Pittsburgh Penguins Hire Former Rangers Assistant Coach
The Penguins have announced they have hired Dan Muse as the 23rd head coach in the franchise's history. The 42-year-old Muse comes from the New York Rangers, where he spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach. Prior to the Rangers, he was an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators from 2017 to 2020. Penguins President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas made the following statement in a press release, "During this process, we met with many candidates who we felt would have been a fit as the next head coach of the Penguins, but ultimately, Dan Muse stood out as the best choice. 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. 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."
Along with experience at the NHL level, Muse has won championships at multiple levels, including the NCAA, USHL, IIHF U18, and U20. Muse has also spent a lot of time with USA Hockey, acting as head coach at the National Team Development Program from 2020 to 2023. In 2023, he led the team to a gold medal at the 2023 World Under-18 Championship. That year, the team set a program record of 16 wins over NCAA opponents during the regular season. Most of the focus and speculation have been around Washington assistant Mitch Love and Los Angeles assistant DJ Smith, but it looks like late in the process that Muse has come towards the top.
On April 28th, the Penguins announced that the team and Mike Sullivan had agreed to part ways after nine seasons. Sullivan left the team as the winningest coach with 409 regular-season wins, as well as being the bench boss for back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017. Sullivan was relieved of his duties there in April after Pittsburgh failed to make the playoffs for a third straight season. Just days later, Sullivan was hired as the head coach of the New York Rangers. Fans may be surprised at the hiring of Dan Muse over other candidates who received more focus and speculation in the media. However, his experience with development shows the Penguins have hope in a new generation of talent. It is important to note that in the 2024-25 season, Pittsburgh’s eight highest point-makers were all at least 29 years old. This hiring shows the Penguins are preparing for a rebuild, especially with 15 members of the 2024-25 roster being 25 years old and younger.
