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Mike Sullivan to lead the red white and blue |
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Mike Sullivan has a new coaching gig. He is still a Pittsburgh Penguin. He is also now the Team USA’s head coach heading into the four nations tournament and the 2026 Olympics.
he 2025 Four Nations Face-Off is an international tournament with NHL players from the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Sweden that will be played from Feb. 12-20, 2025. The tournament will take place in two yet-to-be-named North America cities – one in the U.S. and one in Canada. The 2026 Olympic Games will be held from Feb.6-22, 2026 in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Sullivan is one of the top coaches in the league and I don’t think this is a very surprising move. He would have been the top coaching hire of the offseason had the Penguins decided to move on from him.
The one potential problem, as with any tournament(s) like this, is the roster construction. I’m a big proponent of just taking the absolute best talent possible and then figure out the roles from there as opposed to taking role players. I could see Sullivan pushing for some role players based on how things have gone with the Penguins since their last playoff series win. I’m sure Sullivan will have some input on the roster, but the general managers of the team can force the issue of talent... by only bringing players with high level talent. The talent pool is certainly deep enough for the United States now to only have high caliber players invited to have a chance at the team.
When a Mike Sullivan team is structured to play with speed and skill you have the 2016 Penguins. They were an unrelenting force on their way to an impressive Stanley cup run. When Sullivan has a top heavy team which struggles to get offensive contributions throughout the lineup his teams haven’t done much. This hire has potential to be great or an underperforming slog. Give him the proper players.
Thanks for reading!
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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