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It didn't take long for Mike Sullivan to find work. The New York Rangers announced Sullivan as the team's next head coach Friday.

The move comes just days after the two-time Stanley Cup champion was fired by the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Sullivan joins a Rangers team looking to bounce back after falling short of expectations last season. After making it to the conference finals during the 2023-24 season, the Rangers failed to make the playoffs this year. A second-half swoon was the culprit, as New York went 8-13 down the stretch. The collapse resulted in the team firing Peter Laviolette, opening the door for Sullivan to enter the fold.

It will be Sullivan's third stint with the Rangers. He served as an assistant with the team two separate times — 2009-10 and 2012-13 — while in between head-coaching roles. Sullivan was also drafted by the team in 1987, though opted to return to college. He never played for the Rangers.

After an 11-year playing career in the NHL, Sullivan transitioned into coaching. His star rose quickly, and he was hired by the Boston Bruins just a few years after retiring. He spent two seasons with Boston, putting up a 70-56-15 record. 

Sullivan then bounced around to various teams as an assistant while he waited for his next head-coaching opportunity. He spent time as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Rangers and Vancouver Canucks before becoming a development coach with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2014-15 NHL season.

The following year, Sullivan was hired by the Penguins, where he immediately experienced success. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup the first two years of Sullivan's tenure. In 10 seasons with the team, he compiled a 409-255 record. He is the winningest head coach in Penguins history.

While the Penguins continued to have strong seasons under Sullivan, the team became known for its early playoff exits. After going 34-36 last season, the Penguins fired Sullivan in April. It was the first time in his Penguins tenure that the team finished under .500.

Given his success in Pittsburgh, Sullivan was expected to garner plenty of interest once he became a free agent. The Rangers jumped at the chance to bring Sullivan back, and will hope he can get the franchise back on track after a disappointing year. 

The AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, the Rockford IceHogs, advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs with a 2-0 sweep over the Chicago Wolves. Thanks to some outstanding Blackhawks prospects playing in the AHL, this IceHogs team has the talent to make a run. 

On Thursday, they began their next series on the road against the Milwaukee Admirals. Milwaukee is the AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators. They won the Central Division with a record of 40-21-5 (91 points), so the IceHogs are being presented with a challenge in this series. 

At the start of Game One, the Admirals looked every bit like the team that dominated the regular season. After no scoring in the first period, Milwaukee came out firing in the second. Before a minute passed in the middle frame, the Admirals had a 2-0 lead thanks to two goals in 15 seconds. Being outshot 14-5 and outscored 2-0 didn’t look good. 

However, Rockford didn’t think they were out of it for one second. In the third period, they found a way to get it tied. Just after the halfway point of the final frame, Paul Ludwinski put the IceHogs on the board. Under five minutes later, Gerry Mayhew evened it up. 

Overtime was needed to decide this intense game. Of course, the Blackhawks would love to see one of the call-ups make an impact. They got their wish when Colton Dach scored the winner just :12 into the extra frame. The brilliant shot put Rockford up 1-0 in the best-of-five series. 

Kevin Korchinski, who has been good in the playoffs so far, assisted on the goal, which is another call-up contribution. These guys, along with the veterans, all need to be on top of their game if they want to continue this run. 

Rockford’s next playoff game will again be in Milwaukee as they look to take a 2-0 lead. This match will occur on Saturday at 6 PM CT. 

It isn’t every year that an NHL franchise can expect its AHL affiliate to make a run in the Calder Cup Playoffs. It happens when a great farm system turns a bunch of players pro at the same time, and solid veterans complement them. Through one game of the second round, things are trending up.

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The Rangers are hiring Mike Sullivan as the 38th head coach in franchise history. 

Sullivan had long been rumored as one of general manager Chris Drury’s top candidates to take over behind the bench for Peter Laviolette if he were to become available this offseason. 

That became a reality earlier this week as he and the Penguins decided to part ways after their aging core and rebuilding roster failed to reach the postseason for the third consecutive year. 

“Mike Sullivan has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in the NHL,” Drury said in a news release. “Given his numerous accomplishments throughout his coaching career - including two Stanley Cups and leading Team USA at the international level – Mike brings a championship-level presence behind the bench. I’ve gotten to know Mike very well over the years, including as teammates in the 1997 World Championships, when he coached me as a player in New York and through our shared time working together with USA Hockey. As we began this process and Mike became an available option for us to speak with, it was immediately clear that he was the best coach to lead our team.”
Added MSG executive chairman and CEO James Dolan:

“I would like to welcome Mike back to the Rangers organization. Mike’s track record and success in the NHL and internationally speaks for itself, and I look forward to seeing him behind the Rangers bench.”

Sullivan has plenty of ties to the Rangers organization. He was selected by the Blueshirts in the fourth round of the 1987 NHL Draft but elected to stay at Boston University until 1990 -- when he signed with the Sharks and began his 11-year playing career.

He spent four years behind the Rangers’ bench as an assistant under John Tortorella -- a handful of which Drury served as the captain -- and the two are plenty familiar from their BU ties and overlap with USA Hockey. 

He was also the head coach for a United States squad during this year’s 4 Nations Face-Off that had Drury in the assistant GM role and a handful of key Rangers filling out the roster.

Sullivan will now be tasked with turning things around after the Rangers underperformed mightily during Laviolette’s second year at the helm -- becoming just the fourth team in league history to miss the playoffs the year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy.

He has plenty of experience under his belt -- having reached the playoffs eight different times during his 12-year coaching career. He’s also the only American-born coach to win the Stanley Cup twice and currently owns the record for the most wins in Penguins history (409).

When your team doesn’t perform, firing the coach is typically the first move in a GM’s arsenal.

And the offseason is the next best time to fire off your underperforming coach into the sun.

Luckily, the Colorado Avalanche have a Stanley Cup-winning coach at the helm. Jared Bednar isn’t going anywhere, but someone who once played for the Avalanche (who now coaches) is on the move.

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And they are a dark horse option for several head coach openings.

Adam Foote served on Rick Tocchet’s coaching staff with the Vancouver Canucks. He served in that position for two years and change.

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With Tocchet moving on from the Canucks, Foote’s future is not being called into question. According to a Daily Faceoff report, Foote is being considered for multiple head coaching vacancies and is expected to interview for a few.

Before then, Foote spent one year as the head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. He posted a 29-28-6 record that year in 2019-20.

Foote had a long playing career as a hard-nosed defender. He spent the majority of his 20-year career with the Avalanche. He played nearly three years wit the Columbus Blue Jackets as well. 

He played 1154 games and recorded 1534 penalty minutes over his career. Foote won two Stanley Cups as a player.

It’s a long offseason but long-time Avalanche fans will be keeping their eyes and ears peeled on where Foote goes.

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