VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Mike Sullivan has coached in plenty of high-stakes hockey games with the Penguins.
Has won a bunch of them, too.
But Tuesday, Sullivan admitted, will be among the more emotional things he has experienced in Pittsburgh.
While a November game against the Arizona Coyotes will never match the intensity of, say, Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final, it will feel different for Sullivan because it marks the return of good friend and former Penguins assistant Rick Tocchet.
Sullivan and Tocchet played together in Arizona and were on the same staff in Tampa. They grew even closer over the past two Cup-winning seasons before Tocchet left to become a head coach again this past summer.
“I have so much respect for him,” Sullivan said of Tocchet. “He’s a close friend. We’ve been through a lot together.
“He was a vital part of us being able to win the past two championships.”
Fifteen games into his Coyotes tenure, Tocchet has found himself on the other end of the success spectrum. Arizona’s really young and it has just two wins (2-12-1).
Nevertheless, when the puck drops Tuesday, Sullivan won’t be thinking about Arizona’s record or the rebuilding process the Coyotes are undergoing with Tocchet. Sullivan also won’t be worried about their friendship. It’ll be business as usual for both.
“I’m sure we’ll talk, have dinner or something,” Sullivan said. “Once we get to the rink and the puck drops, it’s a little different. He’s going to be concerned about his team and I’m going to be concerned about our team.
“Whatever happens, it would never change the relationship that we have or how much I value his friendship. He’s a great person. He’s so fun to be around. He’s one of the nicer guys and better people I’ve met in the game, and I’ve met a lot of nice people.”
The appreciation for what Tocchet has brought to the Penguins since he was hired the summer before the 2014-15 season doesn’t stop with Sullivan.
“He’s a very special guy, as a person and a hockey guy,” general manager Jim Rutherford said. “In one sense I’m happy for the opportunity he got. In the other sense, he was a big part of what we did here; we miss him. We’re fortunate that we had [Mark Recchi] and [Sergei Gonchar] right here, but at the same time, it’s always good to be around ‘Tocc.’ ”
That was a sentiment echoed by many players with whom Tocchet was close.
Tom Kuhnhackl got to know Tocchet extremely well as he was in and out of the lineup a bunch last season. When he found out Tocchet was leaving for Arizona, Kuhnhackl sent Tocchet a congratulatory text.
More telling, however, was when Tocchet called one of his new Coyotes players, German-born forward Tobias Rieder, and Kuhnhackl was in the same room.
Kuhnhackl, who said he isn’t able to make or receive phone calls on his U.S. phone during the summer, snatched the phone from Rieder so he could say hello to Tocchet.
“I have nothing but positive things to say about him,” Kuhnhackl said. “Obviously he will be missed here, that’s for sure. But he deserved the job. They have a young team there, but I think in a couple years they’re going to be really good.”
Bryan Rust had nothing but positive stuff to say as well.
Rust is regularly the first forward on the ice at Penguins practices and morning skates, leading on a bunch of extra time with Tocchet.
Players such as Rust, Conor Sheary, Jake Guentzel and Kuhnhackl have matured into effective pros, and working daily with Tocchet was a big part of that.
“He was talking to us all the time about how we can be better, how to be consistent in this league and be a contributor night in and night out,” Rust said. “We’re all really thankful for his services. I think it will be fun to see him on the other side.”
Sidney Crosby said he has been texting with Tocchet about what he has experienced so far with the Coyotes.
“Little bit of a tough start,” Crosby said. “You feel for him. You want him to have success.”
A little after his time with Rust, and while other players would skate laps and chat, Tocchet and Crosby would routinely work on one-timers, the assistant coach feeding pucks to Crosby in one of the circles.
“He’s always willing to go out there and work on the little things, all those extra details,” Crosby said. “I think he looked at those things and tried to help in any way he could.”
You know about Tocchet’s relationship with Phil Kessel. That got blown up last season when Tocchet and Kessel skated slowly around the Bridgestone Arena ice in Nashville on the practice day before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final, chatting about what they can do to get the power play going.
Kuhnhackl appreciated how Tocchet worked with him on wall plays and getting pucks off quick. No detail of the game was too small for Tocchet, a former player — and a very good one — who understood what it takes to win at this level.
“As a players’ coach, he was really good for all of us,” Guentzel said. “Whenever you wanted to work on something, he was always there to help. He has a ton of knowledge. Obviously glad he got a head coaching job, but we miss him, for sure.”
Such daily maintenance was not confined to players, either.
Sullivan leaned on Tocchet for suggestions on the team game and on the power play. Tocchet also handled a lot of the technology-based duties and pre-scouts.
Perhaps most important, though, was Tocchet’s ability to keep Sullivan in check, a sort of checks-and-balances system for the Penguins coaches.
Which is why Tuesday will feel different for Sullivan.
He’s happy for a good friend, but there’s no denying that Tocchet is missed.
“He’s a real good hockey mind,” Sullivan said. “He’s a team guy, too. He doesn’t care who gets the credit. He just wants to help everybody win and have success. That’s what I love about ‘Tocc.’ He’s a good friend. I wish him nothing but the best. I hope we beat them, but I wish him nothing but the best. He’s terrific.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: November 5, 2017, 11:22 p.m.