Pittsburgh Penguins name Canton's Dan Muse head coach

The Pittsburgh Penguins' coaching search led them right back to the South Shore.

Can't blame them for dipping into that well again.

Marshfield's Mike Sullivan spent 10 seasons behind the Pens' bench, winning 409 regular-season games and guiding them to Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. The former BC High and Boston University star parted ways with the team this spring after a third straight non-playoff campaign.

On Wednesday, Pittsburgh announced Sullivan's successor -- New York Rangers assistant Dan Muse, who grew up in Canton (as well as Northern California and Alabama, among other places), played at Stonehill College in Easton, and got his coaching start at Milton Academy in 2005.

Muse, 42, becomes the third active NHL head coach with ties to Ledgerland. Sullivan wasn't out of work long, taking the Rangers' job on May 2. And Marshfield product Ryan Warsofsky, who played at both Marshfield High (he was a Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic) and Cushing Academy, will be entering his second season with the San Jose Sharks in the 2025-26 season. Warsofsky also served as the U.S. coach for this spring's IIHF World Championship, leading the Americans to their first gold medal since 1960. 

Muse becomes the 23rd head coach in Penguins' history.

"During this process, we met with many candidates who we felt would have been a fit as the next head coach of the Penguins, but ultimately, Dan Muse stood out as the best choice. What separated Dan was his ability to develop players, win at all levels where he has been a head coach and his consistent success coaching special teams in the NHL," President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas said in a statement. "From his success in developing college and junior players, to his impactful work with veteran players during his time in the NHL, Dan has shown a proven ability to connect with players at all stages of their careers and help them to reach their potential."

"Additionally, his leadership of special teams units at the NHL level in both Nashville and New York produced elite results consistently. His overall body of work, attention to detail and vision for our group showed us that he is the best coach to take our team forward. We’re excited to welcome Dan, and his family, to the city of Pittsburgh."

Muse has 20 years of coaching experience, including five seasons in the NHL as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers (2023-25) and Nashville Predators (2017-20). He also coached in college, including a stint at Yale as an assistant (2009-14) and associate head coach (2015), helping the Bulldogs win the 2013 national title, ironically in the Penguins' building. He also coached at Sacred Heart University (2008-09) and Williams College (2007-08).

Between his college and NHL days, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League from 2015-17. Chicago won the franchise’s first-ever Clark Cup Championship under his watch in 2016-17.

Muse played four seasons at Division III Stonehill beginning in 2001-02. He recorded 5 goals and 6 assists over 61 games.

"You have to believe in yourself, you have to believe in what you do," Muse is quoted as saying in a story by Taylor Haase of dkpittsburghsports.com. "When you've done everything you can do to prepare, you go into anything with more confidence. ... I've always been coaching higher levels than I played. Always. Every level I've coached has been a higher level than I played. I was probably more intimidated going into the locker room for the first time at Sacred Heart, coaching Division I (than going into the Predators locker room). 

"I wasn't just a D3 player, I was a bad D3 player," Must continued. "Those stats, those were padded stats! I had a couple of phantom assists in there! Those weren't even real, worse than that! But it's like, I've always been doing that. It's not new to me. I know what I was as a player, I shouldn't have even been a D3 player. That was part of my journey. You have to take that same approach and put it into coaching. Put in the work. Go in there, be confident, and be proud of what you present."