Penguins Practice: The Locker Room is Changing; Sullivan Chokes Up

CRANBERRY — For the first time in weeks, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a full roster at practice. Erik Karlsson couldn’t help but tease fellow Swedish defenseman Marcus Petterson during rush drills, and coach Mike Sullivan let the boys play 3v3 overtime style.

Yes, the Penguins practiced 3v3 OT, and Sidney Crosby netted at least one goal.

The biggest takeaway from spending even a few seconds in the Penguins locker room following practice is the dramatic changes afoot within the Penguins locker room structure. No, the building isn’t changing, and the carpet remains the same with a giant logo in the middle, which one dares not tread upon. The mood around the UPMC Lemieux Facility has a much different tenor and tone than a week ago when the team was rocked by abysmal, lopsided losses that threatened to wipe out their season at the quarter mark.

But that’s not the larger point, either. A few wins in a row would make even the hardest curmudgeon smile.

The winds of change that have not necessarily changed the structure of the Penguins roster have indeed changed the tone of the locker room. It’s purely a personal observation, but it was inescapable as rookie defenseman Owen Pickering lept from his locker stall, skates still on his feet, to interrupt Philip Tomasino’s interview with questions of his own.

It’s Pickering and Cody Glass chirping each other because they’re both Winnipeg natives, and Glass has the carefree personality to joke around with various media folks about shoes or TV choices.

The Penguins are indeed changing, and the social structure no longer seems to center on the championship three. In fact, the most established veterans seem to complement the emerging locker room environment rather than being the centers of it.

Leadership

And then there were four.

There are just four players remaining with a Penguins Stanley Cup ring. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust are the last men standing with the diamond-encrusted jewelry sporting a Penguins logo.

That leadership has helped greatly in the early stages of the Penguins’ on-ice turnaround. Last week, coach Mike Sullivan worked to inflate the Penguins’ confidence but also used his booming voice to tersely drill home some instructions the team was ignoring.

“Every year calls for different situations and different aspects of how (coaches) go about things and how (they’ve) got to approach guys. But no, I don’t think anything’s any different,” Bryan Rust said in downplaying some of Sullivan’s practice yelling. “I think those guys work extremely hard to get the best out of us and try and get their messages across and get us on the same page as fast as they can. Obviously, we went through a stretch there where I don’t think anybody was happy. I just think that we were all trying to hold each other accountable and trying to grow.”

Sullivan’s commandeering practice last Tuesday was only the public portion of the course correction.

The leaders have been speaking off the ice. And more players are becoming involved in the conversations.

“I’m not sure (if there was a singular spark). I think over the last week or two, there have been a lot more hockey-based conversations. I think when things are going well, you may not need those and you may not have to really think about hockey outside of the meetings and games and practices and all that stuff,” said Rust. “But I think when things aren’t going well, sometimes you got to think about it a little bit more and you got to kind of focus a little bit more and talk things out a little more. I thought the last couple of weeks were just kind of random conversations; a lot more of those were about hiring. And I think that kind of helped guys get on the same page and help guys kind of focus on what they needed to focus on.

Other players confirmed Rust’s account. The Penguins are pushing forward and upward. Sullivan couldn’t help but note the involvement of the leadership

“I really am encouraged by the response the team has had. These guys are working hard. They care deeply about what’s going on here,” Sullivan said. “The players deserve a lot of credit for how hard they’ve worked and their determination to put ourselves in a playoff spot. I think a lot of that takes leadership (and) I give the leadership guys in our room a lot of credit for just trying to alter the mindset.”

Penguins Notes

Glass was unsure if he was officially a full-go because he’s still on the IR. Sullivan also straddled the line, noting that Glass was full contact, but it was just another step in his concussion recovery. Indeed, Glass fully participated in practice.

The Erie Otters practiced the UPMC Lemieux Complex on Monday. The practice included defenseman Matthew Schaefer, whom some scouting services are elevating to the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The Penguins also practiced their 3v3 overtime game.

3v3 OT practice: pic.twitter.com/pUtX43L35D

— Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) December 2, 2024

Sullivan Anniversary

On Dec. 12, 2015, former general manager Jim Rutherford made a long-anticipated coaching change, removing Mike Johnston for a relatively unknown Mike Sullivan, whose head coaching experience included two seasons with his hometown Boston Bruins a decade earlier and a few months behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins bench.

Otherwise, Sullivan had been a player, then an assistant coach under John Tortorella through multiple stops, including Tampa Bay, New York, and the duo’s ill-fated single-season stint with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Penguins promptly lost their first four games as Sullivan navigated a struggling team full of talent but also frustration and petulance. Sullivan shined as he asserted himself as the leader and changed the team’s DNA in the process.

After Sullivan arrived, the Penguins were soon no longer the squabbling, complaining, and sinking team with the most talented core in hockey since the early 1990s Penguins or 1980s Edmonton Oilers. They won the Stanley Cup that season.

And again, the next season, as an indefatigable Crosby bounced opponents’ heads off the ice and filled the net.

It’s been life-changing for Sullivan, too. The coach, who is definitely not known for his soft and cuddly side, teared up when talking about his pending 700th game and his ninth Penguins anniversary.

“Tough for me to put it into words. I mean, it’s been life-changing–this experience for me in Pittsburgh. You know, from a career standpoint, it’s been a game changer in so many ways,” Sullivan began. “And, you know, I … I am so privileged to have the opportunity to coach here in Pittsburgh. It’s a first-class organization. I’ve been through a couple of ownership groups. Both groups bring such first-class leadership to what we do here. And so, to be associated with the players that I’ve had the privilege to coach here for that length of time, I don’t take one day of it for granted. It’s it’s just been an amazing run.”

And with that, the coach’s eyes told the much larger story. For just a brief moment, he was a bit choked up.