The 7-12-4 Pittsburgh Penguins are struggling. Aside from career milestones from Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, there has not been much to cheer about for Coach Mike Sullivan’s team in the 2024-2025 season.
The Penguins find themselves in last place in a competitive Metropolitan Division. Division leaders New Jersey and Carolina have twice as many wins as they do. Crosby’s 600th goal, a huge accomplishment that only 20 players before him have done, was bittersweet because it came in a disappointing 6-1 losing effort to Utah.
Two teams, the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues, have already made coaching changes.
Fans believe the Penguins need to make a similar decision and remove Mike Sullivan from his head coaching position. Sullivan has been a coaching legend in Pittsburgh, and this is no disrespect to what he has done in the past. Fans think a change is necessary to avoid wasting the end of Malkin and Crosby’s Hall of Fame careers.
Pittsburgh is a city known for sticking with coaches over long periods. Mike Tomlin is the third coach for the Steelers since 1969. The Pirates have only had four managers since 2006.
Mike Sullivan has been the Penguins head coach since 2015. His greatest successes were realized early with the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup championships. He is also the head coach for Team USA in the upcoming inaugural Four-Nations Face Off in February 2025 and the 2026 Olympic team.
Fans have wanted Sullivan to be let go for weeks. The discussion became more serious last week when the Bruins fired Jim Montgomery. They felt Jim Montgomery would be a great fit in Pittsburgh. Since St. Louis scooped him up, that is no longer a viable solution.
I think #LetsGoPens coach Mike Sullivan is one of the best coaches in the NHL and a HOF shoe in. I also the Penguins probably need to let him go if they want to turn this thing around because it just isn’t working right now. Both can be true.
— DC Pitt Fan (@hailtopitt2005) November 24, 2024
Mike Sullivan is now the betting favorite to be the next NHL head coach to get fired. Should’ve already happened. He lost this team awhile ago.
— Chris Mueller (@ChrisMuellerPGH) November 25, 2024
Pittsburgh is not a city whose franchises fire coaches mid-season, so it seems likely that Sullivan will be the Penguins coach for the entire 2024-2025 season.
