Mike Sullivan Should Be Blackhawks’ Top Coaching Candidate

The Chicago Blackhawks coaching search has already taken some twists and turns, and there haven’t been any reports of an interview yet. On Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that University of Denver head coach David Carle removed his name from consideration for the job. General manager Kyle Davidson made an aggressive push, but Carle decided to stay in Denver, where he’s running one of the top college programs in the country.

Today, a new name has been added to the coaching search as the Pittsburgh Penguins relieved Mike Sullivan of his duties. The two-time Stanley Cup winner should be at the top of Davidson’s list of candidates.

The writing has been on the wall in Pittsburgh for quite a while. Sullivan was nearing the end of his contract, and general manager Kyle Dubas is looking to take the Penguins in a younger direction. I’ve been saying Sullivan is the ideal next head coach of the Blackhawks since Luke Richardson was fired in December, and now he’s officially available.

The Blackhawks need a presence in their locker room. They need a coach who has been through it all—someone who has won in the NHL before. They haven’t had that since Joel Quenneville was fired in 2018. Sullivan has the most wins in Penguins’ franchise history and won two Stanley Cups. He’s spent the last decade coaching Hall of Famers like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. If that doesn’t command immediate respect, nothing will.

Sullivan has a connection with the Blackhawks. He spent the 2014-15 season as a player development coach with the team before joining the Penguins organization. However, it’s not as easy as just picking up the phone and giving him the job. The New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks, and Seattle Kraken are also looking for new coaches.

The Rangers and Bruins are the immediate favorites to land Sullivan, so it will be a hard sell for Davidson to get him to come to Chicago. New York and Boston are in win-now mode despite missing the playoffs. That is likely more appealing to him than coming to a team that is still some time away from returning to the postseason.

Sullivan also has a connection with both organizations. The Rangers drafted him in the fourth round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. In 2009, he was an assistant coach in New York under John Tortorella. However, the Bruins are the hands-down winner when it comes to connections. Sullivan was born in Marshfield, MA, and played college hockey at Boston University. He coached the Providence Bruins in 2002-03 before becoming Boston’s head coach in 2003. He was fired after his second season when Peter Chiarelli took over as general manager. Plus, Bruins’ star defenseman Charlie McAvoy is his son-in-law.

None of these things rule out the Blackhawks; they make things more difficult and likely add more money to their offer. Sullivan saw the Blackhawks in back-to-back games in April when they played their best hockey of the season. He got a firsthand look at the youth movement and the future in Chicago. If Carle was Davidson’s first choice, Sullivan needs to be his next choice. Throw your hat in the ring, make your pitch, and see what happens.