An Argument About The Rangers' Hire Of Mike Sullivan

Yahoo

07-05-2025

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If nothing else, the Rangers' Mike Sullivan hire is controversial, to say the least.
Giving huge $ to a guy who missed the playoffs for three straight years – and one who's oh-for-six years when it comes to playoff series wins seems daffy to say the least.
Yet there are others who believe that Sullivan is made for the Rangers; and that's that.
One of those Sullivan supporters is my Florida buddy Al Greenberg. He states his case here; and, line by line, I disagree with him. Let me know who you think wins this argument. (We start with Al's points; each followed by my rebuttal:)
EXCLUSIVE: A Ringing Endorsement of Mike Sullivan From A Penguins Reporter
EXCLUSIVE: A Ringing Endorsement of Mike Sullivan From A Penguins Reporter The hire of Mike Sullivan as the latest Blueshirt coach has inspired all kinds of speculation in Rangerville.
"Sullivan is an excellent coach with an excellent record. As with most new coaches to the team he will be a fresh voice and will help in the short term. A familiar pattern. He worked with superstars and fragile stars in Pittsburgh and knew how to handle them."
(The Maven rebuts: Sully was a good coach when Sidney Crosby and Geno Malkin were in their prime. That's ancient history. He could coach a loaded team but when the Penguins slipped a bit, Sullivan fell on his nose.)
"He will be fine with Mika & Co and he'll also use the youngsters better. Rempe will be taught and used correctly. Maybe he can even make a star out of Lafreniere, as should have happened years ago."
(The Maven rebuts: "Mika was spoiled rotten by Peter Laviolette; for example, he was given power play time after Z failed over and over again. Sully won't have the nerve to limit Z to five minutes or punish him by not playing him until he waives his no-trade clause. I'll believe he'll make a better player out of Rempe – but only when I see it. And that goes for Lafrenière.)
"The Rangers are not in a rebuild so Sullivan has his work cut out. The fans and bosses will want to see a winner right away."
(The Maven rebuts: The Rangers don't know whether they're in a rebuild, or what they are in at the moment. Chris Drury heads a confused general staff. It would like to dump the core failures and that includes Kreider, and the rest of the malingerers who couldn't – or wouldn't – play for Laviolette. The "No-Trade" clause kills all hope of instant rebuild.)
"Dolan and Drury like to dish out crazy money. These long term contracts never age well. Dunno the details of Lavvy or Gallant but they're probably still being paid. Money is no object to Dolan."
(The Maven AGREES: Big Al has told me time and again that "long contracts never age well." So true! But if Moneybags Dolan doesn't care, then the same mistakes will continue to be made.)
"Four of the last five Rangers' coaches were retreads. Alain Vigneault got them a President's Trophy and trip to the finals but was eventually sent on his way.
"Gallant & Lavvy had momentary success but lost either the team or management. In Gallant's case I suspect it was the latter. And, Tortorella was, well, Tortorella! They need a younger voice who can relate better to young players.
"The best example is Spencer Carbury in Washington. In two seasons he took the Caps from non-playoff to the playoffs to first in Conference, and he dealt with Ovechkin, the biggest superstar of all."
(The Maven Rebuts: Drury had a young, successful stud in Kris Knoblauch who coached the Rangers' farm team in Hartford. He should have been the fresh face hired instead of tired Laviolette. It was a huge Drury mistake as Knoblauch is now proving with his Edmonton Oilers.)
"I hope Drury can get Sullivan what he needs and no more very public acts of poor judgement such as the Goodrow, Trouba, Kreider moves."
(The Maven Rebuts: Don't bet on it, Pal. "Poor Judgement" is part of the Blueshirts' culture!)