To use one of Mike Sullivan’s favorite verbal crutches, he and the Penguins will both be “moving forward.”

They just won’t be doing so together.

That’s the right decision. Frankly, it’s overdue.

Kyle Dubas, the Penguins’ president of hockey operations and general manager, announced Monday that Sullivan and the team had “agreed to part ways” after a 10-year union.

“Two things can be true,” Dubas said during an afternoon news conference. “Someone could be a great head coach, and they’ll move on to become a great head coach on their next stop. And it could also be time for change here. That’s the conclusion that I come to.”

This is a move that could have been validated after the embarrassing 2019 first-round sweep at the hands of the New York Islanders.

Or it could’ve been understood after the impotent qualifying-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens during the covid playoffs of 2020.

Or it could’ve been expected after successive first-round losses to the Islanders (again) and New York Rangers the next two years — let alone after these past three seasons without even qualifying for the postseason.

From what Dubas said, it sounded like the sides began to experience a divergence in their vision for the future of the organization.

“He and I met (April 22) about where we’re at, where we’re going — the road that we see to get there, the challenges that lie ahead,” Dubas said. “I left there — and there have been a few times during the year where I felt this as well after certain stretches, or after certain games — where I started to feel that maybe it was just time.

“Someone can be a great coach, and it might be time for them to go elsewhere and reapply that.”

Dubas used an analogy: “Sometimes the class needs a new professor, and sometimes the professor needs a new class.”

Why did that epiphany occur this spring as opposed to others that began in a similar way — with the Penguins out of the playoffs and making promises about big changes?

I think the differences are a matter of timing and opportunity for Sullivan.

Head coaching vacancies exist in Sullivan’s native Boston; his former place of employment at Madison Square Garden where he was an assistant with the New York Rangers; and (likely) in Vancouver, where Jim Rutherford and numerous other former Penguins are in the front office. Some are wondering whether being a general manager with the Islanders may even be in play.

Whatever bothered Sullivan after previous early playoff exits may be less tolerable now with attractive options on the table.

I also think it was a matter of frustration. Frustration with the prospect of potentially having to start another season with Tristan Jarry in net and Ryan Graves and Erik Karlsson on defense, let alone having to deal with another season in the waning days of Evgeni Malkin’s and Kris Letang’s careers.

For his part, Dubas denied reports that Sullivan made demands to get rid of those players or anything else, for that matter.

Received word yesterday that Sullivan and the #Penguins would be parting ways. @scorindorin and I were on the same text.

Team met w/ Sullivan yesterday. Sullivan had a list of non-negotiable demands. Dubas and FSG said “thanks, but no thanks.”

— Adam Crowley (@_adamcrowley) April 28, 2025

“There were no demands last Tuesday. There were no demands (Sunday). And there were no demands in the period in between. There have never been any demands,” Dubas insisted.

OK, maybe there weren’t any demands. But how about stern requests? Or strong suggestions? Or just general discontent with decisions being made within an organization Sullivan had guided through three general managers to two Stanley Cup runs.

Breakups of this degree don’t occur just because of, well, “just because.”

Was it money? Maybe. That’s always possible.

But Sullivan had two years left on an extension that just kicked in a year ago that was believed to have roughly $11 million to $12 million left on it. Until Monday, Sullivan had always publicly received unwavering public support from Dubas and owners Fenway Sports Group.

Either that support shifted, or a coach who hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018 got a little too married for ownership’s liking to the idea that his way was the only way.

How mutual was the agreement to part ways? That’s always the discussion when something like this happens.

The answer always is, “As mutual as the disagreement over whatever conflict couldn’t be ironed out.”

To me, it just sounds like the Penguins won’t be “moving forward” as fast as Sullivan would have liked and in the ways he wanted.

So instead of moving forward, he’ll be moving on.

That’s best for everybody involved.

Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns | Top Stories