With veteran coach Mike Sullivan joining the New York Rangers as their new bench boss, attention is turning to the roster he’ll have to work with next season. And while there are some interesting similarities between the current makeup of the Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins team Sullivan took over in 2015-16,

On Day 9 of president and general manager Chris Drury’s hunt for a new head coach of the Rangers, Mike Sullivan’s departure from the Penguins changed everything. The “eyes wide open” coaching search that Drury said he wouldn’t have any “preset dispositions” on suddenly turned into immediately targeting and aggressively pursuing one specific coach.

Sullivan replaces Peter Laviolette, who was fired after the Rangers missed the playoffs following a trip to the Eastern Conference final last year.