2025 Rangers Season Previews: The Coaching Staff

This article is part of an ongoing series of Rangers Season Previews, taking a close look at what we can, and should, expect from each member of the 2025-26 New York Rangers. To read other articles in this series, go here.

This season preview of a totally revamped coaching staff would typically be full of new and unfamiliar faces. Since this is the New York Rangers and nothing is ever normal: it includes a very familiar face, as well.

I would argue that this preview is the most important. Not because I am writing it (although that matters too) but because every decision, player, position, and system runs through this part of the organization. And in Mike Sullivan, the Rangers finally landed the coach with the resume to back up the hype. And as for David Quinn, well, we'll get to him too.

Previous Performance

What can you say about Mike Sullivan that we haven't already said? If you want more on him than this article, Eric and I did an extensive podcast about him and what he brings to the table when he was hired. You can listen to it here.

If you want the cliff's notes:

• Started his coaching career in Boston where he went 70-56-15-23 (yes, there were still ties in 2003). He made the playoffs once.
• Ten years as head coach in Pittsburgh, making the playoffs seven of those years. He missed the playoffs his final three years with the Penguins.
• Two-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh, sinning back-to-back in 2015-2016.
• Won 406 games with the Penguins.

There is a prevailing thought that Sullivan is one of the best coaches in the NHL, agreed upon by even those who don't root for the team that just hired him. There is another thought—much smaller in terms of volume—that Sullivan was a head coach who was buoyed by some of the most explosive firepower in the NHL in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. And while that's certainly true to an extent, if you look at the pieces that surrounded that trio I think you would see a head coach who consistently got the best out of a lackluster supporting cast. (Oh, and goalies who were held together with tape and glue sticks.)

Sullivan brings a level of respect, success, and energy the Rangers have not had in a long time. This is not hiring Gerard Gallant because he's the best guy available out of a slew of bad options. This isn't even hiring Peter Laviolette hoping he can find the same success from more than a decade before that led the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup. Sullivan is a man who is still at the height of his powers, and will be the leader behind the bench of Team USA at the Olympics this coming year.

As for David Quinn, we don't really need to talk about his previous time here in New York because he's not filling that role. But we'll get to him, don't worry.

Expectations

Sullivan is going to bring an enormous culture shift to the organization.

You're already seeing it.

J.T. Miller's ascension to captain was very simply a "this is the way we're going to play hockey and this is the man who is going to lead the troops" decision. The Rangers wearing the "No BS" shirts on their first day of camp was cute, but Miller's new role and the way Sullivan and general manager Chris Drury spoke about why it happened meant a lot more. Last year will not be tolerated again. Full stop.

Sullivan also impacts things on the ice. His system is vastly different than whatever Laviolette was trying to do (to this day I still don't know in terms of last year). He expects his forwards to press the puck and forecheck relentlessly. He wants his wings deep in the zone and pressuring the puck 200 feet. He wants energy, he wants quickness, he wants toughness.

The Rangers have not played this style of hockey in a very long time. And while this always leaves a risk with the puck coming the other way, especially if two guys are caught deep, he has the best goalie in the league to rely on to clean up those mistakes.

He's already made some big decisions in terms of the lineup as well. Mika Zibanejad will be on the wing, Alexis Lafrenière could play both sides, he expects the third line to be defensive and able to eat tough minutes, and he might be the first coach the Rangers have had in a long time that has a stable fourth line that isn't full of cannon fodder.

The defense is a different concern, but one that we still need to see how things shake out.

Which brings us to David Quinn.

I know Quinn was a disaster for the Rangers when he was last behind the bench. I get it. Sullivan loves him, and the two have a working relationship that will carry over to the Olympics beyond the Rangers' job. Look, I don't love this, either. Quinn was a horrendous developer of talent, was clearly overwhelmed when his planned system didn't work, and didn't develop anything worth remembering except a meme after Zibanejad scored five goals in a game and him yelling at an official.

But I guess the optimistic view here is he doesn't need to do any of those things anymore. In his return to New York he is simply an assistant coach who can focus on the tasks he's given in someone else's system and not have to worry about anything else. Remember that there was a time we were celebrating this Mike Sullivan being fired as an assistant coach when John Tortorella was ousted in 2013.

Predictions

I think Sullivan is going to be a major difference maker for the Rangers moving forward. Finally the Rangers have a guy with longevity. Finally the Rangers have a guy who has actually earned the ethos that they touted when they hired him.

He's not inheriting a great roster, nor is he being handed bonafide stars up front like Crosby and Malkin in their primes. He does have one of the best goalies in the league and a true superstar on defense in Adam Fox. He has J.T. Miller and Artemi Panarin, yes, but they are part of an aging core which he is going to have to manage as the season wears on.

I think another thing to keep in mind here is Sullivan is asking for a lot of change from this group. A lot of the same guys from last year's disaster are back in the fold, and a lot of the leadership group is exactly the same. The good news is the Rangers finally have a guy behind the bench that can not only demand those very same players change their tune, but has the resume and respect to get what he wants.

I have not agreed with every Mike Sullivan decision so far. I can already see the tea leaves forming for other decisions I will not love. But for the first time in a long time my favorite team is coached by a man who deserves the benefit of the doubt.

In Sullivan we trust. Far more than you might realize.