Mike Sullivan Named Rangers HC, Contract Reportedly Among 'Richest' in NHL History

The New York Rangers named Mike Sullivan their new head coach on Friday.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan and Kevin Weekes first reported the sides were in advanced talks on Thursday.

The Rangers were expected to offer Sullivan "one of the richest coaching contracts in NHL history," the pair relayed.

Kaplan and Weekes additionally reported that former Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella is "a strong possibility" to join Sullivan with the Rangers.

The news comes three days after Sullivan parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins after 10 seasons and two Stanley Cups.

Sullivan will replace Peter Laviolette, who was fired on April 19 when the Rangers missed the playoffs one year after a Presidents' Trophy win and Eastern Conference Final appearance. Laviolette had one year remaining on his contract at the time.

After arriving in New York in 2023, Laviolette led the Rangers to 55 regular-season wins during his first season as head coach.

The Rangers swept the Washington Capitals in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, then clinched a six-game victory over the Carolina Hurricanes before facing elimination at the hands of the eventual champion Florida Panthers in Game 6 of the conference final.

After re-signing star goaltender Igor Shesterkin to a record-breaking contract last fall, the Rangers hoped to build on that run by making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2025.

Struggles early in the season led to roster turnover including the departures of former No. 2 pick Kaapo Kakko and team captain Jacob Trouba, as well as the acquisition of J.T. Miller.

None of those moves were enough to push Laviolette and the Rangers back into playoff contention.

"We came into this season with high expectations for ourselves. Quite simply, we failed to meet those expectations. We must all do better–myself included," Rangers general manager Chris Drury said in his April 19 statement regarding Laviolette's dismissal.

With the hiring official, Sullivan will be tasked with directing several key aspects of the Rangers' recovery from a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.

The new head coach will need to help Shesterkin, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck recover from down seasons. He will have to help find J.T. Miller's long-term fit on the roster and push Alexis Lafrenière to take the next step forward in his development. He will need to fix a power play that went from being one of the team's biggest strengths in 2024 to a liability this spring.

Those improvements will likely be expected on a relatively short timeline. Given that the Rangers were expecting to compete for a Stanley Cup in 2025, the franchise will be looking to make it back to the playoffs by the end of what could be Sullivan's first season in Manhattan.

Sullivan parted ways with the Penguins on April 28 after his team missed the playoffs for a third straight spring.

Promoted from the Penguins' AHL affiliate in late 2015, Sullivan led Pittsburgh to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 but hasn't been able to find similar playoff success with Sidney Crosby since.

Sullivan worked with Drury during the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and he was previously connected to the head coaching opening in New York when the Blueshirts were seeking a replacement for David Quinn in 2021.

The Penguins' decision to move on from Sullivan shortly after the Rangers parted ways with Laviolette allowed New York to finally focus on their preferred candidate.