Sullivan Looking Forward to Working With Reirden And Vellucci

After the Penguins opted not to renew the contracts of Jacques Martin, Mark Recchi and Sergei Gonchar, the search for new assistant coaches began immediately.
And after an extensive process, the Penguins felt strongly that Todd Reirden and Mike Vellucci are the right fits to complement Mike Sullivan and change the dynamic of the coaching staff as the team looks to get back to competing for Stanley Cups after underperforming in the playoffs the last few years.

"They're really good coaches, first and foremost," said Sullivan, who conducted the search alongside Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. "They have a wealth of experience and a lot of different capacities. They've won championships at different respective levels, so they know what it takes to win. And we felt through the interview process that these guys were a good fit for us."
Reirden, who was an assistant coach with Pittsburgh from 2010-14, rejoins the Penguins after spending the past six seasons with the Washington Capitals.
He served as head coach for the past two seasons, was an assistant coach from 2014-16 and then associate coach from 2016-18, where he helped the Capitals win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2018.
After Reirden was relieved of his coaching duties following Washington's First Round exit from the postseason, the Penguins immediately reached out to ask for permission to interview him.
"(Once that happened), they were extremely aggressive," Reirden said. "Having conversations and interviews with Mike and Jim, I just was really drawn to them in terms of their detail, their passion, their excitement for getting back to the Cup days of just a few years ago and having a new voice, but also someone that the players are familiar with and had strong relations with - especially the core group of players here."
Reirden will oversee the team's defensive group and power-play unit, which is a similar role to what he did during his first stint with Pittsburgh. He's worked closely with the Penguins' star players, most notably Kris Letang, who played some of the best hockey of his career under Reirden's tutelage.
"I think the fact that he has some established relationships with our core guys will be beneficial for us," Sullivan said. "It should make the transition more seamless."
But ultimately, the decision to bring Reirden back on board ultimately came down to the Penguins feeling extremely comfortable that he can help them win hockey games.
"He's a real good coach," Sullivan said. "He's a good teacher. He's a detailed guy, and I know how hard he works with the video. These are all areas where we think he can help us, and so I'm very much looking forward to working with Todd and building a relationship with him. I think he's going to make me a better coach and challenge me with some of his insights and his ideas, and I'm looking forward to that experience."
While Sullivan has never worked with Reirden before, he's worked with Vellucci since he joined the organization last summer as general manager and head coach of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. A big reason the Penguins wanted to bring Vellucci up to Pittsburgh is his intimate knowledge of both the system and the personnel, particularly at the prospect level.
"He knows they're at, what their strengths are, where their weaknesses may lie and how we can help them along the way," Sullivan said. "I think he has a real solid understanding of which guys are close to making the jump to the National League level. He knows their personalities, and so all of that information I think is going to be really, really helpful for us."
And Sullivan also believes that Vellucci's prior experience will be absolutely vital. Before joining the Penguins organization, he spent five seasons as the assistant general manager and director of hockey operations for the Carolina Hurricanes. Vellucci was also head coach of the Charlotte Checkers from 2017-19, where he led them to the Calder Cup championship that second season.
And then before that, Vellucci spent 14 seasons in the same dual role as general manager and head coach of the Whalers, guiding them to the Ontario Hockey League title in 2007.
"He's a guy that's had success in coaching," Sullivan said. "He has a lot of experience, and although it's not at the NHL level, we certainly feel as though his strengths will translate onto our staff. I know Mike's going to bring some fresh ideas and insights to the table. I think he's a real good fit."
Vellucci, who will work with the team's forwards and oversee the penalty kill, is thrilled for the chance to be behind an NHL bench alongside two experienced and accomplished coaches at that level.
"I'm really excited just to be a good teammate with the coaching staff and give my opinion when it's asked for, and to work with Sully and Todd and learn from them," Vellucci said.
For the time being, Sullivan said they do not plan on adding a third assistant coach.
"Right now, we're comfortable with what we have on the staff," he said. "We think we have a lot of experience. We have sufficient people to cover their responsibilities. I'm a pretty hands-on head coach, so I will be very much involved in a lot of this stuff. And right now, we're comfortable with the staff that we've assembled."