Mike Sullivan hire by Rangers a ‘home run’: Brian Boyle

Brian Boyle has a unique perspective about the New York Rangers hiring Mike Sullivan as coach this week. So, the fact that Boyle believes the Rangers hit it out of the park with their latest coaching hire is significant.

“It’s a home run,” Boyle said on the Up in the Blue Seats podcast. “When he was relieved, or however it was his exit in Pittsburgh, I just thought to myself ‘They’re crazy. I don’t know what Pittsburgh, what they’re doing.’ There’s not many of these [coaches] in the world that can do what Mike Sullivan can do.”

Sullivan was named the 38th coach in Rangers history on Friday after spending the previous 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sullivan is the Penguins’ all-time winningest coach with 409 victories, and he guided them to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017. He also coached the Boston Bruins from 2003-06, and his 479 wins are 32nd in NHL history.

Boyle played for the Rangers early in his career when Sullivan was an assistant under John Tortorella from 2009-13. He also had the chance to play his final NHL season with the Penguins in 2021-22 when Sullivan was an established head coach.

So, he has a pretty good understanding of Sullivan, the person and the coach.

“It’s a great get for the Rangers,” Boyle said. “He’s a great person, a great man, and I’m sure has a plan and probably has communicated with several of his players on the roster right now already, trying to dive into this thing. That’s kind of the work ethic he has.

“I’m excited for him, the person that he is. He meant a lot to me in my career. and I’m sure that’s a great job for him to get in his career.”

Sullivan helped develop Boyle into a solid middle-six center after the Rangers acquired the then-24-year-old from the Los Angeles Kings in 2009. Boyle scored an NHL career-high 21 goals in 2010-11 and was an important two-way forward when the Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference Final the following season.

When they paired up again in Pittsburgh, Sullivan was a two-time Stanley Cup winner and Boyle was a respected 36-year-old who had just beaten cancer and would play the final 66 of his 871 career NHL games.

“When I came to New York and had ‘Torts,’ that was the best thing for me,” Boyle recalled. “Torts and ‘Sully’ were the only two guys behind the bench, so I leaned a lot on Sully — he certainly was not confused as the head coach but he certainly had a lot of the head coach responsibilities. Four years with him, and then had him at the back end of my career for my last year (with the Penguins), seeing all the positives he had that I loved, he still had all those qualities.”

What stands out the most about Sullivan?

“The way he handles a five-game win streak and the way he handles you winning two out of your last eight, it’s all the same approach,” Boyle stated. “The way he communicates. This is the objective today, this is what we’re going to do, here’s some video, doesn’t really ever throw a guy under the bus … he has it perfect. The peaks and valleys, they minimize when you have that sort of approach.”

Related: Mollie Walker explains why Rangers had ‘no sparkle … magic’ last season

Brian Boyle believes ‘charismatic’ Mike Sullivan is perfect coach for Rangers

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers
Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Sullivan steps into a fairly unique situation in New York. On one hand, the Rangers have a talented roster and core that’s had success in recent seasons, including winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024-25 and reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024. On the other, they’re coming off a rotten season filled with disfunction on and off the ice, and failed to make the playoffs.

One of Sullivan’s biggest strengths in Pittsburgh was building strong relationships with his star players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, having them buy in and carry his message and strategy on the ice and in the dressing room. He’ll need to do the same with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, in particular, should one or both be retained by the Rangers this summer.

By all accounts, Sullivan is a relationship builder up and down the roster and organization.

“He’s just so approachable. Maybe that’s because I’ve known him a while and knew him at such a young age, but most of the guys, even the young guys in Pittsburgh, had no issues,” Boyle explained. “He was around the room. He’s all business, but he’s not a stiff. He’s a funny guy. He’s a charismatic guy when he has to be but when it’s time to work, it’s really impressive how he handled everything he did … and he had a pretty good bus driver as a player in Sid for the last 10 years so you had to follow in line.”

Boyle understands the pressure Sullivan is under. But he also believes the players have to own their failure and collectively bounce back next season.

“It’s on them more than anything else,” Boyle said. “That was a really disappointing season they just had. Now they have this bonafide awesome hockey coach coming in — it’s your third one (in five seasons) — it’s on you guys. You better make a good impression.”

New York Post columnist Larry Brooks was on the same podcast with Boyle and said Sullivan is the right coach at the right time for a Rangers team that needs a firm, respected leader behind its bench after all the drama and chaos this past season.

“You have to be able to manage egos and you know that Sullivan has succeeded with marquee players,” Brooks stated. “If there’s a problem in the room, and I think the Rangers have for a bit had a strange sense of entitlement without having a Stanley Cup in their belt, I’m sure that Sullivan will be able to deal with whatever personality issues and whatever egos and whatever slights the Rangers think or are perceived in the Rangers room.”

The Rangers are banking serious dollars in the coming years that Boyle and Brooks are right. That Sullivan is indeed the right man for the job.

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Jim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of ... More about Jim Cerny
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