Mike Sullivan (ice hockey)

Mike Sullivan
Born	(1968-02-27) February 27, 1968 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 10 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 67th 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.

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. They were eliminated however, in the first round of the playoffs to 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.

On May 31, 2007, he was named assistant coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has also served as an assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

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.

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

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 Dan Bylsma (2009) as the second coach in franchise history to win the Stanley Cup following a mid-season coaching change.

Personal

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 First Round
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
PIT	2015–16	54	33	16	—	5	71	2nd in Metropolitan	16	8	.667	Won Stanley Cup
PIT Total		54	33	16	—	5	.657		16	8	.667
TOTAL		218	103	72	15	28	.571		19	12	.613

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.

External links

• Mike Sullivan career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database