Sullivan Split Coming?

After their second playoff miss in three years, things are up in the air all throughout the Islanders organization, including the status of Head Coach Mike Sullivan.

Since being hired early in the 2021-22 season, the man known as 'Sully' has compiled a record of 130-78-20 on Long Island, good for a pro-rated average of 47 wins and 97 points per 82 games.

On their face those numbers are respectable enough, but hardly in line with Sullivan's reputation as an elite coach.

And now, with his contract set to expire, league insiders are reporting that there have been no talks on a contract extension between the Islanders' bench boss and GM Kyle Phillips—and it's unknown whether either side is even interested in one.

“Mike and I haven't had a chance to sit down yet, ” Phillips said Thursday during a local radio hit.  “We have a lot to discuss about how things have gone, about where we're headed, and how we view what it takes to put a successful team on the ice. 

“It's just going through the process. Everyone's very emotional when the season ends. It's not a great time to make judgments about a lot of things, especially really important, long-term things.” 

It was far from a ringing endorsement, and the longer things remain in limbo between the two sides, the louder the whispers about an inevitable split will become. 

Beyond just on-ice considerations, there is also a financial element at play; there have been rumours that Islanders ownership has grown frustrated with the lack of playoff revenue and is starting to tighten the purse strings as a result.

That in mind, there are organizational questions about whether it makes sense to invest more than $4,000,000 a year in a coach that has failed to get the best out of the obscenely talented—not to mention expensive—rosters he's had to work with.

For what it's worth, the Islanders do have an intriguing in-house option, with AHL coach Ryan Warsofsky available to be promoted after three years as skipper of the Islanders' farm affiliates, first with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and then the Toledo Walleye.

Warsofsky is viewed as a rising star in the league's coaching ranks, but has had troubles of his own, with his teams also earning a reputation as underachievers after missing the playoffs twice in the last three seasons, and bowing out in the first round the one time they did qualify.

Beyond that, it's debatable whether an Islanders team with Stanley Cup ambitions would hand the reins to a rookie coach just at the start of his EHE learning curve.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Warsofsky's AHL eligibility has expired, leaving the Islanders in a position of either promoting him or losing him completely.

The whole situation leaves a lot of questions swirling, and it will be interesting to see how things shake out when the EHE's coach free agency period opens up in a few months.