TO THE CONCRETE JUNGLE 🏙️ The @NYRangers have hired Mike Sullivan as their head coach.
Nation Sites
The Nation Network
CanucksArmy has no direct affiliation to the Vancouver Canucks, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Take Mike Sullivan and Jon Cooper off the list of names for Canucks’ next head coach

Photo credit: © James Guillory-Imagn Images
May 2, 2025, 13:00 EDTUpdated: May 2, 2025, 12:59 EDT
Take Mike Sullivan and Jon Cooper’s names off of the list of candidates to become the Vancouver Canucks’ next head coach.
Early Friday morning, the New York Rangers announced that they had hired Sullivan — who parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins last week — as their next head coach.
Later in the morning, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois shared that Jon Cooper would be returning as the Lightning’s head coach next season.
#GoBolts GM Julien BriseBois says head coach Jon Cooper will be back next season.
While neither Sullivan nor Cooper may never have been realistic options for a number of reasons — Rutherford shared earlier this week that his good friend Mike Sullivan wanted to stay out East — you can’t blame Canucks fans for dreaming that Vancouver could land one of the few “elite” NHL head coaches.
Prior to his departure from the Penguins, Sullivan was one of the NHL’s longest-tenured head coaches, having been appointed by Rutherford as the Pens’ next coach during the 2015-16 season. He held that position through this season, when the Penguins posted a 34-36-12 record. Sullivan also coached Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
For Cooper, his title of longest-tenured NHL head coach isn’t going away anytime soon. Cooper has coached the Lightning since 2013, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. The injury-riddled Lightning ran into a buzzsaw in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, falling to the Florida Panthers in five games. The Lightning have been competitive for nearly every season during Cooper’s tenure, and it comes as little surprise that the organization wants him to stick around. Cooper also coached Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he appointed Rick Tocchet as one of his assistants.
And so the search for the Canucks’ next head coach continues, with Sullivan and Cooper now off the board.
Read Next: If the Canucks couldn’t make Tocchet stay, what do they have to offer to other NHL coaching candidates?
Sponsored by bet365
Breaking News
- With NHL trade market hot leading into draft and free agency, Canucks’ front office faces its first real test
- Kraken and Blues make big offers to Jason Robertson, and he reportedly declined them both
- Using past scoring profiles to find comparables for top prospects in 2026 NHL Draft
- Canucks to hire AHL coach of the year Ryan Mougenel as NHL assistant coach: report
- Canucks’ Johnson says he won’t ask veterans to waive trade protection until he has deals in place
