The Pittsburgh Penguins and coach Mike Sullivan parted ways Monday. Here’s a look at Sullivan’s tenure with the team:
June 18, 2015: Mike Sullivan is hired as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Dec. 12, 2015: Sullivan replaces Mike Johnston as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
June 12, 2016: The Penguins win the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup championship.
Dec. 26, 2016: The Penguins sign Sullivan to a three-year contract extension through the 2019-20 season.
June 11, 2017: The Penguins become the first team in the NHL’s salary cap era to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.
May 7, 2018: Hopes for a three-peat were dashed after being eliminated by the rival Washington Capitals in the second round of the playoffs. A 2-1 overtime home loss in Game 6 ended the Penguins’ season.
April 15, 2019: The Penguins are swept from a first-round series by the New York Islanders. They drop Game 4 at home, 3-1.
July 5, 2019: Sullivan is signed to a four-year contract extension through the 2023-24 season.
Aug. 7, 2020: With the NHL staging a modified postseason format in neutral sites because of the pandemic, the Penguins are eliminated from a qualifying round series by the Montreal Canadiens. They are shut out 2-0 in Game 4 of a best-of-five series in Toronto.
May 26, 2021: Another early postseason exit sees the Penguins get knocked out by the Islanders again, this time with a 5-3 road loss in Game 6 of a first-round series.
May 15, 2022: The Penguins’ most recent postseason appearance sees them drop Game 7 of a first-round series to the Rangers, 4-3, in overtime.
Aug. 30, 2022: The Penguins sign Sullivan to a three-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season.
April 11, 2023: Needing a win against a rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks team in the penultimate game of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs, the Penguins fall 5-2 at home. The next night, they were formally eliminated from postseason contention, ending a 16-year streak of playoff appearances.
April 15, 2024: The Penguins made a late push in the regular season for another playoff berth but were formally eliminated on the next-to-last day of the campaign.
April 6, 2025: No such intrigue existed as to the Penguins’ postseason aspiration this past season as the Penguins were formally eliminated with nearly two weeks remaining on the schedule.
April 28, 2025: The Penguins announce the team has agreed to part ways with Sullivan.
