Former Penguins coach Mike Sullivan remains affectionate for Pittsburgh

Mike Sullivan was never cursed with a strong attachment to sentimentality.

He was brief on the occasions he was asked about his time as a bottom-six center for the expansion San Jose Sharks in the early 1990s.

And discussions about his brief two-year tenure as head coach of the Boston Bruins in the mid-2000s did not require a great deal of labor in transcribing.

Reliving the good old days was something Sullivan rarely did during his nearly decade-long appointment as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Saturday, he made something of an exception following a morning skate at PPG Paints Arena with his current employer, the New York Rangers.

“So grateful for the opportunity that I had here to coach the Penguins for the amount of time that I was able to do it,” Sullivan said in a blue tracksuit against a Rangers backdrop near the visiting dressing room, approximately 200 feet from the home team’s facilities. “We had a lot of good memories and I’m grateful for that.”

Saturday’s game between the Penguins and Rangers was Sullivan’s first venture as a visitor in Pittsburgh after he left the Penguins on April 28 in what was termed as a “mutual parting” following a third consecutive spring without a postseason appearance.

Four days later, Sullivan was hired by the Rangers, a team he was drafted by (but never played for) and previously worked for as an assistant coach.

“When I saw the schedule in the summertime, I was hoping we didn’t (play the Penguins) until March,” Sullivan quipped. “But it is what it is. It’s something that I can’t control. It’s an inevitability. It’s just part of the process. When the puck drops tonight, it’s going to be a hockey game. We’re going to do everything we can to try to win it.

“I’m excited about the group of players we have in New York. They’re a great group of guys. I’ve really enjoyed the time that I’ve had to work with them until this point and our coaching staff as well. We have a lot of enthusiasm around our team right now, and we’re excited about what we can potentially do moving forward.”

Sullivan’s methods of steering the Rangers don’t appear to be all that different from how he guided the Penguins.

Rangers forward Conor Sheary spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins and was a key contributor to the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup titles the franchise won under Sullivan’s watch.

“His message is very similar,” Sheary said. “There might be things here or there throughout his tenure that he changed within the system to adapt with the game and the times. But his message has kind of been the same for as long as I can remember. He’s kind of stuck to it.”

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The New York Rangers hired Mike Sullivan as coach on May 2.

The details of Sullivan’s departure remain unclear, at least publicly.

On April 28, Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas offered something of a timeline.

“Last week, when (Sullivan) and I spoke about a lot of the same stuff we’ve talked about the whole year, it just became clear to me that it was probably time for a change and to move on,” Dubas said. “I went yesterday and met with (Sullivan) and sat down with him in Boston (Sullivan’s hometown), and just kind of went through that with him.

“Sometimes there’s disagreement when you have those conversations, and other times there’s agreement. I don’t want to speak for him and how he views it, but I would say (it) was very amicable.”

On Saturday, Sullivan politely declined to discuss the topic.

“It’s a great question,” Sullivan said. “But that’s probably better for another day.”

Sullivan’s days in Pittsburgh were mostly triumphant. In parts of 10 seasons, he became the franchise’s winningest coach with a 409-255-89 record.

Hired as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League on June 18, 2015, he replaced Mike Johnston as head coach of the NHL club on Dec. 12.

Before joining the Penguins, he was something of a lost soul as far as his coaching career was concerned. Following a single and unsuccessful season as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks in 2013-14, he spent the 2014-15 campaign as a development coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, working with that franchise’s prospects.

“The experience and the opportunity that I was given here in Pittsburgh changed my life in so many ways from a career standpoint,” Sullivan said. “What we were able to accomplish as a group was a career-changing experience. As I said, I’m so grateful for that opportunity that I was given here to work with that group of players.

“Those relationships last a lifetime.”

His relationship with Pittsburgh seems as if it will endure as well.

In May, Sullivan took out advertisements on several billboards throughout the area to express his feelings for the region.

“I just thought it was important that I express my own gratitude for myself and my family on behalf of us,” Sullivan said. “I am and will continue to be so grateful for the opportunity that I got to work here for 10 years. I thought it was appropriate that I express that to the people of Pittsburgh and how receptive they were to me and my family during my time here.”