Mike Sullivan led the Penguins to a 40-23-6 record during the regular season, despite never having his lineup intact for an entire game because of injuries.
That apparently wasn't enough to impress NHL broadcasters, however, because Sullivan is not one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the NHL coach of the year.
The finalists, which were determined in a vote by broadcasters, are Alain Vigneault (Philadelphia), John Tortorella (Columbus) and Bruce Cassidy (Boston).
Sullivan, who has served as an assistant for Tortorella and remains close friends with him, took the results of the balloting in stride.
"I obviously have a close relationship with (Tortorella)," he said. "I think he's a terrific hockey coach, He's done an incredible job with that team this year and he's very deserving of that honor, as are all the guys on there.
"There are a lot of real good coaches in this league, who do tremendous work. I have so much respect for the fraternity of coaches who work so hard and try to help their team accomplish the ultimate goal."
Penguins defenseman John Marino, who had an exceptionally strong first season as a pro, also missed the cut in voting for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the league's top rookie.
Those finalists, as chosen by voters from the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, are defensemen Cale Makar (Colorado) and Quinn Hughes (Vancouver) and left winger Dominik Kubalik (Chicago).
While he didn't make it as a Calder finalist, Marino did receive a stellar review from Sullivan for his work in 2019-20.
"He's a guy who made a huge impression on us since Day 1 of training camp (in September," Sullivan said. "He earned his way onto this roster and he's earned his ice time.
"He's a very good defending defenseman. His offense has developed over the course of the season. We utilize him on the second power play at this point. He's an important player for us. His growth as a player from the start of training camp until now, I think, has been tremendous, and John deserves a lot of credit for that."
