Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has Stanley Cup traits, but can he do it again?
NASHVILLE — When Phil Bourque was a player with the Pittsburgh Penguins years ago, he concluded that the best coaches always had three attributes that separated them from their peers.
“Respect, fear and love,” Bourque told Paste BN Sports. “It isn’t 33 and a third (percent) of each, but all the great coaches have some element of those three.”
Mike Sullivan brings all three of those emotions to the rink today, and that is why he has been the perfect coach for the Penguins.
Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford has received praise for the many trades he has made to put this team one win away from clinching back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Game 6 of the Cup Final against the Nashville Predators is Sunday night (8 p.m. ET) on NBC.
But Rutherford's best managerial decision may have been to fire coach Mike Johnston, someone he hired, and replace him with Sullivan on Dec. 15, 2015.
It’s not easy for a GM to admit he made a mistake in a coach hiring, but Rutherford understood that the Penguins needed a coach with the right skill set.
When you have a team with two of the world’s marquee players in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, plus other stars, you need a coach with a commanding presence. Stars have a powerful presence, and it takes another strong personality to coach them.
MORE NHL:
You need a coach who is not afraid to order a player to walk on water and have the persuasive power to make the player believe he can.
“(Sullivan) has a presence about him,” said Bourque, who is a radio analyst for the Penguins. “Whether it’s the tone of his voice, or the way he carries himself, or that he has a confidence without arrogance, when he walks in a room you stop what you are doing.”
The fact that Sullivan, 49, logged 709 games as an NHL role player gives him added credibility. When he asks players to sweat the small details, they know he did exactly that to survive in the NHL from 1991 to 2002.
“He makes decisions, and even if a star player doesn’t agree with him, they respect him,” Bourque said. “He is direct with everyone. ... That’s what star players want. They want communication. They want feedback. They want a guy to hold them accountable.”
Sullivan seems to be the proper blend of tough and compassion. His strategy is modern, and his presentation is unique.
He says things like “nothing breaks down coverage better than a shot on goal.”
Simple and yet thought-provoking.
He often speaks of the Penguins playing the “right way.”
“It’s not about the details of X’s and O’s,” Sullivan said. “It's about mindset, it's about resilience. It's about a competitive nature that defines this group.”
The Penguins follow Sullivan because they relate to him. Over the past 14 months, the Penguins have won 31 playoff games. They stand on the verge of becoming the first Stanley Cup champion to repeat in 19 years.
Asked what he will say tonight before Game 6, Sullivan said, “They also understand that nothing has been accomplished."
Another of Sullivan’s strengths is that he knows when he doesn’t need to say much. He has empowered his stars, particularly Crosby, to take command of the team when the time is right.
“We trust our leadership and these guys understand it,” Sullivan said.