Saturday morning brought some shocking news for the NHL - and Pittsburgh Penguins fans in particular - as the Pens announced that head coach Mike Johnston and assistant coach Gary Agnew had been relieved of their duties.
Mike Sullivan, in his first season as head coach of the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, will take over behind the bench for Pittsburgh.
"I felt it was time for a coaching change because our team has underachieved," Penguins GM Jim Rutherford said in a statement announcing the move. "Our expectations are much higher with this group of players.
"Mike Sullivan has been a head coach and an assistant coach in the NHL and we've been very fortunate to have him with our AHL club this season. He's done an outstanding job in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and he's ready to step in."
Johnston took over the Pens just prior to the 2014-15 season. The team underachieved that year, finishing 43-27-12 and losing in the first round of the NHL playoffs. This season, despite the offseason addition of Phil Kessel, things for Johnston and a supremely talented Pens team had gotten worse.
Almost from the outset, it seemed something was amiss in Pittsburgh. Captain Sidney Crosby started abnormally slow and is still playing poorly (and has the negative body language to match), superstar Evgeni Malkin spoke harshly of the way the team was dealing with their early-season struggles via in-fighting, and rumors and reports have suggested that Johnston and Rutherford weren't seeing eye-to-eye on certain roster situations, like with recent draft pick Daniel Sprong. Defensive deficiencies continue to plague the team and despite Rutherford's reported efforts, won't be easy to fix.
Even taking into account all the issues, the Pens are 15-10-3 and very much within reach of a playoff spot.
Joining Sullivan behind the bench as he attempts to pump some life back into this stumbling Penguins team will be former Ottawa Senators head coach Jacques Martin and Rick Tocchet. They'll attempt to right the ship on a season and a team that had sky-high expectations entering the year.
Rutherford thanked Johnston and Agnew for their efforts, despite the unfortunate outcome.
"I want to thank Mike Johnston and Gary Agnew for their contributions to the Penguins," Rutherford said. "They are good hockey men, and we wish them all the best."
