
Mike Sullivan needs to harp on one strength in this Rangers retool
NY Post
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan developed a reputation for managing egos and personalities, as well as fostering sincere relationships with his players, over his decade with the Penguins.
This trait certainly played a role in his hiring in New York last year, after the Blueshirts dismissed three head coaches in a span of just under four years.
It certainly helped secure his position as head coach of the United States men’s hockey team for both the 2022 Beijing Olympics — before the NHL ultimately pulled out — and the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
As the Rangers embark on this retooling phase, Sullivan must lean into that aspect of his coaching style.

The deal that brought Aidan Thompson to the Rangers didn’t create the ripple effects that the Artemi Panarin trade did because of who departed the organization. That was only Derrick Pouliot, a 32-year-old defenseman more than two years removed from his last NHL game. It didn’t create the waves like one for, say, Vincent Trocheck, would have because of current NHL players or draft capital the Blueshirts received in return, either.












