PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It's so not the norm, no matter the success you've had. One of the primary adages in hockey is 'coaches are hired to be fired'. Yet here are the Penguins, giving head coach Mike Sullivan a three-year contract extension Tuesday.
Obviously, Sullivan has a stake in the game, but he says one of the reasons he is successful is that leap of faith. He believes the 'chicken' of a contract extension comes before the 'egg' of another championship.
"It has always been a little bit of a headscratcher for me that there's this opinion that coaches have shelf lives," Sullivan said Tuesday. "I've never subscribed to that. I think the best coaches build relationships."
And those relationships are built over time, you need the shared experiences to build a strong bond. Not just the good experiences, like the back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, but those of the last four seasons getting knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
He believes sticking with the coach would have better results than the quick fix of firing one. Sullivan won his first Stanley Cup championship as a mid-season replacement, so did Dan Bylsma. However, Sullivan, the winningest coach in team history, says the more consistent path to success is committing to a coach and a system.
"I just believe in being honest and candid with our players," Sullivan said. "I think an important aspect of what we do is build relationships. When you think about it in a lot of ways, relationships grow and develop over the course of time, they should get stronger."
"When you can develop good relationships with your players, you can have hard conversations. Inevitably as a head coach, if you are doing your job, you are going to tell players what they don't want to hear sometimes. The stronger your relationships are, as long they understand and know you have their best interest in mind. I think those messages get through a whole lot more efficiently."
GM Ron Hextall said in a statement released by the Penguins, they wanted to be as committed to Sullivan as he is to them.
"It means the world to me that the Fenway Sports Group, Ron Hextall and Brian Burke and our management team have shown the faith and trust in me," Sullivan said. "It's an honor to coach this team, I don't take one day for granted."
"We have been able to accomplish a lot. I've had the luxury of inheriting a standard of excellence of a certain culture that has been developed here. Quite frankly, I feel a certain responsibility to be the custodian of that and try to further develop that culture."
"To be able to continue the journey with these guys and our new ownership group and management team. It's hard for me to put it into words. I'm so excited about the opportunity to face the challenges we have ahead of us."
