The San Jose Sharks have fired coach Bob Boughner and his staff two months after the regular season ended.
The team confirmed the moves Friday, after reports surfaced that Boughner and assistants John MacLean and John Madden were informed Thursday night that they were letting them go. Video coach Dan Darrow was also fired and the Sharks said no replacements were named immediately.
The organization is still in the midst of a lengthy search for a CEO after Doug Wilson quit his job after nearly two decades at work. Interim GM Joe Will made those moves.
Boughner, 51, coached the Sharks for the past 2 1/2 seasons after replacing Peter DeBoer in December 2019. He missed the playoffs of each of the last three years after a series of 14 playoff appearances in 15 seasons, including a trip to the 2016 Stanley Cup final.
“It has become clear that the organization is evolving,” Will said in a statement. “The bottom line is that we’ve lost the playoffs over the last three seasons, which is not acceptable to our owner, our organization, or our fans. As part of that evolution and evaluation, we felt it was the best. the club ‘s interest in allowing the next Sharks general manager to have full autonomy in relation to the composition of the advancing ice coaching staff. “
Boughner had one year left on his contract for $ 1.5 million. There is only one NHL head coach left in the league with the Winnipeg Jets.
“The last two seasons have been extremely difficult, on and off the ice, and Bob and his staff worked admirably in very difficult circumstances,” Will said. “This change is not an indictment of their performance, but is a recognition of the full organizational re-establishment that we believe is in the best interest of the team right now.”
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