Penguins Hire Dan Muse as Head Coach

After missing the playoffs for three straight seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins desired a new direction. To replace longtime bench boss Mike Sullivan, 42-year-old Dan Muse was brought in. He is set to be the second-youngest head coach in the NHL for the 2025–26 season.

Muse has a 20-season coaching résumé. He started as a high school coach before spending about half of his career as an assistant in college.

In 2015–16, he landed a brief two-season gig as a United States Hockey League (USHL) bench boss with the Chicago Steel. Muse was unable to qualify for the playoffs in his first campaign, with a 27–26–7 record (.508 points percentage). His second was more promising, putting up a 38–17–5 record (.675 points percentage) en route to a Clark Cup victory—the USHL’s championship.

Following that championship win, the Nashville Predators hired Muse as one of their assistants. According to his USA Hockey profile, he was responsible for the team’s penalty kill and forward group, starting in 2017–18. That season, the Predators won the Presidents’ Trophy and had the sixth-best penalty-killing efficiency in the league (81.9%).

Muse and the Predators did not renew his contract for the 2020–21 campaign, leading to him joining the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) for three seasons. He was the head coach of both the under-17 and under-18 teams, establishing a relationship with top Penguins prospect Rutger McGroarty. Muse won gold at the under-18 World Junior Championship in 2023.

In 2023–24, Muse earned a job as the New York Rangers’ assistant. He helped them win the Presidents’ Trophy that season, too, and the team had the third-ranked penalty kill (84.5%) in the NHL.

During his five-season coaching career at the NHL level, Muse had a top-six penalty kill on three occasions. He goes to a Penguins team that was in the bottom half of the league in that department, ranked 18^th (77.8%).

Muse is not taking over in the best situation, with Pittsburgh seemingly on the decline. But if he can make the most of his opportunity, the 42-year-old has a bright future. General manager Kyle Dubas got his guy.