Mike Sullivan sends message to Rangers: ‘Talent alone doesn’t win, you’ve got to become a team’
In the week since he was named the 38th coach in New York Rangers history, Mike Sullivan’s been on the phone a lot, speaking with almost every player on the roster. Part of that is a chance for each side to get to know each other. There’s also the opportunity for the new coach to deliver an important message, one that Rangers players probably are going to hear a lot when training camp commences in the fall.
“My message … is that talent alone doesn’t win. You’ve got to become a team. You can’t score your way to championships. You’ve got to be able to defend and keep it out of your net,” Sullivan told MSG Network after his introductory press conference Thursday. “If you’re committed and you value those things, then you give yourself a chance.”
Sullivan referenced several times the talented rosters he had in his 10 seasons coaching the Pittsburgh Penguins. That group, led by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, won consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, but missed the playoffs the past three seasons and hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018.
Thus, Sullivan knows first-hand that it’s not just who has the most talent that wins in the end.
“We had some successes there during my time, and I have that experience to draw on, what that experience looks like, and I hope to bring that to this group in New York,” Sullivan explained during the presser. “We also had disappointments. It’s hard to win in this league. It takes more than talent, and you know that group we had in Pittsburgh had a whole lot of talent, and we experienced both sides.
“The Stanley Cup is, for all intents and purposes, anybody’s trophy. You’ve got to go out and earn it. … As I say to the players all the time, nothing is inevitable in this game, you have to go out and earn it every day. And that’s what we are going to do. And that’s what the expectation is going to be. We’re going to earn it every day through our actions.”
Considering effort and work ethic were not exactly hallmarks of the 2023-24 Rangers, that message appears to be spot on. Especially for a Rangers team that still has quite a bit of talent and includes core players who fueled runs to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024.
In fact, Sullivan noted in his opening remarks that the talent on the Rangers roster is a big part of what makes this opportunity so appealing to him.
“My familiarity with the roster and the core group of players that have played here over the last number of years, having been on an opposing team’s bench playing against the Rangers inside the division all of these years, I’ve grown a ton of respect for the players that are in that room and the talent that they have,” Sullivan stated. “To have the opportunity to work with a group like that certainly excites me.”
Mike Sullivan hopes to ‘inspire’ Rangers best players this coming season
Words are one thing. Actions and results are another, of course.
Sullivan has strong beliefs and is a two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach. But the Penguins were an even sloppier defensive team than the Rangers this season. Like he said, there were successes and disappointments during his Penguins tenure.
The Rangers struggled mightily on defense in 2024-25, especially in their own end under Peter Laviolette’s man-on-man system. It’s a major reason they missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, doing so just one year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy.
Sullivan will need buy-in from the entire roster — and per his message, that includes offensive stalwarts like Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere.
Sullivan said he believes the Rangers have a “fair amount of leadership … character” in the room. And he pointed out that the four Rangers he coached at the 4 Nations Face-Off with Team USA — Adam Fox, Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider — are “fierce competitors” who have an “insatiable appetite to win.”
“I think there’s a burden of responsibility that comes with being a top player on a team,” he explained. “When players embrace that it gives them the chance to be at their very best. I watched that first-hand with some of the guys I coached in Pittsburgh, no one personifies it more than Sid [Crosby].
“So, my hope is that I can have some conversations with some of the top players and the core guys here in New York and challenge them in ways that will hopefully inspire them to be their best.”
More About:New York Rangers News