USA Hockey has named Mike Sullivan, known for leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to two Stanley Cup wins, as the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
On February 2, the NHL and NHLPA announced the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off event. Set to take place from February 12-20, 2025, the event will feature NHL players from the United States., Canada, Finland, and Sweden competing internationally. The tournament will include a round-robin preliminary round, and the top two teams will progress to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.
Sullivan has a lengthy history with USA Hockey, having been linked to the organization for nearly five decades. First representing the 1988 U.S. National Junior Team at the IIHF World Junior Championship, he would later play for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the IIHF Men’s World Championship in 1997. Sullivan contributed to various national teams, most recently as an assistant coach for the U.S. team in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto, Ontario. He was assistant coach for the 2006 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team during the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Later, he led the 2007 U.S. Men’s National Team at the IIHF Men’s World Championship in Moscow and Mytischi, Russia. He also served as an assistant coach for the 2008 U.S. Men’s National Team during the IIHF Men’s World Championship in Quebec City, Quebec.
Sullivan began his coaching tenure in the 2002-03 season as the head coach of the AHL’s Providence Bruins immediately after retiring as a player. Leading the team for a single season, he guided the Bruins to an impressive 41-17-9-4 record, culminating in a division championship. He led the NHL’s Boston Bruins for the next two seasons (2003-04/2005-06) and secured the Northeast Division title in his debut season.
In 2007, Sullivan served as an NHL assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning (2007-09), New York Rangers (2009-13), and Vancouver Canucks (2013-14) before taking on the role of a player development coach with the Chicago Blackhawks (2014-15).
During the 2015-16 season, he took on the role of head coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins. On December 12, 2015, he transitioned to head coach for Pittsburgh, leading them to a Stanley Cup win against the San Jose Sharks. The next season, Sullivan led the Penguins to another Stanley Cup victory, winning the series against the Nashville Predators, 4-2. The Penguins achieved a milestone by becoming the first NHL team to secure back-to-back championships since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings. Sullivan has accumulated a regular-season record of 445-275-115 throughout his 11 seasons as an NHL head coach, including the past nine with Pittsburgh.
Sullivan was originally designated to lead the team at the 2022 Winter Olympics. However, with the NHL withdrawing from the Olympics due to COVID-19, David Quinn, the former head coach of the New York Rangers, was selected to take his place.
The teams involved in the 4 Nations Face-Off are expected to announce the initial six players on their rosters at the start of the summer. Each team will consist of 23 NHL players (20 skaters, and three goalies) before finalizing their full rosters later in the year.
The 2026 Olympic Winter Games are set to take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6-22, 2026.
