NHL coaching carousel 2025: Rangers hire former Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, Rick Tocchet leaves Canucks

With the NHL offseason being in full swing for many teams, the coaching carousel saw the New York Rangers land a new bench boss on Friday.

The Rangers have hired former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan as the 38th coach in franchise history, the team announced on Friday.

“Mike Sullivan has established himself as one of the premier head coaches in the NHL,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said in a statement. “Given his numerous accomplishments throughout his coaching career – including two Stanley Cups and leading Team USA at the international level – Mike brings a championship-level presence behind the bench. I’ve gotten to know Mike very well over the years, including as teammates in the 1997 World Championships, when he coached me as a player in New York and through our shared time working together with USA Hockey. As we began this process and Mike became an available option for us to speak with, it was immediately clear that he was the best coach to lead our team.”

Earlier this week, Sullivan parted ways with the Penguins after 10 seasons. The Penguins had qualified for the postseason in seven of those seasons, including winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

Sullivan has put together a 479-311-112 record in 917 career games as a head coach. He has served as the coach of the Boston Bruins (2003-2006) in addition to the Penguins (2015-2025). Sullivan also served as an assistant coach with the Rangers from 2009 until 2013.

Meanwhile, after the Vancouver Canucks chose not to pick up the option on Rick Tocchet’s contract for the 2025-26 season, they tried to get a new deal done, but that never materialized. Now the two sides are going their separate ways, and Tocchet released a statement on the split.

“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes the opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities in and around hockey.”

In his two-plus years with the Canucks, Tocchet led the team to an overall record of 108-65-27. In 2023-24, Vancouver won the Pacific Division and reached the second round of the playoffs with Tocchet at the helm.

The Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks have also made coaching changes since the regular season ended. There are also three teams with interim head coaches conducting full searches this offseason.

As teams fill their vacancies, keep track of all the coaching movement right here at CBS Sports.