Mike Sullivan very much understands the makeup of the New York Rangers roster. But that doesn’t mean the new Rangers coach plans to stick with one specific style of play that caters to the plethora of high-end talent the team has.
So, sure, Artemi Panarin and Co. will have freedom to do their thing and be creative. Remember, Sullivan coached the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He gets it.
But Sullivan also helped the Penguins win two Stanley Cup championships by making sure they weren’t an easy team to play against nor a one-trick pony, so to speak.