New York Rangers star Mika Zibanejad reveals his true thoughts on Mike Sullivan's Hiring
Photo credit: NHLI
Mika Zibanejad has been playing in the IIHF World Championships with Sweden. But word down the wire trickles fast after the Rangers hired Mike Sullivan. We weren't sure of his reaction, but excitement is one way of describing it.
The New York Rangers are going to move past a disappointing 2024-2025 season and attempt to stay in win-now mode.
That began with the hiring of Head Coach Mike Sullivan, who has been on the opposite side of the Rangers for the past decade.
Zibanejad would discuss the hiring of Sullivan while playing in the 2025 IIHF Worlds and seemed optimistic about the team's prospects, with him leading the way.
«Obviously excited with a coach like that,» Zibanejad said, via NHL.com's Aaron Vickers. «He's had a lot of success. I had a quick phone call with him and I'm sure we'll have more calls and more conversations during the summer, obviously getting to know him.»
Sullivan is a "premier" coach in the NHL, if we're going by GM Chris Drury's words. Immediately upon his separation from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Drury aggressively pursued Sullivan to hire him.
He now brings nearly two decades of NHL coaching experience and two Stanley Cups to his name.
Sullivan knows how to deal with the big stars, like Evgenii Malkin and Sidney Crosby. Given his familiarity with JT Miller, Adam Fox, Vinnie Trocheck, and Chris Kreider, this should be smooth sailing for all involved.
The Rangers were pegged to run it back at future Stanley Cup contenders in the NHL but were unable to replicate the season they had in 2023-2024.
«It's good,» said Rangers forward Will Cuylle, via Vickers, while playing for Canada at the IIHF World Championship. «Obviously he's won. Veteran coach, been around for a while so he should be pretty smart and have a lot to teach us. I'm excited. I'm looking forward to meeting him and seeing what he can do.»
As a result, Peter Laviolette was fired after two seasons, and Mike Sullivan is here to course-correct.
Previously on NYRangersInsider
| POLL | ||
MAI 24 | 1121 ANSWERS New York Rangers star Mika Zibanejad reveals his true thoughts on Mike Sullivan's Hiring Do you think Head Coach Mike Sullivan can turn the New York Rangers into a winning team again? | ||
| Yes | 944 | 84.2 % |
| No | 177 | 15.8 % |
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