Dan Muse

Dan Muse (born July 21, 1982) is an American professional ice hockey coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Following four years playing college ice hockey, Muse began coaching at the high school and college levels, winning an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championship as an assistant coach at Yale in 2013. Muse subsequently won a Clark Cup championship with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2017, his first head coaching job, before spending three seasons as an assistant with the NHL's Nashville Predators. He then spent three further seasons in various head coaching roles with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP), winning a gold medal at the 2023 World U18 Championships, before returning to the NHL as a New York Rangers assistant in 2023. Ahead of the 2025–26 NHL season, Muse was named head coach of the Penguins.

Early life and education Muse was born in Canton, Massachusetts, on July 21, 1982. Muse played ice hockey from a young age, despite limited opportunities during part of his childhood living on a farm in northern California; following his family's move to Alabama, Muse was partly mentored at a Birmingham Bulls youth camp by minor-league defenseman Paul Marshall. Muse's family also spent time in Chicago and Worcester, Massachusetts, before moving to Canton when Muse was in eighth grade. After playing high school ice hockey at Vermont Academy, Muse subsequently attended Stonehill College, playing four years at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level for the Chieftains/Skyhawks under head coach Scott Harlow and serving as an alternate captain his senior year. He subsequently left his teaching career to coach full-time, spending the 2007–08 season working as an assistant coach at Division III Williams College under Bill Kangas, before jumping to NCAA Division I with Sacred Heart of the Atlantic Hockey conference for the 2008–09 season. and the program's first national championship in 2013.

Following the 2014–15 season, Muse departed the Bulldogs to take his first head coaching job with the Chicago Steel of the junior-level United States Hockey League (USHL). In three seasons with Nashville, Muse primarily ran the team's penalty kill, and coached multiple other future NHL players, including Logan Cooley and Rutger McGroarty. Once again coaching the penalty kill, Despite this, Muse was reportedly offered the opportunity to interview with the new Rangers coaching staff.

Pittsburgh Penguins On June 4, 2025, Muse was named head coach of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, succeeding Mike Sullivan as the 23rd head coach in franchise history. The Penguins had missed the playoffs for the preceding three seasons, and expectations for the team in the 2025–26 season were generally considered modest. Muse's team significantly overperformed preseason predictions, finishing second in the Metropolitan Division with a 41–25–16 record, and scoring the third-most goals in the league. In recognition of his achievements, Muse was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, given to the NHL's best coach. The Penguins qualified to the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, their first postseason berth in four years, but lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. winning a gold medal in the latter.

Personal life As of 2026, Muse resides in Mars, Pennsylvania with his wife and their four children.

Head coaching record Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result PIT 2025–26 82 41 25 16 98 2nd in Metropolitan 2 4 Lost in first round (PHI)NHL total 82 41 25 16 2 4 1 playoff appearance

Awards and honors Award Year RefNCAA Division I – ECAC Hockey Conference champion (as assistant coach) 2011 National champion (as assistant coach) 2013 USHL Clark Cup champion 2017 International World Junior Championship gold medal (as video coach) 2013 World U18 Championship gold medal 2023