PITTSBURGH — One of two things will happen tonight at TD Garden in Boston.
If Team USA wins the 4 Nations Face-Off, toppling mighty Canada for a second time in five days, Mike Sullivan will have enjoyed one of his finest hours as a hockey coach, guiding the Americans to arguably the second biggest victory in their history. Sullivan can add quite a nugget to a potentially Hall of Fame resume, and he can do it in his hometown, in the building where the Bruins (who fired him once upon a time) play their home games.
If Team Canada wins, we can assume Sidney Crosby will play a prominent role. As sure as the sun sets in the west, Crosby was born for games like tonight’s. Even while playing with one healthy arm, and even though he’s the tournament’s oldest player in what is an increasingly young person’s sport, Crosby’s greatness has still been an undeniable storyline. He leads the tournament in points. He leads the tournament in poignant moments. If Canada wins, the MVP might be his. His legend is already safe, but producing another memorable moment in a Canadian triumph will only enhance it.
It’s fascinating that we are witnessing Crosby versus Sullivan this week because, truthfully, neither would be where he is without the other.
Crosby would still be among the greatest players in history if Sullivan never came along, of course. But let’s not forget that the Penguins were a floundering bunch in 2015, having gone six straight postseasons without winning a championship despite boasting arguably the NHL’s best roster in many of those seasons. Then along came Sullivan.
Six months later, the Penguins were champions. They did it again 12 months later.
Unlike most superstars, Crosby likes being coached. He craves it. He routinely walks into Sullivan’s office when he’s displeased with his game and asks to watch video with the coach, hoping to absorb advice. He’d probably never say it, but I believe Sullivan is the only head coach Crosby has ever completely trusted.
Of course, Sullivan is deeply indebted to Crosby, too.
Sullivan was fired by the Bruins in 2006 because of one bad season. For the next decade, he failed to land another NHL head coaching gig, settling for assistant coaching roles in Tampa Bay, New York and Vancouver. Then he went to Chicago and served as a player development coach. And then it was onto Wilkes-Barre to coach the Penguins’ AHL affiliate. It was a long, hard road. He finally made his way back to the NHL as a head coach, and when he did, he inherited prime Crosby.
Sullivan had never won a playoff series as a player or as a head coach. He won nine straight upon joining the Penguins. Crosby had a little something to do with that.
You can’t write about Sullivan’s history without mentioning Crosby, nor can you write about Crosby’s without mentioning Sullivan. At the risk of sounding dramatic, they saved each other to some extent. And now they will meet in what might be the most discussed hockey game in more than a decade.
When I think of the relationship between the coach and the iconic player, I immediately drift to 2017. The Penguins were locked in a tight series against the pesky Ottawa Senators in the 2017 Eastern Conference finals. Up 3-2 in the series, the exhausted Penguins lost a tight battle to the Senators in Game 6. In the minutes following that game, Sullivan did something he never does. He walked into the locker room while the media availability session was still taking place. He wanted to speak with his captain. Crosby was in the corner of the locker room, deep in conversation with Matt Cullen. Sullivan summoned him.
Crosby walked toward Sullivan, who asked him if he thought the Penguins should practice on their off day before Game 7. Sullivan very clearly wanted to conduct a practice. Coaches always do. Crosby looked at him and shook his head no. The Penguins were gassed and Crosby knew it.
“Day off,” Crosby said.
Sullivan, standing with his hands on his hips, thought about it for a few seconds.
“OK,” he said while nodding his head.
They didn’t practice. And they won Game 7 in a double-overtime classic on their way to their second Cup together.
Crosby and Sullivan discuss strategy during a timeout in 2022. (Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)
Crosby and Sullivan are now 10 months shy of being together for 10 years, something that simply doesn’t happen in this era of hockey. Coaches come and go. But Sullivan is in Pittsburgh to stay, whether his detractors like it or not. Sullivan remains in Pittsburgh because Fenway Sports Group believes in him, and because Kyle Dubas believes in him. His record speaks for itself, even though it can’t be denied that the Penguins haven’t won a playoff series in almost seven years.
More than any other reason, though, Sullivan remains in Pittsburgh because of his bond with Crosby. The captain doesn’t want to play for any other coach. To Sullivan’s credit, he wants to stay in Pittsburgh for the duration. He wants to be running the show when the Penguins are good again.
Last summer, the New Jersey Devils wanted Sullivan to be their head coach. It wasn’t a particularly well-guarded secret. The Devils are young and loaded with talent. Newark is much closer to Sullivan’s native Boston, where he could be closer to his children and grandchildren. It would have been a perfectly understandable move.
He wasn’t interested, though. His loyalty is to the Penguins and, more to the point, to Crosby.
It’s not often that Crosby and Sullivan are on opposite sides, but it’s happened before. A great trivia question: Who was the opposing head coach on the night Crosby scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 8, 2005? It was Sullivan, while he was coaching the Bruins.
From the very beginning, there’s been a little bit of magic in the air when they’re in the same building. On the night Sullivan was hired as Penguins coach in 2015, he was tired and walked through the streets of downtown Pittsburgh, looking for a restaurant for dinner. He finally settled on Butcher and the Rye and walked inside. The first person he saw sitting at a table was Crosby. They talked for a long time that night, and a very real connection was created.
Maybe they were brought together by circumstance, or maybe it was the cosmos. They are linked forever in hockey history.
That will be the case again tonight in Boston. One will win, one will lose. I assure you the immense respect between the two men will be evident in the aftermath. They will shake hands and the loser will be happy for the winner. Some bonds exceed first place or second place, and exceed patriotism.
I haven’t a clue which team will win. All I know is that we’ll all be watching. I know this much, too: Crosby and Sullivan will both be better equipped to handle this stage because of one another.
(Top photo of Sidney Crosby and Mike Sullivan during the 2016 Stanley Cup Final: Dave Sandford / NHLI via Getty Images)
