Not surprisingly, Mike Sullivan didn't get into many specifics during his introductory press conference as coach of the New York Rangers on Thursday. But there were certain larger themes that he emphasized.
Chief among those is the partnership between him and general manager Chris Drury.
"I'm really excited about the opportunity to build a partnership with Chris," Sullivan said in his first public comments since being named the 38th coach in franchise history a week ago. "I'm really excited about what we could build here moving forward that we could all be proud of."
There's already a history between the two. Sullivan and Drury each attended Boston University, though not at the same time. They played together for the United States at the World Championship. Sullivan was a Rangers assistant when Drury was captain and playing his final two seasons in the NHL.
More recently they've worked on the same U.S. international teams, including the 4 Nations Faceoff when Sullivan was coach, with Drury the assistant GM.
"One of things we talked about is the importance of the relationship between him and I … my experience has told me that the relationship between the head coach and general manager is really important. And I think that's important we work together on that relationship so that we can share the same vision and work toward the same goals," Sullivan explained.
Drury recalled how at the 1997 World Championships, he was alone on the team bus "scared to death," then just a college star at BU, and Sullivan, an established NHL forward, sat in the seat next to him, chatted him up on the way to the rink, and generally just made him feel a part of the team.
It's that type of leadership that's served Sullivan well as an NHL head coach , where he's won two Stanley Cup championships and is the all-time winningest coach in Pittsburgh Penguins history with 409 victories.
"It's already a great relationship and I think it's only going to get better every day," Drury stated.
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Here are some specific takeaways from what Sullivan and Drury had to say Friday.
This isn't a surprise, but Drury left no doubt that Sullivan was the Rangers top target as soon as the 58-year-old parted ways with the Penguins.
"The second Mike was available, we quickly and aggressively pursued him. And we're certainly thrilled that pursuit led us to this moment today, " Drury stated.
Drury wanted to hire Sullivan ever since he became Rangers GM in 2021. And when he had the chance to finally land him on his third coaching hire, Drury wasn't going to let Sullivan get away. Though there was no discussion about Sullivan's contract, it's reportedly the richest for a coach in NHL history.
Not surprisingly, Sullivan avoided explaining why he "parted ways" with the Penguins after 10 seasons behind their bench. If there are any bad feelings there, you couldn't tell because Sullivan only had good things to say about the Penguins, and often referred back to his plethora of experiences in Pittsburgh that shaped him as the coach he is today.
"I'm so appreciative of the opportunity that I had there," he said. "I'm grateful to everyone involved, most specifically the players there, who played extremely hard in the years that I was there."
To his credit, Sullivan did refer to the failures in Pittsburgh, though not specifically missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past three seasons and not winning a playoff round since 2018.
"We had some successes there during my time, and I have that experience to draw on, what that looks like," he explained. "We also had disappointments. It's hard to win in this league, it takes more than talent, and we had a lot of talent with that group in Pittsburgh, and we experienced both sides."
Sullivan explained that coaching in the same division against the Rangers gives him a good read on their talent level. And that talent is one of the reasons he's so eager to take this job.
He said he has "tons of respects for these players" and called the roster a "really talented group" that's been "knocking on the door" of winning a Stanley Cup.
Sullivan clearly believes there's enough talent here to win, though he stated firmly, "Talent alone doesn't win. Teams win championships."
As for the abysmal showing by the Rangers this past season which cost Peter Laviolette his job as coach and saw the Rangers miss the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, Sullivan refused to make any judgements.
"It's hard for me to comment on what's evolved here in the past. It would probably be irresponsible for me because I wasn't here," Sullivan stated. "All I can speak to is that we can build here moving forward. My intention is to bring the experiences that I've learned through my time coaching in the NHL, some of the insight I've gained over the years, to this experience."
Sullivan provided one small nugget of information, explaining that he's spoken to nearly every player on the roster since he was officially named coach last Friday. He didn't get into specifics, instead offering that this is an opportunity for the players to get to know him a bit.
Of course, he does have relationships with some of the players. He was an assistant under John Tortorella when Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller broke into the League with the Rangers. And he coached Kreider, Miller, Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox with the United States at the 4 Nations Faceoff.
Sullivan said he learned that those four players are "fierce competitors," seeing how they went about their business in that international tournament in February.
Asked specifically about Fox, Sullivan called the defenseman an "elite player."
When asked about how he'll approach coaching youngsters in the organization, Sullivan said that there's no set recipe for developing players. That instead each player and situation must be handled in an individual manner.
He added that "no one is entitled" to anything and that "every player earns it."
It sounded like he was sending a message to the veterans, not just the kids.
As for naming a captain to replace Jacob Trouba , Sullivan said that's something he's yet to discuss with Drury. But he did say that in his conversations with the players, he's picked up on a "fair amount of leadership … and character" on the roster.
