The first day of the Rangers’ offseason came and went without the news that the fate of the coaching staff would move forward.
There was a strong belief that head coach Peter Laviolet would not survive the disaster that was in the 2024-25 season.
There was nothing about the issue from Bruce Hart on Friday, but several coaches around the NHL addressed their status with current teams that could affect the organization’s search if LaViolet was eventually released from his duties.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury and longtime Penguin head coach Mike Sullivan have existing relationships.
Not only were they alumni at Boston University, they were also US teammates at the 1997 World Championships. Drury also played under Sullivan, who was the Rangers’ assistant.
They reunited in a four-nation showdown in the NHL with Team USA, with Sullivan serving as head coach and Drury as assistant general manager for Bill Guerin.
If Sullivan was available in May 2023 when Drury was about to replace Gerard Gallant, then there’s no doubt he was the No. 1 option.
Sullivan, who signed a three-year extension with Pittsburgh in 2022, said he’s been among them that summer for a long time with the Penguins.
On Penguin’s split day on Friday, Sullivan shared similar sentiments, possibly straightening the record and avoiding offseason speculation once again.
“My intention is to be a head coach moving forward,” he told reporters.
Pittsburgh was unable to qualify for the playoffs for the third year in a row, closing out Sullivan’s 10th season with the Penguins.
The strong relationship between Sullivan and Captain Sidney Crosby is well known, so the immediate departure of the former seems unlikely.
After the Canucks endured their second exit in the playoffs last season, Rick Totchet is another bench boss currently available after missing out on the postseason completely this season.
Totchet, 61, asked if he wanted to stay in Vancouver.
“Of course I want to go back here, but there’s a process you have to go through, right?” Totchet told reporters Friday. “I’m not breathing all year round. I was in four countries on my vacation. [as an assistant coach for Team Canada]. They are trying to lead this team into the playoffs and deal with everything. So I’m not really thinking about myself. I know people don’t believe it. Certainly, you say at night, “Hey, what am I going to do?” you think of those thoughts. I don’t think I respect both sides that you need to breathe in and you have to go through the process. You have to. The next question is, “Well, how long do you need?”
“I’m not a fool. I can’t sit on the couch. I decide when to decide. So there’s obviously a time frame. But for me now, there’s a process I go through. [president and hockey operations] Gym [Rutherford] and [general manager] Patrick [Allvin]. It really is there. ”
