It appears that Mike Sullivan may have taken his hat out of the running for the Vancouver Canucks head coaching job before it was even open.
With Tuesday’s news that Rick Tocchet would not be returning to the Canucks for 2025-26, some may have wondered if Vancouver president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford would call up Sullivan, whom he hired in 2015 while serving as the Penguins general manager.
Sullivan, of course, parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday after steering the ship with Sidney Crosby and Co. for 10 seasons, which included two Stanley Cup victories.
But based on a conversation Rutherford had with Sullivan on Monday, it seems like a reunion between the two is unlikely at best.
“When you’re familiar with somebody, you know how they work, and there are positives and negatives,” Rutherford told reporters Tuesday.
“I know my good friend Mike Sullivan does not want to leave the East. He’s a real good family man,” he continued. “I talked to him yesterday — not about coming here. Talked to him when he left Pittsburgh, and I know he wants to stay in the East.”
Sullivan isn’t the only recently let-go head coach that Rutherford has prior experience with. Peter Laviolette, who was fired by the New York Rangers on April 19, served as Rutherford’s head coach with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2003 to 2009.
It’s another relationship that resulted in a Stanley Cup.
“As for Peter, we had some success together. I like him as a person and a coach,” Rutherford said. “Haven’t gotten that far yet, but certainly, having someone you’re familiar with helps.
“But I’m not the guy on a day-to-day basis that deals with the coach and does the day-to-day work. And that’s going to be ‘who does Patrik Allvin deal with,’ and he did not work with Peter Laviolette. So, I wouldn’t want to take him off the list at this point, but he’s had a lot of success in the league and it’s a good name.”
Rutherford did say Abbotsford Canucks AHL coach Manny Malhotra would be on the team’s short list.
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