You don't have to look up Mike Sullivan's won-lost record to establish his credentials as a coach.
You could just look at his hands.
In theory, anyway, because if Sullivan were so inclined -- which he almost certainly never is -- he could adorn both ring fingers with a piece of gaudy jewelry he picked up for his work behind the Penguins' bench.
Although the Penguins have had some legendary coaches -- guys like Scotty Bowman, Bob Johnson and Herb Brooks -- Sullivan is the only one to earn two Stanley Cup rings with them. (Johnson, Bowman and Dan Bylsma have one each.)
What's more, in a sport where coaches sometimes have the shelf life of a ripe banana, Sullivan's work in 2020-21, when he guided the Penguins to an East Division championship despite losing 258 man-games to injury and illness, is compelling evidence that his players have not even thought about tuning him out yet, even though he's been on the job since December, 2015.
His performance during the regular season figures to translate to considerable support for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the NHL's top coach, as chosen by the league's broadcasters.
Conversely, after winning his first nine playoff series with the Penguins, Sullivan has lost the past four, matching the longest such streak in franchise history.
The Penguins' past two postseason appearances were sabotaged by subpar goaltending, and while Sullivan had no real option but to stick with Tristan Jarry in the just-completed series against the New York Islanders, his loyalty to Matt Murray a year ago put the Penguins into a hole from which they could not escape.
While Ron Hextall has been unflinchingly supportive of Sullivan and his staff since taking over as GM, Sullivan was hired by Jim Rutherford, and Hextall wouldn't be the first GM who made a coaching change to bring in his own guy.
Ultimately, though, Hextall must determine whether Sullivan, whose contract runs through the 2023-24 season, is the right guy to lead the Penguins in whatever direction Hextall determines they should go, beginning this fall.
YOUR TURN: Should Hextall consider a coaching change and, if so, who should he pursue?
