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Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season, and on Monday, general manager Kyle Dubas announced that the team is parting ways with head coach Mike Sullivan.
Sullivan, who led the Penguins to two Stanley Cups in his first two seasons, had been behind the bench since the 2015-16 campaign, making him the longest-tenured coach of Crosby’s career.
After the news of the coaching change broke, many quickly began to wonder how Crosby feels about it. Now 37 years old, Crosby remains one of the most decorated players in NHL history, with 625 goals, 1,062 assists, and 1,687 points to his name.
Former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Crosby's voice matters within the Penguins' organization, and while Dubas stood at the podium fielding questions on Monday, one reporter asked directly about Crosby’s reaction.
"I'm not going to speak for Sid, Mark," Dubas answered.
"It's a fair question," the reporter replied.
"I'm not disputing whether it's fair or not," Dubas stated. "When we go through and make coaching changes or any changes in the organization, I have to do what I think is best for the organization."
Dubas then revealed that he had a five-minute conversation with Crosby to "give him the heads up."
"I called Sid yesterday morning before I met with Sully to give him the heads up," Dubas added. "He's been through it before, but in terms of how he feels about it, I had a five-minute conversation with him before about the fact that we were going through this to make a change, and we didn't get into the ins and outs of it. So I have to do what I think is best for the organization."
Sullivan, 57, departs Pittsburgh as the franchise’s all-time winningest coach with 409 wins. He’s expected to draw plenty of interest this offseason as teams look to fill head coaching vacancies. Potential landing spots could include the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.
Dubas also made it clear that his decision to move on from Sullivan was based on what he felt was best for the team.
"Every single player, if you pull that room of players, you're going to largely have probably seven of them that love the coach, seven of them that hate the coach, and seven that are indifferent, and the same applies to management," he said. "The same applies to the remainder of the staff as well. So I think pulling players on their feeling of the coaches is not always the greatest thing to do when you're trying to make that change, and I had to take all the information from the last two years and do what I think is best."
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Sullivan, who led the Penguins to two Stanley Cups in his first two seasons, had been behind the bench since the 2015-16 campaign, making him the longest-tenured coach of Crosby’s career.
After the news of the coaching change broke, many quickly began to wonder how Crosby feels about it. Now 37 years old, Crosby remains one of the most decorated players in NHL history, with 625 goals, 1,062 assists, and 1,687 points to his name.
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Former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Crosby's voice matters within the Penguins' organization, and while Dubas stood at the podium fielding questions on Monday, one reporter asked directly about Crosby’s reaction.
"I'm not going to speak for Sid, Mark," Dubas answered.
"It's a fair question," the reporter replied.
"I'm not disputing whether it's fair or not," Dubas stated. "When we go through and make coaching changes or any changes in the organization, I have to do what I think is best for the organization."
Dubas then revealed that he had a five-minute conversation with Crosby to "give him the heads up."
"I called Sid yesterday morning before I met with Sully to give him the heads up," Dubas added. "He's been through it before, but in terms of how he feels about it, I had a five-minute conversation with him before about the fact that we were going through this to make a change, and we didn't get into the ins and outs of it. So I have to do what I think is best for the organization."
Sullivan, 57, departs Pittsburgh as the franchise’s all-time winningest coach with 409 wins. He’s expected to draw plenty of interest this offseason as teams look to fill head coaching vacancies. Potential landing spots could include the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.
Dubas also made it clear that his decision to move on from Sullivan was based on what he felt was best for the team.
"Every single player, if you pull that room of players, you're going to largely have probably seven of them that love the coach, seven of them that hate the coach, and seven that are indifferent, and the same applies to management," he said. "The same applies to the remainder of the staff as well. So I think pulling players on their feeling of the coaches is not always the greatest thing to do when you're trying to make that change, and I had to take all the information from the last two years and do what I think is best."
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Related: Sidney Crosby’s Message to Alex Ovechkin After Breaking Wayne Gretzky’s Record
Related: Sidney Crosby’s Message to Alex Ovechkin After Breaking Wayne Gretzky’s Record
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