Penguins hire Dan Muse as head coach

The Pittsburgh Penguins have hired Dan Muse as the 23rd coach in franchise history.

His appointment was announced Wednesday.

President of hockey operations Kyle Dubas outlined Muse’s attributes in a statement.

“During this process, we met with many candidates who we felt would have been a fit as the next head coach of the Penguins, but ultimately, Dan Muse stood out as the best choice. What separated Dan was his ability to develop players, win at all levels where he has been a head coach and his consistent success coaching special teams in the NHL.

From his success in developing college and junior players, to his impactful work with veteran players during his time in the NHL, Dan has shown a proven ability to connect with players at all stages of their careers and help them to reach their potential.”

“Additionally, his leadership of special teams units at the NHL level in both Nashville and New York produced elite results consistently. His overall body of work, attention to detail and vision for our group showed us that he is the best coach to take our team forward.”

Muse, 42, spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers, overseeing that team’s penalty kill.

A native of Canton, Mass, Muse has had a nomadic career as a coach.

Before joining the Rangers, Muse spent three seasons with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP), overseeing the growth of several players who eventually became first-round draft picks in the NHL, including current Penguins forward Rutger McGroarty and Utah Mammoth forward Logan Cooley, a native of West Mifflin.

His stint with the USNTDP was preceded by a three-year tenure as an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators between 2017-20, primarily working with the forwards and penalty kill.

During the mid-2010s, Muse spent two seasons at the junior level as head coach of the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL), winning that league’s championship, the Clark Cup, in 2017.

At the NCAA level, Muse made stops with Williams College (2007-08), Sacred Heart (2008-09) and Yale (2009-2015). In 2013, Muse was a member of Yale’s national championship squad.

As a player, Muse played four seasons as a forward with Stonehill College during the early 2000s before making the jump to the coaching ranks with Milton Academy, a preparatory school in Massachusetts.

Muse replaces Mike Sullivan who left the organization April 28 in what was portrayed by the Penguins as a mutual parting.

Arguably the greatest coach in franchise history, Sullivan directed the Penguins to Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017 and holds the Penguins’ record for most wins behind the bench with a record of 409-255-89 over parts of 10 seasons.

The Penguins missed the postseason over the past three seasons, however, leading to Sullivan’s departure.

Sullivan was hired as the Rangers’ head coach May 2.