Rangers HC Faces Emotional First Test

The season opener is more than just an opportunity to start off on the right foot for the New York Rangers head coach.

Sep 23, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan looks on during the first period of a preseason game against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers open their regular season against the Pittsburgh Penguins. For Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan, the season opener is more than just an opportunity to start off on the right foot. It’s an emotional test, as he battles the team where he established his excellence as a coach in the NHL.

Now with the Rangers, Sullivan became an elite coach during his nine-year tenure as the head coach of the Penguins. Two Stanley Cups with the Pens later, he’s now charged with returning the Rangers to Stanley Cup glory for the first time since 1994. He can begin that journey with a win over his former team, something that Sully expects to be a bittersweet kind of experience.

”I'm sure there will be a lot of mixed emotions,” he said. “The relationships that I built with those guys were strong. We had the privilege of winning a couple of championships together, and I think when you go through experiences like that it certainly galvanizes relationships that last a lifetime.”

Dec 5, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan (middle) talks to defenseman Kris Letang (58) and center Sidney Crosby (87) during a time-out against the New York Rangers in the first period at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

New Place, Same Task

The Rangers are in a very similar and simultaneously drastically different situation than the Penguins were when Sullivan took over in Pittsburgh. The similarities are too glaring to ignore. The Rangers are in a pergatory of their own making after rising to the near top of the NHL and then falling out of the playoff race over the past few seasons. The Penguins were spiraling in the years before Sullivan’s arrival, looking like a glimpse of the 2009 Stanley Cup team that still had the same core players.

Sully breathed new life into the Penguins and its star core, and that’s the hope the Rangers are hanging on going into this season. In Pittsburgh it was Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, and now he must reinvigorate the likes of JT Miller. Artemi Panarin, Alexis Lafreniere, Adam Fox and superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin.

The new bench boss in New York is now focused on the task ahead. He can certainly draw on his experience and the lessons he learned in Pittsburgh, but it’s a whole new chapter of Sullivan’s career.

“What I will tell you is my focus will be on the Rangers and doing our very best to set this group up for success,” he said ahead of the contest.

That all starts with an emotional first test and opportunity for Sullivan and the Rangers. Going up against the organization that launched him into the top tier of coaches in the NHL, he has the chance to get two points and begin this next chapter in the ideal way.

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