Coaching Staff[]
Current[]
Mike Sullivan[]
Boston native Mike Sullivan is the current head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was brought in to replace Mike Johnston in December 2015. Sullivan has won two Stanley Cups in his tenure with the Penguins. He has never lost a playoff series as the Penguins' bench boss.
Former[]
Rick Tocchet[]
Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1983, Rick Tocchet was a former player and assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was part of the Cup winning team in 1992 when the Penguins won the second of their first back to back championships. Tocchet returned to the Penguins as an assistant coach on 25 June 2014. Tocchet would remain in his position when then head coach Mike Johnston was fired along with Gary Agnew, also an assistant coach.
- Tocchet would grow to develop close relationships with several of the more high-profile Penguins players. He was especially close with Phil Kessel, for whom he was essentially a personal coach as Kessel's peculiarities notoriously causes friction between himself and his head coach. Tocchet acted as a buffer between Kessel and Sullivan, and would talk with Kessel on the bench constantly, as well as spending time with him away from the rink.
- Tocchet's responsibilities included the power play, which he was in charge of along with Sullivan. His influence was very prominent, and Sidney Crosby especially appreciated Tocchet's vision. They would frequently have long talks about the power play.
- Tocchet was also responsible for the forwards. A former player himself, Tocchet played with the likes of Mario Lemiuex and Wayne Gretzky, and was a skilled player in his own right. He could understand how the high-skilled players like Crosby, Kessel, and Evgeni Malkin see the ice, but also gritty enough to identify with the bottom-six players as well.
Training Staff[]
Maxim Ivanov
- Max is a well-known power skating instructor and skill development coach in both North America and Eastern Europe. Max currently works with a number of professional and amateur hockey players including Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin and former Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Prior to becoming an instructor, Max played professional hockey in Europe for seven years. [from the UPMC Lemiuex Sports Complex website]
- According to an interview with Sid and Geno, and this tweet by Shelly Anderson, Max also appeared to have helped out or helped run practices during the 2012-2013 NHL lockout.
Other Staff[]
George Birman
- Gera (George) Birman works for the Pittsburgh Penguins front office and previously served as an interpreter for Geno. Since 2009, George is also a radio host on "NHL in Russian".