Introducing New Penguins Coach Dan Muse; Why He Got the Job & the Big Difference

PITTSBURGH  — The Pittsburgh Penguins organization understands it is in transition. There were more popular or well-known choices available to general manager Kyle Dubas as he chose the next Penguins head coach. Yet following nearly 10 years of commanding Mike Sullivan, and nearly six weeks of searching, Dubas chose unheralded Dan Muse, who was introduced via his first press conference on Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena.

Applause followed from the large family contingent in the back of the room. Muse’s entourage included his wife and four young children, but extended well beyond that.

Muse’s career has spanned coaching in New England prep school ranks, the USHL, NCAA, various levels with the US National Team Development, and five seasons as an assistant coach under Peter Laviolette in the NHL, first in Nashville and then the last two in New York.

Read More: Who is New Penguins Coach Dan Muse? What Colleagues Say About Style & the Man

Like Sullivan, Muse has a deep voice. However, the 42-year-old Muse’s differences from his predecessor were then immediately and starkly apparent, starting from his clean-shaven hairline from chin to scalp, his slender build, his hockey upbringing playing Division III hockey in Massachusetts, to entering his coaching career at the lowest levels. He has typically coached those he considered above his level.

Muse’s authenticity and humility were on display early in his introductory press conference.

“And for the record, I wasn’t a very good D3 player–just so everybody’s aware. I would not change a thing about my path. I got started playing hockey when I was 11 years old in Alabama. The game was hard for me. I loved the game, though, I loved it, from Day 1,” Muse said. “Even before I lived in Alabama, I was in California, and they didn’t have ice, and I played street hockey with my brothers. And that’s how I got to this point.

“But because it was hard for me, because I had to work really hard just to be a high school player, and then really, really hard just to be a bad Division III player, that helped me become who I am. And so I wouldn’t change any of that. That taught me about work ethic. That taught you never to quit. You don’t stop. You don’t listen to any of the outside noise. You just keep finding a way.”

Throughout the 35-minute press conference to introduce Muse, he spoke passionately, directly, but openly. And therein lies the other biggest difference with Muse. There is an obvious accessibility and willingness to communicate, even publicly. As beat reporters gathered in the hallway for a quick introduction to the coach–at his request–he spoke of being open to helping reporters deliver the stories to the fans.

While such a personality difference may not affect wins and losses, it signals a clear directional change that will at least benefit fans. It also indicates how Muse may run the locker room, or more aptly, include the locker room.

Muse has already been in contact with most of the team, from Evgeni Malkin to Sidney Crosby, but such activity would be expected of a new coach. It’s also a good sign that he was able to reach Malkin, who was recently photographed traveling with family and enjoying a Formula 1 race with boxer Jake Paul.

Coaching Philosophy

Perhaps his most expansive answer came when asked about his coaching philosophy and how much of a system he will impose upon the Penguins.

The short answer is that he isn’t ready to impose a system until the roster is complete and he has a chance to get players in their places. The longer answer was a pure coaching clinic about taking over a rebuilding team. It was immediately apparent why Dubas chose Muse.

“I believe, No. 1, it’s relationship-based in the sense that I wanna make sure to get to know each person, myself, and the coaching staff. Until you actually get to the people that you’re working with every day, I think it’s hard to truly be able to not get through to them, but to properly be able to work together with them,” said Muse. “And everybody’s different. You know, I learned that early on in my coaching career. Even before I was coaching, when I was teaching high school history, you go into a classroom and you’ve got to figure out what makes each person tick, what motivates them, how they learn, and what’s best for them.

“(Regarding the system), there are details that I want to have built in. And there are habits that I believe lead to success. So that’s kind of the foundation. And I could go on for a long time talking about all these little things … but there’s a foundation that has to be built that has nothing to do with a forechecking system or your D-Zone coverage. But once the basics are there, then we will build out.”

He does have some ideas, but those could change as Dubas and the hockey operations staff add and subtract players.

Dubas spoke little during the press conference, primarily speaking at the beginning to explain his decision that surprised many. While media and fans connected the dots between other candidates and Dubas, Muse had none. The Penguins’ stage was reserved for the rapid-fire questions to Muse, who handled them decisively with very few pauses, ummms, or uhhhs. Muse was direct and earnest.

“What stood out about Dan during the process was that he was not somebody that I knew personally going into it, but right from the first time that we met, we spoke on the phone, and then when we met over Zoom and then met in person, it became clear that he was somebody that was going to be extraordinarily well-suited to develop all of our players, not just our young players, but all of them,” said Dubas.

Later, Dubas expounded and perhaps gave a deeper reason why Muse was the guy.

“The key thing to me was that he was very adaptable. There wasn’t just one way that he wanted to be able to play, and he was very easily able to communicate the way that he would teach very different systems, which gave great comfort not only to me but to our staff that we weren’t going to be bound by having to do one specific thing,” continued Dubas. “Some of the coaches in the process had one way that they wanted to play, and that’s fine, and that goes with all sports, but Dan’s adaptability and the proof of concept with his past teams were very important to us.”

The Penguins are continuing organizational meetings this week in preparation for the 2025 NHL Draft, as well as decisions on unrestricted and restricted free agents. Many of the Penguins’ scouts and staff were also in the room on Wednesday.

“The other key component to Dan was his track record in winning with Yale and the NCAA, then going to Chicago (USHL) and winning there, helping Nashville (Predators) to have very successful seasons when he was a member of the Predators’ staff under Peter Laviolette, then going back to the U.S. Program and helping them win a gold medal in 2023, and then back to New York (Rangers) where they had a very successful season in his first year, and then the impact that he made on the penalty-killing units in his time in both Nashville and New York alike,” Dubas said.

“And then I think finally, and probably the most important, was just the character and talking to players and people and staff members that Dan has worked with. Just the way that he conducts himself, his work ethic, his intelligence, just that everything about him as we got through it and further on into the process it became clear that he was going to be a great fit to help us, to partner with us and help lead us through this transition and then back into contention with the Pittsburgh Penguins.”

As Muse pointed out when he informally chatted with reporters following the presser, everything is smooth on Day 1. There will be considerable turbulence and troubles ahead. No transition is easy, despite the best-laid plans of GMs and scouts, and not every player will be a new convert to the head coach. However, it was a very good start for the first-time NHL head coach.

Of course, handling us was the easy part. Now comes the real job.