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The Pittsburgh Penguins have found their new head coach. After two seasons behind the New York Rangers bench as an assistant, Dan Muse will be the 23rd bench boss in franchise history, the team announced on Wednesday.
“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,” said Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas in the official release.
“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.”
Muse, 42, will replace Mike Sullivan behind the bench; it's his first time as a head coach at the National Hockey League level. Muse heads from the Big Apple to Pennsylvania, while Sullivan goes from Pittsburgh to New York.
“Additionally, his leadership of special teams units at the NHL level in both Nashville and New York produced elite results consistently,” Dubas said of Muse. “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. We're excited to welcome Dan, and his family, to the city of Pittsburgh.”
Before his stint with the Rangers, Muse was an assistant under Peter Laviolette with the Nashville Predators from 2017-20. He spent three years coaching the USA Hockey's National Team Development Program before heading to New York in 2023.
Penguins hoping Dan Muse will help turn things around
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It's certainly an interesting hire for Dubas and the front office, going from a seasoned NHL veteran to one with no experience as a head coach. But it's clear Dubas has a ton of faith in the former Rangers assistant.
It's been a brutal couple of years for the Penguins, who have missed out on back-to-back-to-back postseasons for the first time in the Sidney Crosby era.
Pittsburgh finished 34-36-12 in 2024-25, a full 11 points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference. After advancing to the dance for 16 consecutive years previous, it's been a long three campaigns in Pennsylvania.
It'll be interesting to see if Muse can get the most out of an aging roster, and help lead the franchise back to legitimate Stanley Cup contention in the twilight of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang's careers.
After the hire, the Boston Bruins are the only team in the NHL without a permanent head coach. This offseason, Lane Lambert was hired by the Seattle Kraken, Jeff Blashill by the Chicago Blackhawks, Rick Tocchet by the Philadelphia Flyers, Adam Foote by the Vancouver Canucks, Joel Quenneville by the Anaheim Ducks and Sullivan by the Rangers.
