The Sharks are reportedly finalizing a contract to make David Quinn their new head coach, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. ESPN's Kevin Weekes has reported that it's going to be a three-year deal.
San Jose was the last team to fill their vacancy on the bench after firing Bob Boughner and his staff earlier this month. With Mike Grier hired recently as the general manager, the Sharks will head into next season with a new coaching staff and GM.
After a successful tenure in the NCAA as the head coach of Boston University, the 55-year-old got his first NHL coaching gig in 2018, when he was hired by the Rangers. He served as the coach of the club from 2018-2021, before he was let go by the organization. In his three years in the Big Apple, Quinn compiled an overall record of 96-87-25, missing the playoffs each season.
Quinn was most recently at the helm of the United States men's national team, coaching Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
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The Sharks have struggled over the last three seasons with Boughner, failing to make the postseason in every season. It was the first time in franchise history that San Jose did not qualify for the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
Why did the Shark hire David Quinn?
The Sharks are stuck in limbo right now. The old regime, led by Doug Wilson, refused to commit to a rebuild despite the fact that the team was performing poorly and in a financial nightmare with multiple bad contracts.
As a result, with Grier taking over, he is tasked with figuring out the direction of a team that is currently not good enough to contend for the playoffs, but not set up to build their future with prospects and draft picks. He echoed Wilson's previous statement, saying that he would not completely tear down the roster, but expects there to be some bumps in place.
By hiring Quinn, the Sharks are giving him a second chance at leading an NHL club, without a ton of expectations. Grier has to shed some cap, and already made one deal to send Brent Burns to the Hurricanes. The Sharks are likely going to have to sacrifice short-term success in order to build a winning recipe for the future.
That takes some pressure off Quinn, who had a ton in his time in New York. With a plethora of young players like Adam Fox, K'Andre Miller, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere, Quinn was expected to come in, work his magic and immediately make an immature Rangers team into contenders. He failed to do that, as a mix of the players not quite being ready development-wise and Quinn not being able to click the right buttons resulted in him getting the boot.
But Quinn does bring a lot of experience working with young players to the Sharks. He coached in the NCAA, as either an assistant or head coach, from 1993 to 2018. He brings plenty of familiarity with 18 to 23 year olds and progressing them and their skill sets. Even at the Olympics this past February, the U.S. had the youngest squad in Beijing.
By the looks of it, San Jose is going to have to build its team through its prospects. That means seeing the development of youngsters like William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau, Filip Bystedt, Ryan Merkley and others.
Quinn will be able to work with these rookies and prospects, without having the pressure of being with a storied Original Six franchise. It should make for a solid flow of progression for Quinn and the team in San Jose.
