Penguins Tab Rangers Assistant to Replace Mike Sullivan As Coach

The 42-year-old has experience at multiple levels of the game.

Dan Muse (right) talks with John Hynes during a 2020 Predators game. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

After a decade under Mike Sullivan, the Pittsburgh Penguins are thinking outside the box for their next coaching hire.

The Penguins are naming New York Rangers assistant Dan Muse their next head coach, they announced Wednesday morning. Muse, 42, comes to Pittsburgh with no head coaching experience—though he has been an NHL assistant for nearly a decade.

"During this process, we met with many candidates who we felt would have been a fit as the next head coach of the Penguins, but ultimately, Dan Muse stood out as the best choice," general manager Kyle Dubas said in a team statement. "What separated Dan was his ability to develop players, win at all levels where he has been a head coach and his consistent success coaching special teams in the NHL."

The hire follows a 34-36-12 campaign for Pittsburgh—the team's lowest point percentage since 2006. That finish hastened Sullivan's April 28 exit; he was named the Rangers' head coach shortly thereafter.

Muse worked for the Nashville Predators from 2017 to '20 in addition to New York, and has also worked at the collegiate, junior and international levels.

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