PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to navigate their way through the twilight of the Sidney Crosby era to the dawn of whatever comes next.
It’s a transition general manager Kyle Dubas has repeatedly said will not be easy, or particularly quick, and would require a coach who can connect with veterans while simultaneously developing young talent.
Enter Dan Muse, who has spent the last two decades dabbling in the former and excelling in the latter.
Dubas hired the 42-year-old Muse as Pittsburgh’s coach on Wednesday, tasking the former New York Rangers assistant with helping the Penguins find their way back to relevance after three straight springs spent with their noses pressed to the glass while the Stanley Cup playoffs went on with them.
Muse replaces Mike Sullivan, who split with Pittsburgh in April after a nearly decade-long tenure that included back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. The Rangers scooped up Sullivan in early May.
Sullivan’s departure was amicable. He even took out a billboard in Pittsburgh last week thanking the city. In New York, Sullivan will find a more experienced roster ready to win now.
That won’t be the case for Muse in Pittsburgh. The seventh of the eight coaching vacancies filled this offseason — Muse’s hiring leaves the Boston Bruins as the only club still searching — is walking into a job that will require patience, prodding and maybe a bit of politicking to thrive.
Dubas said the team met with “many candidates” before deciding on Muse, who has spent the last half-decade as an assistant at the NHL level. Muse also has a track record as a cultivator of talent and served as the head coach of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program from 2020-23.
“What separated Dan was his ability to develop players, win at all levels where he has been a head coach and his consistent success coaching special teams in the NHL,” Dubas said. “From his success in developing college and junior players, to his impactful work with veteran players during his time in the NHL, Dan has shown a proven ability to connect with players at all stages of their careers and help them to reach their potential.”
Muse has been part of coaching staffs that have won titles at multiple levels. He was an assistant at Yale when the Bulldogs claimed the NCAA championship in 2013. He served as the head coach for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League — the top junior league in the U.S. — when the Steel captured the Clark Cup in 2017 and helped the U.S. under-18 and under-20 teams win world titles.
When Muse reached the NHL in 2017 with Nashville, he oversaw a penalty-kill unit that was among the league’s best. He produced similar results when he took over a similar role with the Rangers in 2023.
“His overall body of work, attention to detail and vision for our group showed us that he is the best coach to take our team forward,” Dubas said.
The list of players Muse has worked with during his time at USA Hockey includes forward Rutger McGroarty, a 21-year-old now considered the top prospect in the Penguins’ system.
Muse’s job will be to find a way to mesh McGroarty and the rest of what likely will be a substantial youth movement with a team that for now remains defined by franchise icons Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Crosby signed an extension last fall that could keep him in Pittsburgh for two more seasons. Letang is signed through 2028. Malkin, who turns 39 in August, is about to enter the final season of his contract, with retirement perhaps not far behind.
Dubas has long known this day was coming and has spent a significant chunk of the last 16 months stockpiling draft picks. The Penguins have 30 selections over the next three drafts, including 18 over the first three rounds, though Dubas is likely to turn some of those selections into packages designed to acquire NHL-ready players.
While Pittsburgh should have a little more room under the salary cap to fill out the roster, Dubas is focused on trying to build something sustainable for the long haul rather than a quick fix.
Muse will inherit a team that has serious questions in net, where Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic struggled last season, and is in urgent need of depth scoring to complement Crosby and linemates Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell.
The last time the Penguins hired a coach without NHL head coaching experience, Mike Johnston was fired just over two months into his second season. He was replaced by Sullivan, whose fiery persona — along with significant help from heady moves made by then-general manager Jim Rutherford — made Pittsburgh the first team in nearly 20 years to win consecutive Cups.
Sullivan’s mandate was clear: Wake the Penguins up. Muse’s is, too: Help the franchise successfully navigate the bridge from one generation to the next.
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