Sullivan and the Penguins parted ways on April 28, after the team missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. He signed with the Rangers as their head coach on May 2.
The tribute video starts and ends with Sullivan lifting up the Stanley Cup, which he did twice during his tenure as head coach (2016, 2017). He finished his time in Pittsburgh with the most wins (409) and most games coached (753) in franchise history.
“It’s a lot different, obviously, being on the opposite side,” Sullivan said. “It’s not something that I’ve given a whole lot of thought to, quite honestly. But obviously, I’m so grateful for the opportunity that I had here and to coach the Penguins for the amount of time that I was able to do it. We had a lot of good memories, and I’m grateful for that.”
Sullivan waved to the crowd during the standing ovation but quickly got refocused on the task at hand. The Sullivan way, one might say.
-NHL.com Independent Correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report
