He’s not the same as the old boss (sorry to disappoint Roger Daltrey). Though to be fair, he may be similar to one of the old bosses, but more on that in a moment. As the sun came up Friday morning, a new chapter in New York Rangers history began. Not long after the work day started the club announced Mike Sullivan would be the 38th head coach in club history. Sullivan was dismissed by the Penguins earlier this week, and so Chris Drury’s “wide ranging search” went out the window. The Blueshirts made it their mission to bring the Marshfield Mass native back to Broadway, just in case you forgot that they drafted him in 1987 and he served as an assistant from 09-13.

Since we last saw “Sully” under the pin wheel ceiling, he’s been very busy. He took over behind the bench in Pittsburgh in 2015 after brief stops in Vancouver and Chicago, and the rest was history. Two years and two Cups later, Sullivan had fully revived the Penguins dynasty. That arrival in 2015 was just the beginning of what would be a very successful ten year run in the Steel City. Over that decade he racked up 409 wins and multiple playoff trips. While there had been some diminishing returns, he remained well respected amongst the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh.

Of course many will ask “why was he available?” And while the question may be fair on the surface there in context it’s a far less damning answer. Sullivan’s Penguins roster has gone as far as it can, with most of its bed rock players, Sidney Crosby included, nearing the end of the line. GM Kyle Dubas, working his second season for the Penguins, is looking to put his own stamp on this team, so it really felt like a matter of time. He wasn’t without his faults in Pittsburgh but what coach isn’t when their time is up.

Sullivan was a head coach once before, as he had a stint with the Bruins, which ended on a sour note with the Jacobs family. That apparently played a part in him blowing them off this time around and focusing solely on the Rangers. He did a lot of learning under Torts from 09-13, something he has talked about amidst his long running relationship with the former Ranger bench boss, which has seen them work together with USA hockey. That relationship even fed rumors that Tortorella would join Sullivan’s staff, but those have been shut down.

The challenge before Coach 38 is not a small one. He is tasked with reviving a contention window for a team that quit on their coach, front office, fans and each other. Conquering that will call upon his best instincts as a coach, as he is said to be a top notch manager of personalities and ego’s. Accountability will be the aim, and the hopeful solution to the toxicity of the Ranger room.

Aside from the personnel management the bigger question revolves around what he’ll ask of this group, and how he’ll deploy them. Defending will be a requirement, not just as pairs, but as complete five man units. That may sound simple and rather baseline to you, but given his track record and previous tutelage, if you don’t defend, you’ll sit. This team needs a recommitment to those values and more, after all their good habits left their game last year.

When it comes to deployment, Sullivan is a believer in four solid lines, and he will give his role players license to contribute in all capacities. Look no further than his famed HBK (Hagelin, Bonino, Kessel) line, from the Pens back to back cup runs. Lets caveat this by saying it’s a true blessing to be able to play Phil Kessel on line three, but the real credit was bringing the best of his two way game to the fold and blending him with two grinders in Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin. This combined with his inclination to use his bottom six guys to kill penalties rather than his to players leads to a better distribution of minutes, something the Rangers haven’t done in years as they rolled their big guns at all times. Redeployment of this group, whomever it is comprised of, can also bring the best in guys asked to play an exorbitant amount of minutes by keeping them fresher.

The added benefit to Sullivan getting the gig now is that he and GM Chris Drury will have a head start on the retool about to take place. Like it or not, Drury is here to stay as GM, at least through the next two years it seems. He has a deeper personal relationship with Sullivan, than his last two hires, as the two BU grads have worked together in several roles over the years. It’s imperative they work together to address the issues that plagued this team, and to find solutions in a hurry. There are so many difficult decisions to make here, one’s that require some real cut throat thinking from those in charge. “Sully” brings an air of legitimacy to this operation now, and that will hopefully prove to be infectious for the front office.

Is there a lot of work to be in Ranger land? Yes absolutely, but I look forward to Sullivans introductory press conference, to hear from the man himself. It’s exciting to see the Rangers get their man, and hopefully he won’t be their last this summer. All in all, it was a pretty awesome Friday in New York sports. We woke up to the Knicks in round two, the Rangers hiring a top end coach for a five year deal, and to top it off a pair of baseball wins Friday evening, one of which yours truly was in attendance for.

Until next time everyone, stay locked in for more NYC sports and NYR coverage! On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!