Mike Sullivan understands that he is not above speculation about his future which also surrounds several of his players.
The fact that Pittsburgh’s Penguins have missed the playoffs for the third consecutive time on its watch is sure to amplify the chatter.
But on the first day of the penguin off -season on Friday, Sullivan clearly made his own plans by advancing with regard to his current position.
“My intentions are to be the Pittsburgh’s Penguins head coach,” Sullivan told the UPMC Lemieux sports complex while his club has completed the annual end of the season cleaning.
Sullivan, 57, has led the Penguins since December 2015.
He has just completed the first year of a three-year contract extension until 2026-2027.
Injury updates
Sullivan said the Penguins did not wait for any of their injured players to need an off -season surgery.
“We expect them to recover all in time,” he said.
Included on the list of players who started the offseason with various injuries are the attackers Tommy Novak, Matt Nieto, Noel Acciari, Boko Imama, Kevin Hayes, Blake Lizotte and Rutger McGroarty, as well as defenders Kris Letang and Po Joseph.
Released for the last three games of the season, Acciari told journalists on Friday who faced a hip injury.
The 33 -year -old man, who played his last game of the year on April 8, hopes that, via rehabilitation this summer, he can avoid surgery.
“I was facing multiple tears in the refueling / hip zone,” said Acciari. “I was just thinking at the time of the season, maybe try to stop it and let it heal and strengthen it. And be ready for next year.
“Hoping that over time, we can avoid (surgery). But if that does not heal, it is something that a little surgery could (be necessary) to solve this problem. You just have to rehabilitate themselves with training staff at the moment and try to strengthen this and avoid all of this.”
Like Acciari, an illness ended the Lizotte campaign in early April.
However, Lizotte, 27, said that a return to action could have been in the cards, if the circumstances of the Penguins were different at the moment.
“If we were in the playoffs, from a few days, I would be quite close to return,” he said. “So hope, be healthy, be eliminated and have a good off-season.”
Regarding McGroarty, Sullivan notably said that a few years old, the 21-year-old suffered an injury to the foot on April 8 compared to the Chicago Blackhawks that he could be available for the Wilkes-Barre / Calder Cup race in Scranon’s eliminatory series.
Friday, the Penguins reassured six players to the American Hockey League to this end (Wingers City Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, Valtteri Puustinen and Jona Koppanen plus defender Filip Kral) but McGroarty, still on the bend, was not among them.
McGroarty was accompanied in 2024-25 could be subordinate to the depth of the penguins of the AHL advancing in the playoffs.
That said, during his end -of -year conversation with journalists, McGroarty was not in particular a boot on his foot.
It is to be seen if he is able to join his teammates.
“Doctors have done an excellent job to establish a plan, and I have the impression that the plan is going well right now,” said McGroarty. “I would not say that I am further or that I recover in a way, but I would say that the plan is going very well at the moment.”
No specific end -of -season update was offered on Novak, which, after the trade of predators of Nashville on March 5, was limited to only two competitions in a Penguins sweater.
Hayes and Nieto also finished the season with unpertified injuries. Joseph missed the last 20 team games after undergoing an injury on March 1 against Boston Bruins.
The imama recovers from surgery to repair a biceps injury suffered on March 29. Letang has undergone surgery of the oval foramen of patents to close a small hole in his heart on March 15 and will recover for the next four to six weeks.
World championship participants
The international world championships of the international ice hockey federation (IIHF) take place for May 9 to 25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark.
With their authorized calendar, several Penguin players have come forward for the event.
Admittedly, it was noted that the construction conversations of the list have not yet been heated.
And a few players, such as the wingers Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell plus goalkeeper Tristan Jarry, await newborns with their women this month, definitely (Rust, Rakell) or likely (Jarry) excluding them.
Goalkeeper Alex Nedeljkovic, from Parma, Ohio, who represented the United States in the 2024 World Championship, was receptive.
“I was not contacted or something like that,” he said. “It is always a privilege to represent your country at any level. We will see. The phone is open. But I heard nothing. ”
Defender Matt Grzelcyk, from Charlestown, Mass., Expressed similar feelings.
“I haven’t heard,” he said. “Something that I would be definitely open. Playing on this scene would be incredible.”
Defender Erik Karlsson favors being healthy during the offseason, but keeps the door open to appear in the tournament mainly organized by his country of origin.
Captain of Penguins Sidney Crosby is in a similar boat.
Crosby, who, with Karlsson, played in the confrontation of the 4 nations in February, holds a little before relaying a decision to the Director General of Canada, Kyle Dubas.
“I’m going to take time here and see,” said Crosby. “But I told Kyle that I will try to make it known as soon as possible.”
Justin Guerriero is a tribalic journalist covering penguins, pirates and university sports. Originally from Pittsburgh, he is a Catholic central graduate and a graduate of the University of Colorado. He joined the Trib in 2022 after cutting the Colorado buffaloes for his rivals and independent for the Denver Post. It can be attached to juererriero@triblive.com.
