It had no impact that my evaluation of Mike Sullivan was wrong when he replaced Mike Johnston behind the Penguins’ bench in December. What is startling, however, is how essentially every NHL club executive in a position of power was equally wrong over the preceding decade about Sullivan’s capabilities behind the bench.

It took 10 years for Sullivan to get a second crack at an NHL coaching job after his dismissal by the Bruins following the 2005-06 season; 10 years to even get an offer — and maybe even a serious interview — after two years in Boston, in the first of which his team won a division title (but were upset in a 1-8 first-round matchup) in the final pre-cap season and the second of which the B’s missed the playoffs.

In the interim, Sullivan became John Tortorella’s sidekick. Became known as Tortorella’s sidekick — his assistant in Tampa Bay for two years, in New York for four then for that one unfortunate year in Vancouver. That became his identity.

Ideally, Sullivan would have been the yin to Tortorella’s yang, but for some reason that is not how the dynamic evolved. They were both yin’s and yang’s (and that probably is putting it politely), almost mirroring one another’s strengths and weaknesses. Bad cop, worse cop.

After one season in New York, frustrated his friend hadn’t been invited to interview for even one of several jobs that had opened, Tortorella said he hoped their relationship hadn’t obscured Sullivan’s talents as a coach and hadn’t damaged the assistant’s chance to get another shot.

There was a year away from coaching after the 2013-14 debacle in Vancouver, during which Sullivan picked up a Stanley Cup ring as player development coach of the Blackhawks. Then last summer, Gentleman Jim Rutherford offered Sullivan the job as head coach of the Penguins’ AHL farm club in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. A couple of months later, Mike Johnston was out in Pittsburgh and Sullivan was in.

Ten years later, Sullivan was in.

The coach has directed the Penguins — a club filled with marquee names — with élan. When circumstances called for it, he slotted Evgeni Malkin into a third-line role. Evgeni Malkin! When circumstances demanded it, he sat Marc-Andre Fleury in favor of Matt Murray for the most important game of the season. Sullivan has used kids in prominent roles. He has gotten the best out of Phil Kessel. He has allowed players to play to their unique strengths, putting them in the best possible position to succeed.

And, quickly, he formed a bond with Sidney Crosby. There was no game-playing. No time wasted proving who would be boss. Make no mistake, this is a coach-player dynamic, but the league’s signature player — still Crosby; still No. 87 — not only has flourished with Sullivan behind the bench, he appears wholly content with his place in the universe.

Ten years following his rookie season, Crosby is the marquee act on the league’s main stage. Ten years after his last crack at it, Sullivan is there, too. I sure wasn’t the only one who was wrong about him.

Meanwhile, the strange curriculum vitae of San Jose coach Pete DeBoer: first year behind the Florida bench in 2008-09, 93 points, then second most in franchise history, only to be fired two years later; first year behind the Devils bench in 2011-12, a trip to the Cup finals after defeating the top-seed Rangers, only to be fired three years later on the way to a third straight playoff miss; now, to the final in his first year behind the Sharks’ bench.

Should be a pretty good match between a pair of talented speed teams with kids in net, but San Jose appears to be deeper and sturdier on D (with Pittsburgh’s Trevor Daley sidelined) and a little better equipped in the physical department.

Going with the Sharks in six.

There is no circumstance under which the NHL/NHLPA governing body should allow Slava Voynov to play in the World Cup even if Team Russia announced his inclusion on the roster on Friday.

Having pled no-contest to a misdemeanor domestic abuse charge in July before self-deporting to Russia two months later, the former L.A. defenseman remains under indefinite suspension by the NHL.

The World Cup, which will be played in Toronto in September, is a joint NHL/NHLPA production. These two parties make all of the rules — e.g., Team Europe and the Young Guns. They will split all of the revenue. This is not an IIHF event. The league and union said Friday that a review would be conducted — perhaps hoping Canadian immigration will bar Voynov from entering the country and pre-empt their authority — but no review is necessary.

Voynov should not be allowed to play. This is not a difficult decision.

Those few thousand people who were denied the opportunity to cry if they wanted to at the Game 7 viewing party in Tampa that was canceled by the NHL/NBC powers that be, they dramatically increase the ratings of this hopelessly and perennially penny-wise, pound-foolish operation by watching on their own screens, did they?

Kris Letang’s omission from Team Canada was the biggest roster shock on Friday, though Jack Johnson’s inclusion on Team USA (coupled with Justin Faulk’s exclusion) wasn’t far behind.

Wonder how much, if at all, Tyler Johnson’s struggle against Pittsburgh factored into his snub by Tortorella’s Yanks, who go into the tournament with Joe Pavelski the lone skill center; with David Backes, Ryan Kesler, Derek Stepan and Brandon Dubinsky (who could shift to wing) behind him?

Dubinsky-Kesler-Ryan Callahan matched against Crosby?

You better believe the Team USA hierarchy was concerned about what Kessel’s breath would be like in September.