Penguins fires their coach, but not Mike Sullivan

President of Hockey Operations and general manager Kyle Dubas and head coach Mike Sullivan decided to part company with associate coach Todd Reirden. It was a decision that was painful for Sullivan because Reirden is a close friend.

However, the Penguins had the 31st-ranked power play in the league and Reirden was in charge of that area, so Dubas made the decision to part company with the former Washington Capitals head coach.

The Penguins featured Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson on their power play. Despite the presence of those stars, the Penguins were never able to develop the kind of consistency that would have been needed to help the Penguins reach playoff status.

Dubas explained the firing in a team-issued statement. “Mike Sullivan and I have spent time over the past two weeks evaluating the coaching staff, and although these decisions are never easy, we agree that this change was in the best interest of the team moving forward,” Dubas said.

Mike Sullivan appears to be safe

The normal move for a team that doesn’t make the playoffs in multiple seasons is to fire the head coach. That does not appear to be the case with Mike Sullivan, who has a three-year contract extension that will kick in at the start of the 2024-25 season.

Sullivan has been the team’s head coach since the early part of the 2015-16 season and he led the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in his first two seasons. Perhaps that pedigree has helped him retain his position.

Reirden was hired before Dubas took his current position, and that may be the reason he had to pay the price for the team’s failure. It’s not known how much of a hand Dubas will have in the hiring of the next associate coach for the Penguins. He could leave the decision up to Sullivan or he could have a significant hand in the process.

Penguins need significant roster changes

While the Penguins has a roster that includes superstars like Crosby, Malkin and Letang, significant changes need to be made if the the team is going to contend in the Metropolitan Division in the near future.

The presence of those venerable players — all of whom may end up in the Hall of Fame — is indicative of the age on the Pittsburgh roster. The obvious decision is for the Penguins to get younger, but the key is to make sure the younger players have the kind of drive and talent to turn the situation around.

That was not the case in 2023-24, because the Penguins finished with a 38-32-12 record that left them in fifth place in the Metropolitan.