On Day 9 of president and general manager Chris Drury’s hunt for a new head coach of the Rangers, Mike Sullivan’s departure from the Penguins changed everything. The “eyes wide open” coaching search that Drury said he wouldn’t have any “preset dispositions” on suddenly turned into immediately targeting and aggressively pursuing one specific coach.

Sullivan replaces Peter Laviolette, who was fired after the Rangers missed the playoffs following a trip to the Eastern Conference final last year.

The New York Rangers have not had much luck when it comes to their head coaches in recent seasons. In his first season with the franchise in 2021-2022, Gerard Gallant took the Blueshirts to the Eastern Conference Finals,