Mike Sullivan was not going to delve into what he thought went wrong with the New York Rangers when they nosedived from Presidents’ Trophy winners in 2024 to missing the playoffs entirely in 2025, but the new head coach’s first challenge — even a priority — is to get a fractured franchise moving in the same direction once again.
“I know there’s a lot of talent in the dressing room, but as we all know, talent alone doesn’t win championships. Teams win championships,” Sullivan said during his introductory press conference on Thursday. “That’s going to be our challenge from Day 1: To become a team in a true sense of the word. That was the challenge, I think most organizations go through when they enter training camp every single year. We’re no different in that regard.”
There are not many other coaches who are more qualified to turn the Rangers’ ship around than Sullivan. During a decade-long stint as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ bench boss, he won two straight Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, and had countless battles with the Blueshirts as Metropolitan Division rivals.
“They’re a really talented group, and they’ve been knocking on the door to the Stanley Cup for a number of years now,” Sullivan said. “Every time we’ve played against this group of players, they’ve been fierce. There have been fierce battles. I’ve grown so much respect for the talent that the Rangers have… Having been on an opposing team’s bench and having played the Rangers inside the division for all these years, I’ve grown a ton of respect for the players that are in that room and the talent that they have. The opportunity to work with a group like that certainly excites me.”
A culture change seems to be necessary, though, and general manager Chris Drury is certainly hoping for just that with Sullivan’s arrival.
The two have been teammates, colleagues, and friends for nearly 30 years, and a healthy relationship between head coach and GM could subdue some of the concerning trends that have leaked from the Rangers’ ranks in the last year, including reports of a toxic work environment and personnel decisions that have not sat well with players in the locker room.
The Rangers’ head-coaching gig has also been a revolving door. Sullivan will be the team’s fourth different head coach in the last six years. Following the dismissal of David Quinn, both Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette did not get to see Year 3 with New York despite each of them leading the team to an Eastern Conference Final.
Sullivan can help buck that trend if his relationship with Drury is as collaborative as the GM teases it to be.
“There are no transactions or trades or call-ups that management does without speaking with the head coach,” Drury said. “That’s not going to change here. In the other sense of that, Mike is going to come to me and say, ‘What do you think of this? I’m thinking about this with the lineup. I’m thinking about that with the power play.’ We’re in constant communication. We already have been in the short week, and I think it’ll be a great partnership in every sense of the word.”
For more on Mike Sullivan and the Rangers, visit AMNY.com
