Headlines

  • Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain
  • Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets
  • Eleven Players Elect Salary Arbitration
  • Lyndon Byers Passes Away At 61
  • Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov
  • Mammoth Begin Extension Talks With Logan Cooley
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Pittsburgh Penguins Hire Todd Reirden, Mike Vellucci

September 2, 2020 at 10:01 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

The Pittsburgh Penguins have found a pair of names to replace the outgoing assistant coaches and both come with considerable experience. Todd Reirden and Mike Vellucci will be the new assistants for head coach Mike Sullivan, while goaltending coach Mike Buckley has also received a two-year extension. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, who recently fired Jacques Martin, Sergei Gonchar and Mark Recchi, released the following statement on the move:

I am pleased to add Todd and Mike to our coaching staff, and believe they will compliment Mike Sullivan’s coaching style. Todd is a Stanley Cup winning coach with a decade of NHL experience as both an assistant and head coach. Mike brings championship experience at both the AHL and OHL level, and is very familiar with how we function as an organization.

Reirden will be responsible for the team’s defensive group and power play unit, while Vellucci will oversee the forwards and penalty kill.

Both men come with considerable experience with the other members of the organization. Reirden, who was recently removed as head coach of the Washington Captials, spent four seasons as an assistant with the Penguins between 2010-2014. Those years followed a stint as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate.

Vellucci has that same connection, having served as head coach (and GM) of the baby-Penguins in 2019-20. That’s not where his experience with Rutherford ends, however. In fact, if you go back through Vellucci’s career in hockey, Rutherford is almost everywhere. Before he joined WBS, the 54-year old Vellucci was with the Carolina Hurricanes organization, where he served as assistant GM, head coach of the AHL affiliate and director of hockey operations. He was hired for that job just after Rutherford departed, but it was because of the long connection he had with him and then-Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos. Karmanos also owned the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL, which Rutherford oversaw and Vellucci served as head coach and GM. Even before that the two were intertwined, meaning Vellucci comes as no surprise on the bench for Pittsburgh this season.

Because of the promotion for Vellucci, the Penguins have begun a search for the next head coach of their AHL affiliate.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

AHL| Jim Rutherford| Pittsburgh Penguins

Florida Panthers Hire Blue Jackets’ Bill Zito As GM
Main
Detroit Red Wings Loan Filip Larsson To Almtuna
View Comments (5)

Comments

  1. TJECK109

    5 years ago

    Glad to see Rierdan back. Ever since Vellucci has came to Pittsburgh it seemed obvious he was going to end up in the front office or behind the bench. GMJR seems to have placed 2 guys behind the bench that could take over for Sullivan if needed

    Reply
  2. JMikes73

    5 years ago

    Don’t know much about Velluci,happy to see Reirdan back with the pens.

    Reply
  3. Gbear

    5 years ago

    Two solid coaches GMJR brought in. Good hires.

    Reply
  4. The Mistake of Giving Eugene Melnyk a Liver Transplant

    5 years ago

    Thought that Reirden would be a good fit in Florida. They need a “defenseman whisperer.” Maybe Gonchar will head to Sunrise?

    Reply
  5. 66TheNumberOfTheBest

    5 years ago

    Great hires.

    Reirden did great with our power play in his first stint here. Letang played his best hockey under him. He knows the Metro division very well. And he was part of a team that beat us in recent years and can help identify and fix the weaknesses other teams are exploiting against us.

    Velluci is interesting. This is clearly the guy Rutherford has positioned to replace Sully if he stumbles, but usually the Pens stash that guy in Wilkes Barre. Having him coach alongside Sullivan is a clear message.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain

    Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets

    Eleven Players Elect Salary Arbitration

    Lyndon Byers Passes Away At 61

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov

    Mammoth Begin Extension Talks With Logan Cooley

    Blues Pushing For Bowen Byram Trade

    Hurricanes Sign Nikolaj Ehlers To Six-Year Deal

    Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov, Claim Nick Leddy

    Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov

    Recent

    Sabres, Mammoth Elect Salary Arbitration With Bowen Byram, Jack McBain

    Maple Leafs Interested In Jack Roslovic

    Players Signed To AHL Contracts For 2025-26

    Golden Knights Re-Sign Raphael Lavoie, Jonas Rondbjerg, Cole Schwindt

    Senators Have Quietly Had A Good Summer

    Islanders Re-Sign Marc Gatcomb

    Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets

    Canadiens Sign Jakub Dobes To Two-Year Contract

    Capitals Sign Hendrix Lapierre To One-Year Deal

    Sharks Interested In Adding Top-Nine Winger

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version