Former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan had a chance to coach Jack Hughes when they both represented Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, we're learning that Sullivan turned down a chance to coach Hughes even more.
Sullivan just accepted the head coaching position with the New York Rangers. It's an unfortunate situation for the New Jersey Devils, as Sullivan was the best coaching option available. The Rangers entire roster is in a state of turmoil, with Artemi Panarin facing serious allegations, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad withstanding trade rumors, and young players like Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller failing to hit their ceilings. If they hired the wrong head coach, it could have led to a large-scale rebuild.
The Devils were tied to Mike Sullivan before they hired Sheldon Keefe last season, but since Sullivan was still in Pittsburgh, the rumors were never confirmed. Now, with literally no reason to connect the Devils to Sullivan, that rumor has been confirmed.
A year ago, the Devils made a play for Mike Sullivan but he wasn’t ready to leave Pittsburgh yet. Timing is everything, as the rival Rangers get him a year later. Devils are happy with Sheldon Keefe, don’t get me wrong, but it’s still interesting how it played out.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 2, 2025
We're not sure the point of talking about this now. Were other teams also reaching out to Sullivan last season to see what his availability might be? Did teams think that Keefe losing his job in Toronto could lead to him taking the job in Pittsburgh? There are a lot of "what ifs" that aren't answered here, but this rumor is going to connect Sullivan to his newest rival for his entire Rangers coaching tenure.
We will likely hear Rangers fans bring this up every time they win a regular-season game. Heck, we will hear it when they win preseason games against the Devils. This is how this rivalry works. Any advantage you can get in the insult department is used to its fullest extent.
Sullivan is already used to the Hudson River Rivalry. He was an assistant coach for the Rangers from 2009 to 2013. During that time, the Rangers and Devils met in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, and we all saw how that ended.
Sullivan was also on the bench when Peter DeBoer and John Tortorella had a full-on screaming match. He's seen the absolute peak of this rivalry since 1994, and this rivalry has renewed since the Devils got themselves back into playoff contention. Now that is seems possible, let's hope history repeats itself and the Devils send Sullivan home disappointed.