As Mike Sullivan is fitted for Broadway Blue instead of Black and Gold, the Bruins’ coaching search continues. Where it will land is still anyone’s guess at this point.

The consummation of the Sullivan-Rangers marriage, announced on Friday morning, happened so quickly it’s doubtful that the B’s even got up to bat. Sullivan and the Pittsburgh Penguins officially parted ways on Monday and by Thursday night, he and the Rangers were already deep into contract discussions. By Friday morning, the announcement was made.

There were always road blocks for Sullivan to return to Boston. First off, the Rangers made it clear that they were not going to be denied in their pursuit of him and Bruins’ ownership has not been one to go into a bidding war for coaches. There was also the complicating factor of the B’s No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy being Sullivan’s son-in-law.

While that might sound like a nice story, the ups and downs of an 82-game schedule provide ample opportunities for awkwardness. And there is also the widely held belief that the Rangers massively underachieved in 2024-25 and are closer to competing for a Stanley Cup than the Bruins.

GM Don Sweeney can a number of different routes. There is the option of going after a former NHL head coach, often derisively referred to as “retreads,” though they have been known to have success. Boston once boasted four retread head coaches in the four major sports who won championships here.

Franklin’s Peter Laviolette, just dismissed from the Rangers, has taken three different teams to the Cup finals, winning it on his first trip with Carolina in 2005-06. He took the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final in his first year before this season’s DNQ.

Rick Tocchet is also on the market after choosing to leave Vancouver, though the natural landing spot seems for him seems to be the opening with the Flyers. There is Gerard Gallant, whom players often rave about but has relatively short stints in Columbus, Florida, Vegas and New York. Also, Jay Woodcroft is looking for his second chance after being bounced in Edmonton during the 2023-24 season.

Joel Quenneville, who has reportedly interviewed with Anaheim, has a resume that is second-to-none as a three-time Cup winner in Chicago but is currently out of work for his part, whatever it was, in the sex abuse scandal involving a video coach and a prospect. It would seem unlikely that the Bruins would want the smoke that would come with hiring Quenneville, especially with the blow-back they received over the Mitchell Miller saga.

Another name is Jeff Blashill, who had the misfortune of getting the Detroit Red Wings head job in 2015 just as the Wings’ vaunted talent pool was bottoming out. He’s been an assistant in Tampa for the last three seasons.

Another route would be the college coach. The prize in that field is the University of Denver’s David Carle, but so far he’s shown enough sanity to remain in the college game. This year looked like the year he was ready to take the plunge but he reportedly pulled himself out of the running with the prospect-rich Chicago Blackhawks.

Another name is newly crowned NCAA champion Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler, who has already interviewed with the Flyers, according to a report from ESPN. Ferschweiler would also check the box of “NHL exposure” that Sweeney said would weigh heavily in his decision. Ferschweiler was an assistant on Blashill’s Red Wings staff from 2015-19.

Jay Pandolfo is and will always be an interesting name. The former Bruins’ assistant and current Boston University would seemingly check all the boxes if he wanted to come back to the pros, though he may want to wait to coach his son, who is now a strong prep school prospect.

A third route — going with an NHL assistant looking for his first chance — is the one that is most be intriguing at the moment because of the success of Spencer Carbery with the Washington Capitals.

An in-house candidate would be Jay Leach. When he was brought back into the Bruins fold as an assistant on Jim Montgomery’s staff last summer after his stint as an assistant in Seattle, he had a whiff of “heir apparent” to him, having been the head coach in Providence. But when the B’s season was going off the rails in November, it made more sense to turn to the more experienced Joe Sacco to try and manage the situation. Turning to Leach now would seem like a tough sell, though that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the wrong move.

There are other options, and one with Bruin ties — Marco Sturm, who is currently the head coach of the Kings’ AHL affiliate Ontario Reign who had been on the Los Angeles staff for four seasons. We’ll have to see what happens in LA and current head coach Jim Hiller after the Kings’ collapse against Edmonton.

Also on the list is long-time Lightning assistant Jeff Halpern though, if the rumblings about Jon Cooper moving on prove to be true, he would be a prime candidate for the top job in Tampa.

There are undoubtedly more names that could go on the list and, given Sweeney’s detail-oriented approach, he’ll probably talk to a lot of them. Also, some candidates may still be working in the playoffs. But with nearly a third of the NHL looking for a new coach, time may be pressing more than he’d like it to be.