Penguins ink head coach Mike Sullivan to a 3-year extension

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Mike Sullivan doesn’t believe coaches have a "shelf life."

Apparently, neither do his bosses.

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed their two-time Stanley Cup-winning head coach to a contract extension on Tuesday that runs through the 2026-27 season, a pact that doubled as a vote of confidence in the club’s iconic core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and the fiery Sullivan’s ability to lead them.

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(L-R) Evgeni Malkin #71, Sidney Crosby #87, Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins and their teammates line up for the singing of the National Anthem prior to the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field on February 23, 2019 in Philadelphia. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images))

Sullivan still had two years remaining on his current contract. Yet Fenway Sports Group, which purchased the Penguins from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle last fall, saw enough to lock down the winningest coach in franchise history for the long term.

The 54-year-old Sullivan joined Pittsburgh in December 2015. If he reaches the end of his new deal, it means he’ll have spent more than a decade with the Penguins, a nearly unheard of tenure in the NHL.

Then again, Sullivan believes he’s in a nearly unheard-of situation.

"I think I had the luxury of inheriting a standard of excellence, a certain culture that has been developed in Pittsburgh," Sullivan said. "I feel the need to be the custodian of that."

NHL FREE AGENCY: PENGUINS SIGN EVGENI MALKIN TO FOUR-YEAR CONTRACT

Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh