New York Rangers News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Sep 23, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan looks on during the third period of a preseason game against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Rangers HC Can’t Rely on Past Success with Penguins

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The New York Rangers enter their 100th season in the NHL with the belief that they’ve entered the next chapter. They brought in a new head coach in Mike Sullivan, revealed new centennial jerseys in celebration of the milestone and made some key moves to shakeup the roster.

The addition of Sullivan as the Rangers’ new coach generated a ton of excitement. After all, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has previous experience with the New York organization. He brings a tremendous winning pedigree. And while that experience is useful, Sullivan is starting from scratch once again with the Rangers.

That’s the way franchise legend and former captain Mark Messier sees it. Speaking to Breakaway On SI recently, Messier discussed the impact that Sullivan will have on his new club. He related it to his own transitional time when he arrived in New York after a career’s worth of success with the Edmonton Oilers. He was a proven winner in the league, but it didn’t accelerate the growth that the team needed to undergo before they could claim that Stanley Cup.

“When I came to New York after having a lot of success in Edmonton… I had to go through the process together with my new teammates,” he said. “Whatever happened in Edmonton didn’t matter because they weren’t there. They didn’t understand it. They didn’t feel it. They weren’t a part of it.”

Instant Credibility and Building Trust

How this relates to the Rangers is quite simple, actually. What Messier points out so astutely is that winning earns credibility, but that doesn’t equal trust. And for the Rangers, the goal is to marry the winning ways that Sullivan has brought to each stop of his coaching journey with strong and trustworthy relationships between the staff and the lineup.

“So for the coach coming in, he’s going to get instant credibility because he’s been in the league for a long time,” Messier explained. “But ultimately, what will define this, is the relationships that he can put together with his team and his new players… The most important thing you can have between a player coach relationship is trust.”

Sullivan gets the chance to immediately start building trust with his new lineup. It's not about his time managing superstars in Pittsburgh anymore. Now, it's about getting the Ranger back on track. The team missed the postseason last year in disappointing fashion, but the Metropolitan Division is wide open once again this upcoming season. Starting with training camp and the preseason, Sullivan is aiming to bring this group together to propel them to the next step.

“Yes, he will have instant credibility,” he stated. “It’s about whether and how he fosters that into a tight knit group with the vision that he and (general manager) Chris Drury see for the team.”

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: