Michael Barry Sullivan (born February 27, 1968) is an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was a fourth round selection, 69th overall, by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft and played 11 NHL seasons with the San Jose Sharks,

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, and Phoenix Coyotes. Internationally, he represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

twice, including at the 1997 World Championship. 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 has formerly been an assistant coach with the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

, New York Rangers, and

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, and subsequently served in the department of player development with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

for one year. After serving as head coach of the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barr ...

, he took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in December 2015, and led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships becoming the only American-born coach to win the Stanley Cup more than once. Sullivan was named head coach of the

United States men's national ice hockey team The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its USA Hockey National Team Development Program, U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan, Plymouth, Michiga ...

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.

Early life

Sullivan was born on February 27, 1968, in Marshfield, Massachusetts to Irish-American parents George and Myrna. Sullivan is their second youngest child and played hockey growing up under the tutelage of his father. While Sullivan and his brothers played hockey, his two sisters Kathie and Debbie figure skated.

Playing career

Sullivan played high school hockey at Boston College High School and college hockey at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

where he scored a game-winning goal in the Beanpot Tournament. He was drafted 69th overall by the

in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He elected to remain at BU to finish school, and in 1990, he began an 11-year

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 2002–2003 season, when he became the head coach of the Providence Bruins of the AHL. In his only season, his team had a 41–17–9–4 record. Sullivan was hired as the 26th head coach of the

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 first round of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens. After the lockout, Sullivan and the Bruins struggled to win in the new NHL, as they ended the 2005–2006 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. Sullivan served as an assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

in Torino, Italy. On May 31, 2007, he was named assistant coach of the

. He was then promoted to associate coach the following season. On July 16, 2009, he was named assistant coach of the

. On July 3, 2013, he was named assistant coach of the

. 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. On May 1, 2014, Sullivan, along with head coach John Tortorella, were relieved of their respective duties in the Canucks organization. Sullivan subsequently joined the

as a player development coach. On June 18, 2015, the

named Sullivan as the new head coach of their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

affiliate, the

. He was named head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12, 2015, upon the firing of then-head coach Mike Johnston. 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 Finals The 2016 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2015–16 season, and the culmination of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Western Co ...

. Sullivan joined both

Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ...

( 1992) and Dan Bylsma ( 2009) as the third coach in franchise history to win the Stanley Cup following a mid-season coaching change. Sullivan is also the first coach to lead the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup championships with their victory over the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

in the

2017 Stanley Cup Finals The 2017 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2016–17 season, and the culmination of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburg ...

, and is the only American-born head coach to win the Stanley Cup multiple times. On December 16, 2017, he recorded his 100th career win with the Penguins becoming just the fourth coach to do so for the organization. On July 5, 2019, Sullivan signed a four-year contract extension. After a 5–2 win against the

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.

Personal life

Sullivan and his wife, Kate, have three children, daughters Kaitlin and Kiley and son Matthew.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Head coaching record

NHL

* Shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019–20 season. Playoffs were played in August 2020 with a different format.

AHL

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Mike 1968 births American men's ice hockey centers American ice hockey coaches Boston Bruins coaches Boston Bruins players Boston College High School alumni Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players Calgary Flames players Chicago Blackhawks coaches Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts Kansas City Blades players Living people National Hockey League assistant coaches New York Rangers coaches New York Rangers draft picks People from Marshfield, Massachusetts Phoenix Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins coaches Providence Bruins coaches Saint John Flames players San Diego Gulls (IHL) players San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from Plymouth County, Massachusetts Stanley Cup champions Stanley Cup championship-winning head coaches Tampa Bay Lightning coaches Vancouver Canucks coaches Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coaches Ice hockey players from Massachusetts