New York Rangers Get Their Man in Mike Sullivan

The New York Rangers have been looking to reset their culture this offseason and trying to find the right head coach after going through three coaches since 2021. When Chris Drury took over he fired David Quinn. Drury replaced him with Gerard Gallant. Gallant took the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 losing to Tampa Bay in six games.

The following the Rangers lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils after going up 2-0 in the series. It was the second straight series the Rangers blew a 2-0 series lead. New York led the Lightning 2-0 before losing in six games. Gallant and Drury had issues and before he left Gallant addressed the issue of heart and playing hard because the Rangers have the talent, but talent can take you so far.

Following Gallant, Drury hired Peter Laviolette. In the first year under Laviolette, the Rangers won the Presidents Trophy, but lost once again in the Eastern Conference Final this time to the Florida Panthers in six games. This year it was a complete disaster as Drury tried to reshape the roster on the fly. Not to mention second-year Laviolette is a thing. So the Rangers decided to move on and try again to get it right.

Well, the Rangers and Chris Drury are hoping the third time is the charm with the hiring of Mike Sullivan. After this is the man Drury wanted from the start, but could not get to leave Pittsburgh as Sullivan was locked into a new deal, tight with ownership, and felt the roster could still win.

But the writing was on the wall that the Penguins were a bad team and a rebuild was necessary. Sullivan wants to still win and prove a lot of his naysayers wrong. So once he became available, Drury punched at the opportunity to bring him back into the organization as the main man in charge.

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Things picked over the last day between the Rangers and Sullivan before the team made it official on Friday morning. But it was the worst kept secret in the business because it was the biggest lock Sullivan was going to the Rangers. New York could offer him the most money.

And as Rangers GM Chris Drury stated in a press release, he has known him for a long time and felt he was the best coach to get the team over the hump.

Mike Sullivan has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in the NHL,” Drury said. “Given his numerous accomplishments throughout his coaching career – including two Stanley Cups and leading Team USA at the international level – Mike brings a championship-level presence behind the bench. I’ve gotten to know Mike very well over the years, including as teammates in the 1997 World Championships, when he coached me as a player in New York and through our shared time working together with USA Hockey. As we began this process and Mike became an available option for us to speak with, it was immediately clear that he was the best coach to lead our team.

The Rangers feel they have the right man when it comes to Sullivan guiding this roster, which also needs work. There is a cultural problem that needs to be changed. With the hiring of Sullivan, Drury hopes to change things, but the roster needs work as Full Press Hockey has documented.

Players like Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, K’Andre Miller, and others could be on the move this summer. Is there enough belief from Mike Sullivan to start trusting the young players and develop them to be everyday players? Or will it be the same old same old relying on veterans to get the job done?

The New York Rangers feel they can win with the hiring of Mike Sullivan. However, the problem is that the roster is not ready to win as the culture in the room needs to change. While it is a good hire will it change anything when it matters most and that is on the ice?

What happens two years from now, the New York Rangers can’t keep going through this same exercise over and over again. That is why this hiring was so important and in the eyes of Chris Drury he believes he found his man in Mike Sullivan.