WILMINGTON, Mass. — It’s not often a coach goes nine years between head-coaching jobs, but that was the case for new Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan.
Sullivan served as head coach of the Boston Bruins for the two seasons surrounding the 2004-05 lockout, then spent nearly a decade as either an NHL assistant, player development coach or, most recently, head coach in the American Hockey League before taking over for the fired Mike Johnston in Pittsburgh this past weekend.
Center Patrice Bergeron is the only holdover from Sullivan’s time in Boston, and he said he was excited to hear his former coach had been given a second chance.
“He’s a great coach, and it’s well-deserved, I think,” Bergeron said after Tuesday’s Bruins practice at Ristuccia Arena. “It’s taken a long time for him, but at the same time, he’s gotten some experience over the years, and that probably makes him a better coach now.”
Bergeron, whom the Bruins drafted 45th overall in 2003, make his professional debut during Sullivan’s first season behind an NHL bench. The future Selke Trophy winner was just 18 years old at the time, and he remains appreciative of the opportunity the coach gave him.
“I’m really happy for him,” said Bergeron, whose Bruins host Sullivan’s Penguins on Wednesday at TD Garden. “I had a great experience with him. He’s the one that gave me my chance. As a rookie coming in, second-round pick, a lot of coaches could have just sent me back to juniors and not even given me a shot, and he did. He gave me some exhibition games to prove myself, and I’ll always be thankful for that.”
Bergeron repaid Sullivan for his faith by scoring 16 goals and notching 23 assists as a rookie. The Bruins won the Northeast Division that season and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before ultimately bowing out to the Claude Julien-coached Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs.
“For me as a young kid, he was always really positive,” Bergeron said. “I think that was the main thing with him. I had a few stretches during that year as a rookie (where) I was going dry a bit and not playing as well, and he would meet with me, but always in a positive way where I could learn from it and grow from it. It’s really the one thing that always stood to me: the confidence that he had in his players and how much he believed in us as his players. You want to play for a guy like that.”
But while Bergeron’s career in Boston took off following his promising debut campaign, Sullivan’s did not. The Bruins crashed and burned after the lockout, and a last-place finish in 2005-06 cost the Marshfield, Mass., native his job.
But now, after close to 10 years in the background, Sullivan is back in the spotlight, looking to lead an underachieving Pittsburgh squad back to prominence.
“I always thought he deserved it, and I’m happy he got his chance,” Bergeron said. “Sometimes it takes longer than expected, but the same result happens at the end of the day.”
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
