There will be at least one coaching vacancy that Vegas will have to fill in the coming months. GM Kelly McCrimmon told reporters, including Jesse Granger of The Athletic (Twitter link), that Rocky Thompson will be leaving the organization to take on an NHL opportunity with an unidentified team.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (via Twitter) that Thompson’s expected landing spot is San Jose to be a part of Bob Boughner’s staff. However, Sharks GM Doug Wilson told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link) that no decisions have been made regarding their coaching staff at this time.
Thompson has been the coach of AHL Chicago for the past three years since Vegas took over the affiliation. The Wolves have had some success under his tenure as well, posting two seasons of at least 42 wins, the second of which saw them go to the Calder Cup Finals before losing to Charlotte which likely helped get him on the NHL radar. This season, they had a .508 points percentage before the pandemic struck.
This will be Thompson’s second NHL coaching opportunity. He spent one season behind the bench with Edmonton in 2014-15 after spending the previous four seasons with their AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City from 2010-2014 where he served as an assistant coach.
Thompson was also an assistant with the Oilers in 2014-2015. He was an assistant with the Barons (AHL) from 2010-2014.
Thanks for the correction, Mark. I’ve updated the post.