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Bryan Rust Makes Strong Statement on Pittsburgh Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan

Originally posted on Hockey Unplugged | By Tom Banks | Last updated Mar 12, 2025 1:28 PM ET

Mike Sullivan has come under fire for the Penguins performance this season, but according to Bryan Rust, he's still a coach that players want to battle for.

The 2024/25 season has been one of the worst in recent Pittsburgh Penguins memory, and after such a successful run over the last decade, Head Coach Mike Sullivan is clearly feeling the heat given the teams struggles.

With plenty of talent still on the roster, the belief around the league is that Pittsburgh will retain Sullivan moving forward, with GM Kyle Dubas hoping this can be a two-year turnaround, rather than a traditional full on rebuild.

Reportedly, Sullivan has the major support of the players behind the scenes, and now veteran forward Bryan Rust has come out and voiced that support for the veteran Head Coach in a recent interview.

'Sully just knows which buttons to push at what time, kind of when to be hard on guys, when to be a little bit easier and just kind of have more teaching moments.
He's so passionate about the game that it's hard not to go to battle for a guy like that.'

In just his 737th game as Penguins Head Coach, Sullivan notched his 400th win with the team, becoming the 14th Head Coach in NHL history to record that mark with a single team.

In his time as Penguins Head Coach, Sullivan has led the team to two Stanley Cups, and while they're in a retool phase right now, it's still clear that he's one of, if not the best Head Coach in the entire league right now.

The support from Rust (and no doubt Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the veteran core) will go a long way to him remaining behind the bench for Pittsburgh, with the team expecting him to be around for a long time to continue his impressive NHL career.

This article first appeared on Hockey Unplugged and was syndicated with permission.

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