Potential Top Candidate For Bruins Coaching Gig Just Hit Market

If the Bruins limited their head coaching search to “experienced Americans born in Massachusetts whose name is on the Stanley Cup,” they’d have a pretty good pool of candidates. They could also add Mike Sullivan’s name to that list as of Monday.

Sullivan and the Penguins ended their 10-year relationship Monday, the team announced. In doing so, Sullivan, who had been the second-longest-tenured coach in the NHL, joined a market that already has some big names with a handful of big markets — including the Bruins — looking for a new bench boss.

Tying the Bruins and Sullivan together is a natural inclination. The Marshfield, Mass., native has no shortage of ties to the organization beyond being local. The Boston College High grad played his college hockey at Boston University (where he was a Beanpot hero) and went on to play 709 NHL games, including a stint with the hometown team in 1997-98.

The Bruins then gave him his start in coaching. He piloted the Providence Bruins to a stellar AHL season in 2002-03 before being elevated to the NHL team. Sullivan spent two seasons in Boston, where the B’s won the division in his rookie campaign and then missed the playoffs in 2005-06, his second season (coming out of the lockout). That cost him his job, with new general manager Peter Chiarelli replacing him upon taking over.

It worked out for Sullivan in the end, though. After some time as an assistant and a return to the AHL, he landed the Pittsburgh job midway through the 2015-16 season. He promptly won the Stanley Cup as an interim and then led the Pens to a repeat in 2016-17.

Of slightly less significance, he’s also the father-in-law of Bruins cornerstone defenseman Charlie McAvoy. Sullivan coached McAvoy at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where McAvoy was one of Team USA’s most impactful players before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

Sullivan joins Bay State natives Peter Laviolette and John Tortorella in the aforementioned group of local veteran coaches who have won the Stanley Cup. Sullivan might be the best of the bunch, and thus it wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up interviewing with Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, a former teammate, for Boston’s open gig.