Mike Sullivan (ice hockey)

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Mike Sullivan
Born (1968-02-27) February 27, 1968 (age 56)
Marshfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Center
Shot Left
Played for San Jose Sharks
Calgary Flames
Boston Bruins
Phoenix Coyotes
National team  United States
NHL draft 69th overall, 1987
New York Rangers
Playing career 1990–2002

Michael Barry Sullivan (born February 27, 1968) is an American former ice hockey player and current head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL. He was a fourth round selection, 69th overall, by the New York Rangers at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft and played 11 NHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes. Internationally, he represented the United States twice, including at the 1997 World Championship. Sullivan turned to coaching upon his retirement in 2002 and served two seasons as the head coach of the Boston Bruins between 2003 and 2005. He was formerly an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks, a position he held during the 2013–14 NHL season.

Playing career

Sullivan played high school hockey at Boston College High School and college hockey at Boston University where he scored a game-winning goal in the Beanpot Tournament. He was drafted 69th overall by the New York Rangers in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He elected to remain at BU to finish school, and in 1990, he began an 11-year NHL career in which he accumulated 54 goals, 82 assists, 136 points and 203 penalty minutes in 709 games.

Sullivan raising the Stanley Cup in Nashville, 2017.

Coaching career

Sullivan began coaching professional hockey during the 2002–2003 season, when he became the head coach of the Providence Bruins of the AHL. In his only season, his team had a 41–17–9–4 record.

Sullivan was hired as the 26th head coach of the Boston Bruins in 2003 by then-general manager Mike O'Connell. His first season with the Bruins was highly successful, as he led them to a 41–19–15–7 record, 104 points and a first-place finish in the Northeast Division. However, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens. After the lockout, Sullivan and the Bruins struggled to win in the new NHL, as they ended the 2005–2006 season with a dismal 29–37–16 record, missing the playoffs and finishing last in the Northeast Division. He was subsequently fired by incoming general manager Peter Chiarelli on June 27, 2006, and was replaced by Dave Lewis.

Sullivan served as an assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

On May 31, 2007, he was named assistant coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On July 16, 2009, he was named assistant coach of the New York Rangers.

On July 3, 2013, he was named assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

On January 20, 2014, Sullivan was named interim head coach of the Canucks, while head coach John Tortorella served a six-game suspension. On January 21, in his first game as acting head coach, the Canucks would go on to record a 2–1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

On May 1, 2014, Sullivan, along with head coach John Tortorella, were relieved of their respective duties in the Canucks organization. Sullivan subsequently joined the Chicago Blackhawks as a player development coach.

On June 18, 2015, the Pittsburgh Penguins named Sullivan as the new head coach of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[1]

He was named Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12, 2015, upon the firing of then-head coach Mike Johnston.[2]

On June 12, 2016, Sullivan became just the sixth head coach in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after being hired mid-season. He did so when the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. Sullivan joined both Scotty Bowman (1992) and Dan Bylsma (2009) as the third coach in franchise history to win the Stanley Cup following a mid-season coaching change.

Sullivan is also the first coach to lead the Penguins to multiple Stanley Cup championships with their victory over the Nashville Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final.

Personal life

Sullivan and his wife, Kate, have three children, daughters Kaitlin and Kiley and son Matthew.

Career player statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1986–87 Boston University Terriers HE 37 13 18 31 18 — — — — —
1987–88 Boston University Terriers HE 30 18 22 40 30 — — — — —
1988–89 Boston University Terriers HE 36 19 17 36 30 — — — — —
1989–90 Boston University Terriers HE 38 11 20 31 26 — — — — —
1990–91 San Diego Gulls IHL 74 12 23 35 27 — — — — —
1991–92 San Jose Sharks NHL 64 8 11 19 15 — — — — —
1991–92 Kansas City Blades IHL 10 2 8 10 8 — — — — —
1992–93 San Jose Sharks NHL 81 6 8 14 30 — — — — —
1993–94 San Jose Sharks NHL 26 2 2 4 4 — — — — —
1993–94 Kansas City Blades IHL 6 3 3 6 0 — — — — —
1993–94 Saint John Flames AHL 5 2 0 2 4 — — — — —
1993–94 Calgary Flames NHL 19 2 3 5 6 7 1 1 2 8
1994–95 Calgary Flames NHL 38 4 7 11 14 7 3 5 8 2
1995–96 Calgary Flames NHL 81 9 12 21 24 4 0 0 0 0
1996–97 Calgary Flames NHL 67 5 6 11 10 — — — — —
1997–98 Boston Bruins NHL 77 5 13 18 34 6 0 1 1 2
1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 63 2 4 6 24 5 0 0 0 2
1999–00 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 79 5 10 15 10 5 0 1 1 0
2000–01 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 72 5 4 9 16 — — — — —
2001–02 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 42 1 2 3 16 — — — — —
NHL totals 709 54 82 136 203 34 4 8 12 14

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1988 United States WJC 6 0 2 2 14
1997 United States WC 8 1 2 3 2
International totals 14 1 4 5 16

Head coaching statistics

NHL

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L T OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result
BOS 2003–04 82 41 19 15 7 104 1st in Northeast 3 4 .429 Lost in Conference Quarterfinals
BOS 2005–06 82 29 37 — 16 74 5th in Northeast — — — Did not qualify
BOS Total 164 70 56 15 23 .543 3 4 .429 1 playoff appearance, 0 Stanley Cups
PIT 2015–16 54 33 16 — 5 71 2nd in Metropolitan 16 8 .667 Won Stanley Cup
PIT 2016–17 82 50 21 — 11 111 2nd in Metropolitan 16 9 .640 Won Stanley Cup
PIT Total 136 83 37 — 16 .670 32 17 .653 2 playoff appearances, 2 Stanley Cups
TOTAL 300 153 93 15 39 .600 35 21 .625 3 playoff appearances, 2 Stanley Cups

AHL

Season Team Regular season Post season
G W L T OTL Pct Division rank Result
2002–03 Providence Bruins 71 41 17 9 4 .669 1st, North Lost conference quarterfinals
2015–16 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 23 18 5 .783

References

  • Career statistics: "Michael Sullivan player card". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  1. ^ "Mike Sullivan Named Head Coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins". Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  2. ^ "Mike Sullivan Named Head Coach of Pittsburgh Penguins".

External links

Preceded by Head coach of the Providence Bruins
2002–03 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Boston Bruins
2003–06 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins
2015–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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