This wasn’t exactly how Mike Sullivan expected his first year with the New York Rangers to go. As the Blueshirts close out the 2025-26 NHL season with a 34-39-9 record, the two-time Stanley Cup-winning head coach voiced an honest statement.
“(My emotions) are mixed right now,” Sullivan said after the Rangers’ 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, via NHL.com. “Obviously, we’re not in the position that we had hoped to be or where we want to be. From that standpoint, we’re all disappointed and we all have to take ownership for it, myself included.”
The Rangers have few silver linings to find. If there even is one, it might be Mika Zibanejad’s performance. The Swede closed out his strong NHL season with a two-point night against the Lightning. Zibanejad earned double honors as the Rangers’ best player, but it might still not be enough for Sullivan to take anything positive away from this disheartening campaign. Perhaps the beacon of hope lies in the up-and-coming youth on Broadway.
Rangers finish last for the first time
The Rangers went through ups and downs—mostly downs—in the 2025–26 NHL campaign. As a result, the Blueshirts finished last in the Eastern Conference during Sullivan’s first year in Manhattan.
Mike Sullivan during his introduction as NY Rangers head coach
Since the NHL adopted a conference system, the Rangers had never finished at the bottom. There’s always a first for everything, and Sullivan learned that quickly in The Big Apple.
Sullivan’s worst season
Sullivan may have been spoiled to start his head coaching career. In his first two seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, he won back-to-back Stanley Cups. Since then, his teams have been on a downward trend. With the Rangers, Sullivan just recorded the worst record of his career in a single season.
Sullivan’s Penguins finished 34–36–12 (80 points) in 2024–25, just barely surpassing New York’s 34–39–9 (77 points) mark in 2025–26. Needless to say, coming off consecutive rough years, Sullivan knows he has much work to do.
The Rangers must help him out, but he also has to take a look in the mirror. As Sullivan admitted in his final postgame availability of the season, he isn’t shying away from the responsibility.
SurveyHow would you grade Sullivan's first year in New York?
How would you grade Sullivan's first year in New York?
ALREADY VOTED 0 PEOPLE
