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New York Rangers report cards: Grading coach Mike Sullivan at Olympic break
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- New York Rangers report cards: Grading coach Mike Sullivan at Olympic break
Mike Sullivan is in Italy right now, trying to help the United States capture gold at the 2016 Milan-Cortina Olympics. But the business of the New York Rangers certainly is not out of mind for their coach.
And the business of the Rangers, of course, is not pretty. No gold in these Blueshirt mountains, not this season at least.
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The Rangers (22-29-6) are last in the Eastern Conference, and 30th out of 32 NHL teams overall. Artemi Panarin was traded to the Los Angeles Kings right before the Olympic roster freeze and more moves are coming ahead of the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline.
There are still 25 games left in the regular season, time to convince us that the Rangers collectively deserve something better than a failing grade. But that's where they sit right now, an overall F,
As for the coach? Let's break down what grade he deserves on his report card at this juncture of the 2025-26 season. And, any success Sully achieves at the Olympics should lift his spirits, but not his grade here.
Coach Mike Sullivan: Grade C+
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There are several major things that submarined the Rangers season which can't be blamed on Sullivan: injuries, not enough talent, lack of quality organizational depth, and stunning inability to consistently score goals.
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That last one stands out. The Rangers are 27th in scoring , averaging 2.61 goals-for per game. They were shut out nine times already this season.
You've heard it before, but it's true. The coach can't score for his players. And in this case, quite often, the Rangers generated enough quality chances, but simply failed to cash them in. Sullivan's preached the right things about puck movement, getting bodies to the net, and playing more of a north-south game, though remaining flexible enough to allow their most talented players to be creative.
That hybrid style makes much sense, considering the makeup of the Rangers roster. But it hasn't translated into nearly enough offense. More blame falls on the players and roster construction by general manager Chris Drury than on the coach here.
Sullivan had significant success early on getting the Rangers to play a more structured and committed defensive game, something that was a major issue for his predecessors Peter Laviolette and Gerard Gallant. It doesn't hurt that Sully has Vladislav Gavrikov back there anchoring his defense, and the other coaches didn't, of course. But the team buy-in and execution defensively stood out early in the season.
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However, that's crumbled quite a bit, with Sullivan recenlty questioning whether his message is getting through to the players. Missing Adam Fox for the better part of two months certainly didn't help, nor did losing star goalie Igor Shesterkin for most of January. But the crumbling structure is concerning because it coincides with the season cratering around the Rangers, who lost 12 of 14 before the break.
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Sullivan, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins , is a solid teacher, who exudes confidence, and is poised under pressure. But even he looked weary and without answers when the season slipped away in January. That's not unlike Laviolette last season nor Gallant in the 2023 playoffs. Maybe it's something in the water at Madison Square Garden.
Speaking of which, the Rangers lost their first seven home games, were shut out seven times at The Garden so far, and have just six victories at MSG in their centennial celebration season. It's head scratching stuff. But, yes, Sully must take his share of the blame here.
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Another area where he certainly shares in the blame is how often the Rangers don't seem ready to start a game on time. They're not equipped mentally or talented enough to play from behind so often. But that's a common theme in 2025-26. Mika Zibanejad and Braden Schneider called the Rangers 'fragile.' Maybe that's more on the roster construction than the coach, but Sullivan must get these players ready to play a complete 60 minutes every night. It just doesn't happen often enough.
One area where Sullivan excels is with his communication skills. His traveling to Sweden to meet face to face last summer with Zibanejad paid major dividends — Zibanejad's been the Rangers best player this season.
His stubbornness to stick with a failed five-forward power-play group when Fox was first injured in December was a bit maddening. And his lack of patience with Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard , and lack of trust with Scott Morrow , raises questions about his ability to bring along prospects.
The flip side to that is the successful rookie season by Noah Laba , a fourth-round draft pick who's now not only a lineup regular, but an important piece of the core moving forward as a heart-and-soul third-line center. Sullivan's also been firmly behind top prospect Gabe Perreault during his uneven adjustment to the NHL.
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So, yes, there's a lot to unwrap here in Sullivan's first season as Rangers coach. Not the least of which is this will be New York's second straight season out of the playoffs, and the fourth consecutive year that Sully's on the outside looking in at the postseason.
This mess isn't all on him. But Sullivan is not blameless, either. Therein lies his C+ grade.
The good news is that it still feels like the Rangers have the right coach in place moving forward.
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