Mike Sullivan (ice hockey)
American ice hockey player and coach (born 1968)
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Michael Barry Sullivan (born February 27, 1968) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fourth round, 69th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 1987 NHL entry draft. Sullivan has also played for the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, and Phoenix Coyotes. Internationally, he represented the United States twice, including at the 1997 World Championship.
| Mike Sullivan | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Sullivan in 2018 | ||||||||||||||
| Born |
February 27, 1968 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| Current NHL coach | New York Rangers | |||||||||||||
| Coached for |
Boston Bruins Pittsburgh Penguins | |||||||||||||
| National team |
 United States | |||||||||||||
| NHL draft |
69th overall, 1987 New York Rangers | |||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1990–2002 | |||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2002–present | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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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 served as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks, and subsequently in player development with the Chicago Blackhawks for one year. After serving as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in December 2015, and led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, becoming the only American-born coach to win the Stanley Cup more than once. He was fired by the Penguins after the 2024–25 season, and was subsequently hired as the head coach of the Rangers.
Sullivan was named head coach of the United States men's national ice hockey team for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but with the NHL withdrawing from the Olympics due to a COVID-19 surge, David Quinn, former head coach of the New York Rangers, was named as his replacement.[1][2] He coached the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, where they finished in second place. Sullivan subsequently coached the U.S men's team to a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the first gold medal for the U.S men's team since 1980 and third overall.
Early life
Sullivan was born on February 27, 1968, in Marshfield, Massachusetts[3] to Irish-American[4] parents George and Myrna.[5] Sullivan is their second youngest child and played hockey growing up under the tutelage of his father.[6] While Sullivan and his brothers played hockey, his two sisters Kathie and Debbie figure skated.[7]
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 National Hockey League 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 2002–03 season, when he became the head coach of the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (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 conference quarterfinals of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens. After the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Sullivan and the Bruins struggled to win in the new NHL, as they ended the 2005–06 season with a dismal 29–37–16 record, missing the playoffs and finishing last in the Northeast Division. He was subsequently fired by the incoming general manager Peter Chiarelli on June 27, 2006, and was replaced by Dave Lewis.[8]
Sullivan served as an assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics.[9]
On May 31, 2007, he was named assistant coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.[10] He was then promoted to associate coach the following season.[11] On July 16, 2009, he was named assistant coach of the New York Rangers.[12]
On July 3, 2013, he was named assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks.[citation needed] 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.[13][14] On May 1, Sullivan, along with head coach Tortorella, were relieved of their respective duties in the Canucks organization.[15] Sullivan subsequently joined the Chicago Blackhawks as a player development coach.[16]
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.[17] He was named head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12, 2015, upon the firing of Mike Johnston.[18] 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.[19] Sullivan joined both Scotty Bowman (1992) and Dan Bylsma (2009) as the third coach in franchise history (and the sixth in NHL history) to win the Stanley Cup following a mid-season coaching change.[20] Sullivan is also the first coach to lead the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup championships with their victory over the Nashville Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final,[21] and is the only American-born head coach to win the Stanley Cup multiple times.[22]
On December 16, 2017, he recorded his 100th career win with the Penguins becoming just the fourth coach to do so for the organization.[23]
On July 5, 2019, Sullivan signed a four-year contract extension.[24]
After a 5–2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 16, 2021, Sullivan became the winningest coach in the Penguins history, surpassing Dan Bylsma's record with 253 wins behind the Penguins bench.[25]
On April 12, 2023, with the New York Islanders victory over the Montreal Canadiens, the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2005–06 season.[26]
After 10 seasons as head coach, Sullivan was relieved of his coaching duties with the Penguins on April 28, 2025. His dismissal came following the 2024–25 season, where the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight season.[27][28]
On May 2, 2025, Sullivan was named the head coach of the New York Rangers.[29]
Sullivan served as the head coach of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Sullivan recruited his mentor John Tortorella to serve as an assistant coach.[30] The United States won the gold medal, defeating Canada 2–1 in overtime.[31]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1985–86 | Boston College High School | HS–Prep | 22 | 26 | 33 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Boston University | HE | 37 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Boston University | HE | 30 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Boston University | HE | 36 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Boston University | 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 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | |||
| Senior totals | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||
Head coaching record
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 (MTL) | |
| BOS | 2005–06 | 82 | 29 | 37 | — | 16 | 74 | 5th in Northeast | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| BOS total | 164 | 70 | 56 | 15 | 23 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 1 playoff appearance | ||||
| PIT | 2015–16 | 54 | 33 | 16 | — | 5 | 71 | 2nd in Metropolitan | 16 | 8 | .667 | Won Stanley Cup (SJS) | |
| PIT | 2016–17 | 82 | 50 | 21 | — | 11 | 111 | 2nd in Metropolitan | 16 | 9 | .640 | Won Stanley Cup (NSH) | |
| PIT | 2017–18 | 82 | 47 | 29 | — | 6 | 100 | 2nd in Metropolitan | 6 | 6 | .500 | Lost in second round (WSH) | |
| PIT | 2018–19 | 82 | 44 | 26 | — | 12 | 100 | 3rd in Metropolitan | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost in first round (NYI) | |
| PIT | 2019–20 | 69* | 40 | 23 | — | 6 | 86 | 3rd in Metropolitan | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost in qualifying round (MTL) | |
| PIT | 2020–21 | 56 | 37 | 16 | — | 3 | 77 | 1st in East | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost in first round (NYI) | |
| PIT | 2021–22 | 82 | 46 | 25 | — | 11 | 103 | 3rd in Metropolitan | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in first round (NYR) | |
| PIT | 2022–23 | 82 | 40 | 31 | — | 11 | 91 | 5th in Metropolitan | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| PIT | 2023–24 | 82 | 38 | 32 | — | 12 | 88 | 5th in Metropolitan | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| PIT | 2024–25 | 82 | 34 | 36 | — | 12 | 80 | 7th in Metropolitan | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| PIT total | 753 | 409 | 255 | — | 89 | 44 | 38 | .537 | 7 playoff appearances 2 Stanley Cup titles | ||||
| NYR | 2025–26 | 82 | 34 | 39 | — | 9 | 77 | 8th in Metropolitan | — | — | — | Missed playoffs | |
| NYR total | 82 | 34 | 39 | — | 9 | — | — | — | |||||
| NHL total | 999 | 513 | 350 | 15 | 121 | 47 | 42 | .528 | 8 playoff appearances 2 Stanley Cup titles | ||||
- Shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019–20 season. Playoffs were played in August 2020 with a different format.
AHL
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| Providence Bruins | 2002–03 | 71 | 41 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 104 | 1st in North | Lost in Conference quarterfinals (MTB) |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 2015–16 | 23 | 18 | 5 | — | — | 41 | — | Promoted to Pittsburgh |