The Pittsburgh Penguins have relieved head coach Mike Johnston of his duties. He will be replaced by Mike Sullivan.
Twenty-eight games into his sophomore season with the Penguins, Johnston, along with assistant coach Gary Agnew, were shown the door.
Penguins announce head coach Mike Johnston and assistant coach Gary Angew have been fired. Mike Sullvan promoted to head coach.
— Seth Rorabaugh (@emptynetters) December 12, 2015
Pittsburgh Penguins Coach Mike Johnston out; Mike Sullivan In
The former Portland Winterhawks head coach boasted a winning record last season (43-27-12) yet failed to advance past the first round of the post-season, as the Penguins fell to the top-seed New York Rangers.
Johnston will be succeeded by Mike Sullivan, who will have former Canadiens and Senators head coach Jacques Martin joining him behind the bench. Martin acted as special assistant to Johnston at the time of the firing. Mike Sullivan was the Boston Bruins’ head coach between 2003-2006, and was enjoying a league-leading 18 wins with Pens’ AHL team in Wilkes-Barre Scranton prior to the promotion.
Despite the Penguins’ record through twenty-eight contests (15-10-3), the supposedly high-powered Pens are currently 28th in goals-for, and in the midst of an obvious downturn. A summer trade for Phil Kessel was supposed to take the teams offense to the next level, but it has not happened, and Johnston has paid the price. General Manager Jim Rutherford thanked Johnston for his work behind the Penguins bench.
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford: “I want to thank Mike Johnston for his contribution to this team. He is a very smart and good hockey guy.”
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 12, 2015
Assistant coach Rick Tocchet survived the purge and will join Sullivan and Martin behind the bench as the Penguins take on the Washington Capitals Monday night at home at the CONSOL Energy Center.
Main Photo via Getty Images Sport/Hockey Collection
