“Needed to be done” – Fans rally behind Penguins after team part ways with head coach Mike Sullivan following poor 2024-25 season

Mike Sullivan was appointed as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in December 2015 and led them to 2 Stanley Cup triumphs.

“Needed to be done” – Fans rally behind Penguins after team part ways with head coach Mike Sullivan following poor 2024-25 season

Mike Sullivan (Image via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

The Mike Sullivan era in Pittsburgh is over. On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that the team have parted ways with their longtime head coach following a poor 2024-25 season. Fans on social media have rallied behind the team after this decision.

In June 2015, the Penguins announced Sullivan as the head coach of their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. A few months later, in December, he was appointed as the head coach of the Penguins after the team fired Mike Johnston.

The Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup in June 2016 by defeating the San Jose Sharks. This made Sullivan the 6th head coach in the NHL to win the Stanley Cup while being a mid-season hire. The Pens then went back-to-back in 2017 as they defeated the Nashville Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup finals.

The past few years though, have not gone too well for the team. After losing in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2021-22 season against the New York Rangers, the Pens have not made it to the playoffs.

During the 2024-25 campaign, the team went 34-36-12 and finished 7th in the Metropolitan Division with 80 points. Earlier this year, General Manager Kyle Dubas fired a warning to the team and expressed that they were open to trade anyone except for Sidney Crosby.

Sullivan’s tenure with the Penguins ends with him being their most winningest coach with 409 wins. He is also just the 14th coach in NHL history to win 400 games with one franchise.

Social media reacts to Mike Sullivan being fired by Pittsburgh Penguins

After missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for a third successive year, the Pittsburgh Penguins made a major move. The team agreed to part ways with head coach Mike Sullivan after almost a decade-long tenure in the steel city.

Mike Sullivan
Mike Sullivan (mage via Sportsnet)

Fans on X would back the team’s decision to let go of Sullivan after another poor season this time out. One fan on X wrote, “Needed to be done” while reacting to this major development.

Check out that and some other fan reactions regarding Mike Sullivan’s departure from Penguins below:

The Penguins have begun the search for a new coach. Some big names like Peter Laviolette and John Tortorella have been linked with the team after being fired by the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers, respectively.

GM Kyle Dubas claims he had some disagreements with Mike Sullivan

After the Pittsburgh Penguins announced the departure of Mike Sullivan, General Manager Kyle Dubas addressed the media in a press conference. During this, the Penguins’ GM stated that he had some disagreements with the 57-year-old coach.

Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan
Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan (Image via PensBurgh/Yardbarker)

In the presser, Dubas explained that he and Sullivan spoke about a lot of things. It was at this moment, where the GM thought they needed to go in a new direction.

I went yesterday and met with Sully, and, you know, sat down with him in Boston, and I just kind of went through that with him. And there was, sometimes there’s disagreement when you have those conversations, and at other times, there’s agreement. I don’t want to speak for him and how he views it, but I would say it was very amicable, and the conversations with them have continued to stay that way.

Kyle Dubas said in the press conference

These words from Dubas led to some questioning about his relationship with Sullivan. However, as per Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe, the two of them did have a good relationship while working together.

Only time will tell who will take charge of the Penguins from next season. For now, the attention of the fans will turn to the ongoing Stanley Cup playoffs, with teams fighting hard to reach the next round.

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