Kyle Dubas called Sidney Crosby before parting ways with Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan

The Pittsburgh Penguins will have a new face behind their bench next season.

Mike Sullivan, the head coach behind Pittsburgh’s back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, is moving on after 10 years in charge of the club. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas made the announcement Monday morning, nearly two weeks after the team finished outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference for a third straight season.

“On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to thank Mike Sullivan for his unwavering commitment and loyalty to the team and City of Pittsburgh over the past decade,” Dubas said in a statement. “Mike is known for his preparation, focus and fierce competitiveness. I was fortunate to have a front-row seat to his dedication to this franchise for the past two seasons. He will forever be an enormous part of Penguins history, not only for the impressive back-to-back Cups, his impact on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, but more importantly, for his love and loyalty to the organization. This was not a decision that was taken lightly, but as we continue to navigate the Penguins through this transitional period, we felt it was the best course forward for all involved.”

Sullivan is the longest-tenured head coach that superstar Sidney Crosby has had with the Penguins since debuting during the 2005-06 season. Dubas revealed Monday that Crosby was not consulted before the final decision was made, but that he did briefly speak with his captain before giving Sullivan the news.

“I called Sid (Sidney Crosby) yesterday morning before I met with Sully (Mike Sullivan) to give him the heads up,” Dubas said later in the day to reporters. “He’s been through it before, but in terms of how he feels about it, I had a five-minute conversation with him 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. I have to do what I think is best for the organization.”

The Penguins will begin their search for a new head coach this offseason ahead of a 2025-26 campaign that will be the first year of the two-year extension Crosby signed last September. Crosby has not given any guarantees that he will play further seasons past that contract, and is coming off a third straight 90-point year without any postseason action to follow.

“If you poll that room of players, you’re probably going to have seven of them that love the coach, seven of them that hate the coach, and seven that are indifferent,” Dubas said. “And the same applies to management, and the same applies to the remainder of the staff as well. So, I think polling players about their feelings on the coaches is not always the greatest thing to do when you’re trying to make that change.”

Sullivan was initially hired by the Penguins to be the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, ahead of the 2015-16 season, but was promoted to bench boss of the NHL club after Mike Johnston was fired 28 games into the campaign. He then became just the sixth head coach in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after being hired mid-season.

During his ten seasons as head coach of the Penguins, Sullivan led the team to a 409-255-89 record in 753 regular-season games. In 82 playoff games under his watch, the Pens went 44-38 and won two Cups (2016, 2017). His current contract had him scheduled to coach the team through the 2026-27 season.

“I think beyond the success on the bench and what it led to on the ice for the city of Pittsburgh and the fanbase is the mark that he’s made on the people here, which I’ve got to see and experience first-hand the last two years – the impact on their careers, the impact on their families and what he means to them,” Dubas said. “Then also, in my conversations with him the last week, what the city of Pittsburgh, the franchise, and people mean to him. That’s what makes these moments and times very difficult.”

With the sharp downturn in success over the past few years and the core of the team only getting older, Dubas felt like Sullivan was not the right coach to help transition the Penguins into their next era.

“I think what I’ve learned in the two years is that there’s a reason why it’s essentially impossible,” Dubas said. “It has not been done where a coach has led a team to winning and being in contention, then through a transition all the way back. There’s a number of factors at play on the relationship side with the players and the staff that make it very difficult to do so.”

All six skaters with cap hits over $5 million that the Penguins have under contract next season are older than 30. Evgeni Malkin will be the eldest (39), followed by Kris Letang (38), Crosby (38), Erik Karlsson (35), Bryan Rust (33), and Rickard Rakell (32).

Dubas pointed to the recent hirings of Spencer Carbery (Capitals), Jim Hiller (Kings), and Martin St. Louis (Canadiens) as the type of hire they will try to target as they “cast a wide net” during their search.

“It’s going to be continuing to maximize the prime or the end of careers of some of the players that we have, and it’s going to be expeditiously developing some of the young players that have already come onto the roster, that are about to come onto the roster,” Dubas said. “Continue to make tweaks and changes around the system and the way that we integrate players, put their own stamp on the organization.”

Sullivan is the fourth NHL head coach dismissed this offseason, joining Dan Bylsma (Seattle Kraken, April 21), Peter Laviolette (New York Rangers, April 19), and Greg Cronin (Anaheim Ducks, April 19).

With the Penguins’ job now open, the league has seven total head-coaching vacancies, including three teams in the Metropolitan Division (Penguins, Rangers, Flyers). Sullivan may not be out of a job for long, as per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, he is “keen on coaching again next season” and will be a top target for several open spots.

Before taking the top spot in Pittsburgh, Sullivan had previous NHL experience as an assistant and head coach with the Boston Bruins (2002-2006), as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2007-2008), as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers (2009-2013), and as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks (2013-2014).