The Pittsburgh Penguins have introduced Dan Muse will take over because the staff’s new coach.
Penguins common supervisor Kyle Dubas launched a press release on Wednesday heralding Muse — a first-time NHL head coach — as Mike Sullivan’s successor behind the Penguins’ bench. Sullivan was relieved of his duties there in April after Pittsburgh did not make the playoffs for a 3rd straight season.
“Throughout this course of, we met with many candidates who we felt would have been a match as the following head coach of the Penguins,” Dubas mentioned. “However finally, Dan Muse stood out as the only option. What separated Dan was his capability to develop gamers, win in any respect ranges the place he has been a head coach and his constant success teaching particular groups within the NHL. From his success in creating school and junior gamers, to his impactful work with veteran gamers throughout his time within the NHL, Dan has proven a confirmed capability to attach with gamers in any respect levels of their careers and assist them to achieve their potential.”
Muse, 42, was most lately an assistant coach with the New York Rangers from 2023-25, and previous to that was an assistant in Nashville from 2017-20. Earlier than making a leap to the NHL, Muse spent six years (from 2019-2015) as an assistant and eventual head coach of the Yale Bulldogs, serving to information them to an NCAA championship in 2013. He was additionally head coach of the USHL Chicago Metal from 2015-17 and delivered their franchise’s first-ever Clark Cup championship in 2016-17.
On the NHL stage, Muse’s focus has been totally on boosting particular groups. He ran the penalty kill for each the Rangers and Predators throughout his tenures with these golf equipment, with these items rating among the many league’s high 5 below his management.
Pittsburgh’s penalty kill ranked fifteenth total (77.8%) within the common season final 12 months. Dubas known as out Muse’s “elite outcomes” at bettering particular groups play in Wednesday’s launch whereas welcoming Muse to the function.
“[Muse’s] total physique of labor, consideration to element and imaginative and prescient for our group confirmed us that he’s the perfect coach to take our staff ahead,” Dubas mentioned. “We’re excited to welcome Dan, and his household, to town of Pittsburgh.”
The Penguins selecting a freshman head coach is reflective of the place the staff is at within the retooling course of. After being one of many NHL’s dominant groups for over 15 seasons — a span that included three Stanley Cup championships — the Penguins have struggled to achieve their potential in recent times.
Following a 3rd consecutive 12 months exterior the postseason image, Dubas parted methods with Sullivan, who guided Pittsburgh via its previous two title runs, as a sign of a altering of the guard.
The Penguins’ core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang stays intact for yet another season at the least, with Malkin set to develop into a free agent in 2026 and Crosby to observe in 2027.
