Penguins hire Rangers assistant Dan Muse to replace Mike Sullivan as coach

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Penguins hire Rangers assistant Dan Muse to replace Mike Sullivan as coach

2025-06-05 09:29 Last Updated At：09:30

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 without 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.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

The Golden Globes are tonight. Here's what to look for and how to watch and stream the show

The Golden Globes bill themselves as Hollywood’s booziest bash. This year, is anyone ready to party?

Political tension and industrywide uncertainty are the prevailing moods heading into Sunday night's 83rd Golden Globes. Hollywood is coming off a disappointing box-office year and now anxiously awaits the fate of one of its most storied studios, Warner Bros.

A celebratory mood might be even more elusive given that the wide majority of the performers and filmmakers congregating at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, oppose the policies of President Donald Trump. Likely to be on the minds of many attendees: the recent U.S. involvement in Venezuela and the fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother Renee Good in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But through their ups and downs, the Globes have always tried to put pomp over politics. Host Nikki Glaser has vowed as much.

“You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying ‘Venezuela,’” Glaser told The Associated Press earlier in the week, referring to her comedy-club warm-ups. “People aren’t getting the news like we all are.”

Glaser, a comic known for her roast appearances, has promised to go after A-listers in her second time hosting.

“We’re going to hit Leo,” Glaser said. “The icebergs are coming.”

Here’s what to look for at this year’s Globes:

The Golden Globes kick off at 8 p.m. EST on CBS while streaming live for Paramount+ premium subscribers. E!’s red carpet coverage begins at 6 p.m. EST.

The Associated Press will be have a livestream show beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern with a mix of stars' arrivals, fashion shots and celebrity interviews. It will be available on YouTube and APNews.

The overwhelming Oscar favorite “One Battle After Another” comes in with a leading nine nominations. It’s competing in the Globes’ musical or comedy category, which means the drama side might be more competitive. There, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” are all in the mix.

But thus far, “One Battle After Another” has cleaned up just about everywhere. Much of Paul Thomas Anderson’s cast is nominated, including DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Benicio Del Toro.

If it and “Sinners” take home the two biggest prizes, it will be a banner night for Warner Bros. even as its future hangs in the balance. The studio has agreed to be acquired by Netflix is a deal worth $82.7 billion. Movie theaters have warned such a result would be “a direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theaters around the world.”

The merger awaits regulatory approval, while Paramount Skydance is still trying to convince Warner shareholders to accept its rival offer.

After an audacious promotional tour for “Marty Supreme,” Timothée Chalamet is poised to win his first Globe in five nominations. In best actor, comedy or musical, he’ll have to beat DiCaprio, a three-time Globe winner, and Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”).

In best actress, comedy or musical, Rose Byrne is the favorite for her performance in the not especially funny A24 indie “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” One prominent nominee in the category, Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked: For Good”), won’t be attending due to her schedule in the West End production “Dracula.”

Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”) is the clear front-runner in best actress, drama. In the star-studded best actor, drama, category, the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) may win over Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”) and Joel Edgerton (“Train Dreams”).

In the supporting categories, Teyana Taylor and Stellan Skarsgård come in the favorites.

The Globes, formerly presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have no overlap or direct correlation with the Academy Awards. After being sold in 2023 to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media, the Globes are voted on by around 400 people. The Oscars are voted on by more than 10,500 professionals.

But in the fluctuating undulations of awards season, a good speech at the Globes can really boost an Oscar campaign. Last year, that seemed to be the case for Demi Moore, who won for “The Substance” and gave the night's most emotional speech. Mikey Madison (“Anora”), however, scored the upset win at the Oscars.

A few potentially good moments this year went instead in a Golden Eve ceremony earlier this week. There, the Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett honorees, Helen Mirren and Sarah Jessica Parker, accepted their awards.

One to watch, if he wins, will be the Iranian director Jafar Panahi. His revenge drama “It Was Just an Accident” is up for four awards. Panahi has spent most of his career making films clandestinely, without approval of authorities, and was until recently banned from leaving the country. Last month, he was sentenced to a year in prison, which would be only his latest stint behind bars if Panahi returns home to serve it. This week, protests over Iran’s ailing economy have spread throughout the country in a new test to Iran's leaders.

For the first time, the Globes are trotting out a new podcast category. The nominees are: “Armchair Expert,” “Call Her Daddy,” “Good Hang With Amy Poehler,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “SmartLess” and “Up First.”

In TV, HBO Max’s “The White Lotus” — another potential big winner for Warner Bros. — leads with six nominations. Netflix’s “Adolescence” comes in with five nods.

But the most closely watched nominee might be “The Studio.” The first season of Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire memorably included an episode devoted to drama around a night at the Globes. (Sample line: “I remember when the red carpet of the Golden Globes actually stood for something.”) “The Studio” is up for three awards, giving three chances for life to imitate art.

For more coverage of this year’s Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards