Sullivan was a Rangers assistant under John Tortorella from 2009 to '13, a span that included Drury's final two seasons as captain.

New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury finally has his guy. Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette were always meant to be here for a good time, not a long time. Mike Sullivan is the head coach for whom Drury has been in a holding pattern ever since he became the Rangers' president and GM in 2021.

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.