The fate of the Penguins coaching staff remains uncertain.

General manager Kyle Dubas told The Athletic’s Rob Rossi that the Penguins have not received any official requests to talk with head coach Mike Sullivan about other league openings.

That doesn’t mean, however, that they aren’t internally discussing the fate of the other coaches on the team. According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, these conversations have “contributed to noise” about Sullivan and heightened interest in his services from other teams.

Although they haven’t made a request to speak with Sullivan, Rossi stated that the Devils are considering Sullivan as a potential successor to Linda Ruff, who was sacked in mid-season and replaced with interim coach Travis Green.

Although the Penguins have not yet made any official announcement on Sullivan’s departure, it seems like associate coach Todd Reirden, coaches Ty Hennes and Mike Vellucci, and goaltending coach Andy Chiodo may not be around much longer.

Reirden and Vellucci have either held head coaching positions in the NHL or sparked interest in such positions in the past; should Pittsburgh decide not to bring them back, they might be considered for interviews for any of the more than five open positions throughout the league. They both inked two-year contracts in 2022, which expired in 2023–2024. As of July 1, they will both be free agents from the Pens.

This summer, the Penguins have already changed their coaching staff, choosing to fire two AHL coaches, including bench boss J.D. Forrest. With a 39-24-8-1 record, a mediocre WBS team ended ninth in the AHL, so it was an unexpected decision.

For the second consecutive year, the NHL team missed the postseason despite captain Sidney Crosby’s 42 goals and 94 points. They haven’t missed the playoffs in consecutive years since they were eliminated from the postseason in 2002–2006.

If Sullivan is fired, Pittsburgh will still have to pay him an estimated $16.5 million over the course of the following three seasons because of an extension that was signed in 2022 under former general manager Ron Hextall. That is definitely a deterrent.