PITTSBURGH — I'm pretty lucky to be working in an amazing sports town. I have covered some incredible coaches and managers, including six Hall of Famers. Chuck Tanner might be the nicest man I ever met in sports. Herb Brooks was a fascinating character, as are Eddie Johnston, Michel Therrien and Jim Leyland. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin won championships with the Steelers, Noll four of 'em. Tanner won a World Series with the Pirates in 1979, a lifetime ago. Badger Bob Johnson, Scotty Bowman, Dan Byslma and Mike Sullivan won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins, Sullivan twice.
I would put Sullivan right at the top of the list with Noll and Leyland as the best at what they do.
That's why I loved the midafternoon news Tuesday that Sullivan has signed a three-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season.
I think Sullivan is the NHL's best coach.
It's clear the Penguins' new ownership group feels the same way.
"He has clearly demonstrated what an effective leader he is," Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry said of Sullivan in a statement. "It's evident how well players respond to his philosophy and work ethic night after night, month after month."
The Sullivan extension is just the latest proof the new ownership group believes the window remains very much open for the Sidney Crosby-era Penguins.
So much for major changes with Henry taking over from Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle.
I'm not surprised the new owners kept on Ron Hextall to plot the franchise's future. I have much respect for his work.
Nor am I surprised Hextall believes in Sullivan. He has watched Sullivan run the team since Hextall took over as general manager from Jim Rutherford in February 2021.
But I would have bet my house Hextall wouldn't have been able to re-sign Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell as free agents after last season, all at reasonable costs. I didn't like the Malkin deal because of his age and the slippage in his game last year, but I'll defer to Sullivan, who is thrilled to keep his gang together.
"To look at what this core group of players has accomplished is amazing," Sullivan was saying early Tuesday evening from his home in Duxbury, Mass., near Boston. "But I believe — and a lot of us believe — there is more there. I believe this core group of players has elite hockey still in them. They've shown no evidence that they don't.
"These guys are driven. I look forward to the challenges with them."
It's true. The Penguins, who won the Cup in 2016 and 2017 under Sullivan, haven't won a playoff series since beating the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round in 2018. They have gone out in the first round in each of the past four years, winning just six of those 21 postseason games.
But poor coaching wasn't the reason.
Not even close, especially the past two seasons.
It's hard to blame Sullivan for the seven-game playoff loss to the New York Rangers last season despite the fact the Penguins had a 3-1 lead in the series. The team came up short because of injuries to goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith and an unfortunate elbow from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba to Crosby's head.
It's also hard to blame Sullivan for the six-game loss to the New York Islanders in 2021. How can you blame him for Jarry's meltdown in that series?
"We try to look at it objectively," Sullivan said. "At the end of the day, it's a result-oriented business. We understand that. Nobody is making excuses. We've got to find ways to win.
"But when you look at the past two playoff experiences, we felt really good about our team and our performance. We felt like we played good enough to win. We didn't. We understand that. That's hockey.
"There's such a fine line between winning and losing. Both opponents that we played went to the conference final."
Coaches in all sports often lose their locker room over time. Their shelf life expires. That seems especially true in the NHL. The Penguins, who came into the league in 1967, didn't have a coach start and finish four consecutive seasons until Byslma did it from 2009-14.
But Sullivan, who took over the team from Mike Johnston in December 2015 and will be starting his seventh full season next month as the second-longest tenured NHL coach behind Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper, doesn't appear to be growing stale. Crosby likes playing for him, which shouldn't be underestimated. Apparently, Malkin, Letang, Rust, Rakell and Jake Guentzel also like going to work every day.
"I believe it's important to build a partnership with the players," Sullivan said. "I also believe it's all about building relationships. As a head coach, if you're doing your job, you're going to have tough conversations with players. You're going to have to tell them things they don't necessarily want to hear. It's not always apple pie and ice cream, but when you build relationships with players and you get on the other side of those challenges, I believe your relationships get stronger.
"I've never been one to subscribe to the notion that coaches have shelf lives. I know that's been an old adage in the hockey world. but there are other sports where coaches have coached for decades.
"When you think about it, when you build strong relationships with people, time usually makes them stronger because it takes time to build trust. That's where I feel like we're at with my coaching staff and our players.
"I've always said the conversations that happen after you walk out of the locker room are important. You need believers. These guys are believers."
Sullivan is well down the path to the Hall of Fame. He set franchise records last season for all-time regular-season wins (297) and postseason wins (44). He is one of 19 NHL coaches to win at least two Cups. Clearly, he believes he has a legitimate shot to become just the 12th coach with three.
"No chance [two Cups are enough]," Sullivan said before heading into the Massachusetts night with his wife to celebrate a good cigar, a cold Guinness, some oysters and a little seafood. "That's what drives us all. It's part of our DNA. When you win it once and you get that taste of what that feeling is, it just makes you that much more hungry to want to do it again. It fuels that passion and that fire in your belly. I'm as driven and as motivated, as energetic and as enthusiastic as I've ever been. I can't wait to go to training camp."
I know this about Sullivan and Crosby:
I wouldn't bet against them.
