Mike Sullivan’s relentless intensity instantly ignited the Pittsburgh Penguins.

From one of his morning skates as Penguins head coach in December 2015, when his booming voice echoed throughout an empty Consol Energy Center (now PPG Paints Arena), through back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, to the penultimate practice of an otherwise lost season earlier this month, the fire may have occasionally flickered but never threatened to go out.

Yet with the Penguins in the middle of an inevitable reset that has no tentative end date, general manager Kyle Dubas felt it simply was time to go in another direction, parting ways with Sullivan in something that felt less like a firing and more like a shift change.

“Sometimes the class needs a new professor,” Dubas said Monday. “And sometimes the professor needs a new class.”

The decision came after multiple postseason meetings between Dubas and Sullivan, the second one occurring in Sullivan’s native Boston on Sunday. During a discussion that Dubas described as “amicable,” it became apparent to Dubas that Sullivan’s many strengths might be better served leading a team that’s not evolving from one generation to the next.

“There’s a reason why it’s essentially impossible, (why) it has not been done, where a coach has led a team to winning and being in contention and through a transition all the way back,” Dubas said. “And I think that two things can be true: That someone can be a great head coach and then they’ll move on to become a great coach on the next stop. And it could also be time for change here.”

Sullivan, whose 409 wins with Pittsburgh are a franchise record, had two seasons remaining on the contract extension he signed in late 2022.

The 57-year-old, who will coach the United States at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, might not be out of work in the NHL for long. There are a handful of open jobs, including with the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins, both of whose profiles — a veteran team with Stanley Cup ambitions — are more in line with where Pittsburgh found itself when Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston in the early stages of the 2015-16 season.

Capitals, Canadiens fined $25K each

From big hits to post-whistle scrums and even shenanigans during pregame warmups, things are getting increasingly testy in the first-round playoff series between the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens.

Each team was fined $25,000 for players’ antics during warmups prior to Game 4 on Sunday night. Washington’s Dylan McIlrath and Montreal’s Arber Xhekaj also got fined the $3,385 maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement for unsportsmanlike conduct.

It’s the second set of fines in the series after Capitals forward Tom Wilson and Canadiens forward Josh Anderson were docked $5,000 apiece for their fight at the end of the second period in Game 3 on Friday night that spilled onto the visiting bench.

The teams have combined for 37 penalties through four games, with the hostilities ramping up.