from the other thread:



It's only been a year. But so far..

Great
- Built a culture of accountability (The #1 thing the Pens needed)
- Got the stars to ignore the **** after the whistle.
- Preached a fast/fearless game which fits our identity built by JR.
- Probably made the Pens the best they've ever looked...ever.
- Not afraid to play youth that he coached in WBS
- Stuck with a rookie goalie that he trusted

Meh
- I don't understand the Guentzel thing at all
- Still seems to favor Kunitz albeit he did limit #14's minutes a lot in key games last year
- Adjusting lines to see what works right now, but not trying everything to his ablility (No Sid/Hags/Kessel, Cullen/Hags/Kessel, Geno/Rust, etc.
- Favoring some players and not benching everyone who deserves it.

In one year, the great far outweighs the meh and the most important, to me, is how he created accountability basically out of nowhere for this team. I never thought a guy would do that in one year. The two biggest issues were identity and accountability. JR/Sully did it. They conquered a beast and paid off in a Stanley Cup instantly.

But now the hard part. Sustainability as an NHL coach is not easy. Sully has to find a way, and it seems he's working with Bowman, on how to move forward instead of relying on what happened last year.

Yeah, lineups would be Sullivan's largest flaw. His coaching is amazing otherwise. #1 and #2 in the meh category will probably be gone by next season (hopefully).

 

[Jacob]

I think he'll have good longevity. I think he's been around long enough to understand why some coaches fizzle out in a couple years, and what allows a coach to not get tuned out by the players.

 

[Whakahere]

I liked as much when DB signed his first contract here. give me a few years and ill pass my judgement. but now I like it.

 

[hooverdam]

I'm not as high on Sullivan as some; I think a lot of coaches could have done what he did with the roster JR put together, it just took a special kind like Johnston to flagrantly misuse it so badly. But this is obviously a no-brainer with the success he had.

I think what I'll always wonder about Sullivan is if he would have scratched Scuderi had he not been traded. His treatment of Kunitz is what gives me pause, because Scuderi had similar clout in the room and you could tell that was what largely drove MJ's love affair with him.

 

[chethejet]

3 years is a long time in hockey as a head coach. But he has the discipline and mental toughness to set the tone. He knows what he wants in a player and knows what he doesn't want. His team reflects his skating and possession/pressure puck movement and has the horses to win.

 

[Penske]

Good call. Being discussed in other threads, but definitely deserving of it's own. Copy/pasta (Degen reference) from the other thread:



It's only been a year. But so far..

Great
- Built a culture of accountability (The #1 thing the Pens needed)
- Got the stars to ignore the **** after the whistle.
- Preached a fast/fearless game which fits our identity built by JR.
- Probably made the Pens the best they've ever looked...ever.
- Not afraid to play youth that he coached in WBS
- Stuck with a rookie goalie that he trusted

Meh
- I don't understand the Guentzel thing at all
- Still seems to favor Kunitz albeit he did limit #14's minutes a lot in key games last year
- Adjusting lines to see what works right now, but not trying everything to his ablility (No Sid/Hags/Kessel, Cullen/Hags/Kessel, Geno/Rust, etc.
- Favoring some players and not benching everyone who deserves it.

In one year, the great far outweighs the meh and the most important, to me, is how he created accountability basically out of nowhere for this team. I never thought a guy would do that in one year. The two biggest issues were identity and accountability. JR/Sully did it. They conquered a beast and paid off in a Stanley Cup instantly.

But now the hard part. Sustainability as an NHL coach is not easy. Sully has to find a way, and it seems he's working with Bowman, on how to move forward instead of relying on what happened last year.

Getting the team to remain calm was huge. When you have the talent we have all they should be doing is thinking about winning.

Identifying a style that translates well in the playoffs was what won us a cup. Now the moves JR made helped that immensely but I'm sure Sully played a part to get Hagelin. The trickle down effect of that move was Kessel playing better and being able to have HBK.

As you said sustainability will determine how great he becomes. People buy in to what he says so he'll always have good people around him. Now will he be able to tweak or change our style so we're always in the cup hunt. Stay ahead of the game?

 

[Zirakzigil]

But we only win the cup when we fire the coach mid season......


I like the move. The team is fun to watch under him and the star players play like stars.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

But we only win the cup when we fire the coach mid season......


I like the move. The team is fun to watch under him and the star players play like stars.

Maybe it's only whenever we offer a coach a contract.

 

[Pancakes]

I think he'll have good longevity. I think he's been around long enough to understand why some coaches fizzle out in a couple years, and what allows a coach to not get tuned out by the players.

I dunno. He is demanding and strict, but hopefully this core group understands the need for that after the country club Bylsma ran.

 

[dr robbie]

happy now but completely expect us to hate him by the end of the contract.

 

[ColePens]

Getting the team to remain calm was huge. When you have the talent we have all they should be doing is thinking about winning.

Identifying a style that translates well in the playoffs was what won us a cup. Now the moves JR made helped that immensely but I'm sure Sully played a part to get Hagelin. The trickle down effect of that move was Kessel playing better and being able to have HBK.

As you said sustainability will determine how great he becomes. People buy in to what he says so he'll always have good people around him. Now will he be able to tweak or change our style so we're always in the cup hunt. Stay ahead of the game?

I mean the way he speaks is really awesome. I love how he talks the game and commands attention. I really think that aspect will help his sustainability and in addition, like Jacob said, his past experience will help play into his sustainability.

 

[wheelz87]

Awesome news and well deserved Sully!

 

[66-30-33]

Great news. Let's win a few more cups in those 3 years plus this final year he's on.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

If he gets us at least one more Cup I'm happy.

 

[EightyOne]

Cool. Here till 19-20.

Confirmed: Pens win Stanley Cup 18-19 led by head coach ____________.

 

[Ugene Magic]

At least he won the cup with his own system. That's why he'll stick around.

We should expect more of the same with him. Other then injuries or some other unfortunate act they should challenge this year. There are no guarantees on the final outcome, though.

I'm fine with the signing.

+++

 

[TNT87]

You do know that they are going to have to fire him midseason in order to win another Cup right?

Nice Christmas present for Sully and well-deserved.