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List of Pittsburgh Penguins head coaches

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Michel Therrien was the Penguins' head coach from 2005 to 2009.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are an American professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL). The franchise was established as one of six new franchises of the 1967 NHL expansion.[1] Since their foundation, the Penguins had played their home games at the Civic Arena, which was replaced by the Consol Energy Center in 2010.[2] The franchise is co-owned by Ronald Burkle and Mario Lemieux—the only player/owner in the NHL's modern era.[3] According to Forbes, the Penguins were the 11th most valuable NHL franchise, at US$222 million, in 2009.[4]

There have been 22 head coaches for the Penguins franchise.[5] The franchise's first head coach was Red Sullivan, former New York Rangers captain and coach.[6] Sullivan was replaced by future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Red Kelly, after two seasons. Kelly was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player,[7] and head coaches Craig Patrick, Bob Johnson, Scotty Bowman, and Herb Brooks were inducted as builders.[8] Eddie Johnston—who along with Patrick and Ken Schinkel served two tenures as head coach—leads Penguins' coaches in games coached. Bob Johnson led the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup victory in 1991, but was forced to retire due to health problems after the season—he died later that year.[9] Bowman succeeded Johnson and coached the team to its second Stanley Cup victory the following season. Michel Therrien won the Prince of Wales Trophy, as Eastern Conference champion, during the 2007–08 season.[10] Therrien was replaced the following season by Dan Bylsma.[11] Bylsma would lead the Penguins to their third Stanley Cup championship that same season. Bylsma was fired after the 2013–14 season and replaced by Mike Johnston.[12] Johnston was fired during the 2015–16 season and replaced by Mike Sullivan,[13] who led the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017. Sullivan ultimately departed the Penguins on April 28, 2025, following three consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.[14]

Key

[edit]
Scotty Bowman was the Penguins' head coach from 1991 to 1993
# Number of coaches
Term Years spent as coach
Games Games coached
W Wins
L Losses
T Ties
OTL Overtime/shootout losses[a]
Win% Winning percentage
PG Playoff games coached
PW Playoff wins
PL Playoff losses
PWin% Playoff winning percentage
* Spent entire NHL head coaching career with the Penguins
* or † Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame († denotes induction as a builder, * denotes induction as a player)

Coaches

[edit]

Note: Statistics are correct through the 2024–25 season.

# Name[b] Term[c] Games W L T OTL Win% PG PW PL PWin% Achievements Ref
1 George "Red" Sullivan 1967–1969 150 47 79 24 — .393 — — — — [15]
2 Red Kelly* 1969–1973 274 90 132 52 — .423 14 6 8 .429 [16]
3 Ken Schinkel 1973–1974,
1976–1977		 203 83 92 28 — .478 — — — — [17]
4 Marc Boileau 1974–1976 151 66 61 24 — .517 9 5 4 .555 [18]
5 Johnny Wilson 1977–1980 240 91 105 44 — .471 12 4 8 .333 [19]
6 Eddie Johnston 1980–1983,
1993–1997		 516 232 224 60 — .508 46 22 24 .478 [20]
7 Lou Angotti 1983–1984 80 16 58 6 — .232 — — — — [21]
8 Bob Berry 1984–1987 240 88 127 25 — .419 — — — — [22]
9 Pierre Creamer 1987–1988 80 36 35 9 — .506 — — — — [23]
10 Gene Ubriaco 1988–1989 106 50 47 9 — .514 11 7 4 .636 [24]
11 Craig Patrick† 1989–1990,[d]
1997[e]		 74 29 36 9 — .453 5 1 4 .200 [25]
12 Bob Johnson† 1990–1991 80 41 33 6 — .550 24 16 8 .667 Stanley Cup champions (1991) [26]
13 Scotty Bowman 1991–1993 164 95 53 16 — .628 33 23 10 .696 Presidents' Trophy (1993)
Stanley Cup champions (1992)		 [27]
14 Kevin Constantine 1997–1999 189 86 67 35 4 .511 19 8 11 .421 [28]
15 Herb Brooks† 1999–2000 57 29 24 5 2 .570 11 6 5 .545 [29]
16 Ivan Hlinka† 2000–2001 86 42 32 9 3 .558 18 9 9 .500 [30]
17 Rick Kehoe 2001–2003 160 55 81 14 10 .419 — — — — [31]
18 Ed Olczyk 2003–2005 113 31 64 14 4 .274 — — — — [32]
19 Michel Therrien 2005–2009[f] 272 135 105 — 32 .502 25 15 10 .600 Prince of Wales Trophy (2008) [33]
20 Dan Bylsma 2009–2014 401 252 117 — 32 .670 78 43 35 .551 Stanley Cup champions (2009)
Jack Adams Award (2011)		 [34][35]
21 Mike Johnston 2014–2015[g] 110 58 37 — 15 .595 5 1 4 .200 [36][37]
22 Mike Sullivan 2015–2025 753 409 255 — 89 .602 82 44 38 .537 Stanley Cup champions (2016, 2017) [38][37]

Notes and references

[edit]
  • a Beginning with the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted a shootout for regular season games that remained tied after a five-minute overtime period, which prevented ties.[39]
  • b Head coaches with multiple terms are counted once; figures are career totals. For a specific order of the coaches see the Footnotes section.
  • c Each year is linked to an article about that particular NHL season.
  • d Gene Ubriaco served as the Penguins' head coach to begin the 1989–90 season; the team began with a 10–14–2 record.[40] On December 5, 1989, Craig Patrick replaced Ubriaco as an interim head coach.[5][41] Under Patrick, the team went 22–26–6 and did not qualify for the playoffs.[40]
  • e After starting the 1996–97 season with a record of 31–26–5,[42] the Penguins went 1–8 in nine consecutive games in February and March 1997.[41] Coach Eddie Johnston was replaced by Craig Patrick, under whom the team finished the season 7–10–3 and lost in the first round of the playoffs four games to one.[42]
  • f Michel Therrien coached the Penguins to a 27–25–5 record to start the 2008–09 season, at which point he was replaced by Dan Bylsma.[11]
  • g Mike Johnston coached the Penguins to a 15–10–3 record to start the 2015–16 season, at which point he was replaced by Mike Sullivan.[37]
General
  • "Pittsburgh Penguins coaches". General Managers & Coaches. PittsburghPenguins.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  • "Pittsburgh Penguins". History. CBS Sports. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
Notes
  1. ^ Cooper, Bruce C. (1994). Michael L. LaBlanc (ed.). Professional Sports Team Histories: Hockey. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Inc. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-8103-8862-8.
  2. ^ "Consol Energy Center". PittsburghPenguins.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  3. ^ "Front Office". Executive Staff. PittsburghPenguins.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  4. ^ "NHL Team Valuations". Forbes.com. November 11, 2009. Archived from the original on November 14, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "General Managers and Coaches". Coaches. PittsburghPenguins.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  6. ^ O'Brien, Jim (1994). Penguin Profiles. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: James P. O'Brien - Publishing. pp. 242–44. ISBN 0-916114-16-3.
  7. ^ "Red Kelly Playing Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  8. ^ "Builders". The Legends. Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  9. ^ "Bob Johnson Biography". The Legends. Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 29, 2004. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  10. ^ "Eastern Finals: Game Five recap". Pittsburgh Penguins. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
  11. ^ a b Molinari, Dave (February 15, 2009). "Therrien fired, Blysma in as Penguins' interim head coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  12. ^ "Penguins pluck WHL's Johnston to be coach". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  13. ^ "Mike Sullivan Named Head Coach of Pittsburgh Penguins". penguins.nhl.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  14. ^ "Penguins and Head Coach Mike Sullivan Agree to Part Ways". www.nhl.com. April 28, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  15. ^ "Red Sullivan Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  16. ^ "Red Kelly Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 30, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  17. ^ "Ken Schinkel Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  18. ^ "Marc Boileau Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  19. ^ "Johnny Wilson Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  20. ^ "Eddie Johnston Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on September 4, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  21. ^ "Lou Angotti Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  22. ^ "Bob Berry Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  23. ^ "Pierre Creamer Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  24. ^ "Gene Ubriaco Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  25. ^ "Craig Patrick Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  26. ^ "Bob Johnson Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  27. ^ "Scotty Bowman Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  28. ^ "Kevin Constantine Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  29. ^ "Herb Brooks Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  30. ^ "Ivan Hlinka Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  31. ^ "Rick Kehoe Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  32. ^ "Ed Olczyk Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  33. ^ "Michel Therrien Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 30, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
  34. ^ Molinari, Dave (February 15, 2009). "Therrien fired, Bylsma in as Penguins' interim head coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  35. ^ "Dan Bylsma Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  36. ^ "Mike Johnston Coaching Record, Awards and Honors". Hockey-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  37. ^ a b c "Penguins fire Johnston, name Sullivan coach". nhl.com. NHL. Archived from the original on December 13, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  38. ^ "Mike Sullivan Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  39. ^ "Official Rules" (PDF). NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  40. ^ a b "1989-90 Pittsburgh Penguins". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  41. ^ a b "Penguins' Fire Johnston; Patrick Is Interim Coach". The New York Times. March 4, 1997. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  42. ^ a b "1996-97 Pittsburgh Penguins". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2009.

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