Mike Sullivan, Rangers to open 2025-26 NHL season against Penguins on ESPN
Mike Sullivan won’t have to wait long to be behind the New York Rangers bench and coach against his former team. Sullivan officially begins his tenure as Rangers coach Oct. 7 when they open the 2025-26 season at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden.
The game will be televised on nationally on ESPN and the puck drops on the new season at 8 p.m. ET. The Rangers opened the 2024-25 season a year ago with a 6-0 win against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
Sullivan mutually parted ways with the Penguins early this offseason and subsequently was hired by the Rangers to be the 38th coach in franchise history. He replaced Peter Laviolette, who was fired after two seasons when the Rangers failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this past season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24.
“I’m so appreciative of the opportunity that I had there,” Sullivan said about his time coaching the Penguins. “I’m grateful to everyone involved, most specifically the players there, who played extremely hard in the years that I was there.”
“Sully” spent the previous 10 seasons with the Penguins and guided them to Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, his first two seasons behind their bench. The 57-year-old is the coaching wins leader in Penguins history with a record of 409-255-89, and the 14th coach in NHL history to win 400 games with one team.
However, the Penguins missed the playoffs for the third straight season in 2024-25, and their 80 points were the fewest in any full season since Sidney Crosby’s rookie year in 2005-06. Like the Rangers, the Penguins were at or near the bottom of the League in most defensive metrics this season.
“We had some successes there during my time, and I have that experience to draw on, what that looks like,” Sullivan explained. “We also had disappointments. It’s hard to win in this league, it takes more than talent, and we had a lot of talent with that group in Pittsburgh, and we experienced both sides.”
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Reunion will take place when Rangers host Penguins on opening night
Crosby remains a staunch supporter of Sullivan, so it will be an emotional reunion of sorts — one that’ll include Penguins longtime stars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang — at the season opener for each team.
The reunion will extend beyond the Stanley Cup winners. Assistants David Quinn and Ty Hennes remain on Sullivan’s staff in New York after serving under him in Pittsburgh. And former Rangers assistant Dan Muse will be behind the Penguins bench for his first game as an NHL coach, after he was hired to replace Sullivan on June 4.
Though more roster changes could take place this summer, the Rangers will have at least one new player in the lineup opening night. Defenseman Vladisalv Gavrikov signed a seven-year, $49 million contract in NHL free agency and will be in the top four of the Rangers defense corps.
Rookie defenseman Scott Morrow and bottom-six forward Taylor Raddysh could also be newcomers in the Rangers lineup Oct. 7 against the Penguins.
Pittsburgh could have at least three new players: forward Anthony Mantha, defenseman Matt Dumba and goalie Arturs Silovs.
The complete Rangers schedule will be released on Wednesday, July 16.
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