As the Flyers search for a new head coach, we’ll look at potential candidates to fill the vacancy.
“Communication and teaching are probably two things that will be at the forefront of our next coach,” general manager Danny Briere said April 19 at his end-of-the-season press conference. “When you have a young team in place, I really think those two attributes are extremely important.”
We start our series with Mike Sullivan, whose tenure in Pittsburgh ended Monday as the coach and Penguins agreed to part ways.
Why Sullivan would be a fit
There’s a lot to like with Sullivan.
He led Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017. He’s the franchise’s all-time wins leader (409) and had the Penguins in the playoffs for seven of his 10 seasons.
In his 12 seasons as an NHL head coach, eight of them have featured a .610 points percentage or better. For context, since 2012-13, the Flyers have had just one season with over a .600 points percentage: 2019-20 when they posted a .645 mark.
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Sullivan’s pedigree would elicit instant respect from a rebuilding team that is starving for the next step. The Flyers have gone five consecutive seasons without a playoff berth, matching the franchise’s longest drought.
The 57-year-old would also check off the box of teacher. He has a Stanley Cup ring with the 2014-15 Blackhawks as a player development coach.
There’s a connection to Briere, as well. The two were teammates with the Coyotes for four seasons.
Why Sullivan would not be a fit
There’s always a concern about a team’s new hire being too similar to its previous coach.
That’s a possibility here. Sullivan was an assistant coach under John Tortorella with the Lightning, Rangers and Canucks. The Flyers fired Tortorella a little over a month ago. Sullivan has a sternness to him like Tortorella, a demanding style of playing the game the right way.
Briere appreciated how the old-school Tortorella laid a foundation of accountability. However, the GM did express the desire for the next coach to strike a balance between hard and lenient.
“Now it’s finding a coach that can take it to another level,” Briere said, “but at the same time, maybe give a little bit more freedom to the players to try things and to let their talent come out.”
While Sullivan wants structure, he does seem to allow for leash. Star players have succeeded under him because of it.
It’s also fair to wonder if Sullivan benefited greatly from Pittsburgh’s established stars, a talent level the Flyers simply don’t have right now. But it would be difficult to argue that Sullivan got the most out of his players and made them better.
He should have options for picking his next stop. Seven clubs are currently looking for a new head coach.
