Mike Sullivan’s departure from the Pittsburgh Penguins was predicated on the franchise’s impending new direction, which, in theory, should be shifting sooner rather than later.
Its core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang is aging, and after three straight playoff misses, something had to give.
But while the Penguins appear to have one more go in them — they entered Monday night’s action in third place in the Metropolitan Division — Sullivan finds himself in the throes of transition in his first year with the New York Rangers after a miserable first half has them sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Over the weekend, general manager Chris Drury confirmed what everyone already knew: The Rangers are going to sell leading up to the NHL’s March 6 trade deadline. That makes the likes of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere available.
But this isn’t a full-scale rebuild. The organizational pieces like goalie Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox have Drury using the term “re-tool,” which still is not what Sullivan was expecting to walk into when he took the Blueshirts’ job in the offseason. This was supposed to be a squad gearing up for a postseason run.
Despite the bitter disappointment of what this season has been, Sullivan is adamant that he has embraced Drury’s vision.
“I understand the process. What I’ll tell you is that I’m all in on trying to help this organization move forward,” Sullivan said. “Chris and I have talked throughout this whole process. We have a very transparent relationship. I’m going to do everything in my power to try to help this team move forward. I’m going to control what I can and try to be the very best coach I can be for this organization.”
The Rangers entered Monday night’s matchup against the Ducks in Anaheim with 48 points on the season — the fewest in the Eastern Conference.
