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David Quinn

Sharks Fire Head Coach David Quinn

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The Sharks have relieved head coach David Quinn of his duties, per a team announcement Wednesday. San Jose’s head athletic trainer Ray Tufts will also not return next season, per Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News.

GM Mike Grier issued the following statement:

After going through our end of the season process of internal meetings and evaluating where our team is at and where we want our group to go, we have made the difficult decision to make a change at the head coach position. David is a good coach and an even better person. I would like to personally thank him for his hard work over these past two seasons. He and his staff did an admirable job under some difficult circumstances, and I sincerely appreciate how they handled the situation.

Quinn, 57, lasted two seasons behind the San Jose bench. His 41-98-25 record was poor but not much worse than expected for the rebuilding club. He’d signed a three-year contract with the club in 2022 to replace Bob Boughner, who was canned after guiding the club to three straight seasons under the .500 mark, the franchise’s longest such stretch since their first season above the mark in 1999-00.

This season was exceptionally difficult for Quinn and the Sharks. With a 19-54-9 record, San Jose became the first team in the salary cap era not to reach 20 wins in an 82-game season. Despite having near league-average goaltending from Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kähkönen, who combined for 68 starts, the Sharks allowed 326 goals – the third most in the salary cap era behind last year’s Blue Jackets and Ducks squads. Considering their top four defenders by average time on ice this season were Mario Ferraro, Henry Thrun, Jan Rutta and Kyle Burroughs, though, it’s difficult to make an argument that Quinn’s coaching was the primary cause.

Quinn’s lone previous role leading an NHL bench was with the Rangers from 2019 to 2021, leading their retool in the first few seasons of Alexis Lafrenière’s and Kaapo Kakko’s careers. The team hovered around the .500 mark throughout his time there, posting a 96-87-25 record, including two COVID-shortened seasons. After missing out on a playoff spot by 11 points in 2020-21 in the temporary East Division, the Rangers sacked him with two years left on his contract. He was earning cashflow from both New York and San Jose last season.

Speaking to reporters last weekend, Grier didn’t tip his hand either way regarding Quinn’s future, saying he was still in the evaluation process. He said Quinn and his staff “did a good job communicating and motivating the players throughout the year” and “they should be proud of” their efforts behind what he admitted was a banged-up, understaffed roster (via Pashelka).

Those comments weren’t dissimilar to what Kraken GM Ron Francis said Monday about the future of head coach Dave Hakstol, saying they were still evaluating his future after the club missed the playoffs. He’s already inked a two-year extension that kicks in next season.

The Sharks were expected to finish 32nd in the league entering the season. Most betting markets set the over/under on their points at 67.5 during the preseason. Still, a historically bad campaign rarely results in coaches being brought back. Anaheim and Columbus parted ways with their head coaches after their sieve-like seasons last year. However, the Red Wings notably retained Jeff Blashill behind the bench for a few more years after finishing with a .275 points percentage in the stunted 2019-20 season, still the worst in the salary cap era.

Those odds were set before captain Logan Couture was lost for nearly the whole season due to osteitis pubis, though. Considering star center Tomáš Hertl also played just 48 games before being shipped to the Golden Knights at the trade deadline, there was incredibly little for Quinn to work, especially for the back half of the campaign.

There were some things Quinn should be applauded for. He helped coax a bounce-back season out of center Mikael Granlund, who led the team with 60 points and 69 games and averaged 20:58 per game, a career-high. His 0.87 points per game tied his 2017-18 showing with the Wild for the best offensive performance of his career. He also oversaw a strong rookie campaign from 2021 seventh-overall pick William Eklund, who had 16 goals and 45 points in 80 games, including 15 points in his last 14 appearances.

Nevertheless, the Sharks will move on from Quinn with one season remaining on his contract. They’ll scour the market for his replacement for 2024-25, a squad they hope will be led by presumptive 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini.

The organization also parts ways with Tufts, who held his role with the club for 26 seasons. The 59-year-old also served as the head athletic trainer for Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

USA Hockey Names David Quinn Head Coach For Men’s World Championship

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USA Hockey has named San Jose Sharks bench boss David Quinn as their head coach for the upcoming 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship, according to a release from the organization.

This is the second straight season that USA Hockey has named Quinn as their coach for the tournament, and it adds to his extensive experience coaching the US at international events. Quinn guided the U.S. to a fourth-place finish in last year’s tournament, losing the bronze medal game to Czechia by a score of 8-4.

Joining Quinn as adds to the men’s team front office are New York Rangers assistant general manager Ryan Martin and Calgary Flames assistant general manager Craig Conroy, who will both assist with player personnel. Martin was the general manager of last year’s team, while this is Conroy’s first managerial experience with the national organization.

The tournament is set to take place between May 12 and May 28 in both Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. Potential high-end players from non-playoff teams that could appear on the USA roster are Clayton Keller, Quinn Hughes, Johnny Gaudreau, J.T. Miller, and Trevor Zegras.

Chris Clark, the current general manager of the U.S. men’s team, gave the following statement:

“It’s great to have David coaching our team again this year. He knows the player pool extremely well and understands the dynamics involved in preparing a team to win a gold medal on the world stage.

West Notes: Saad, Hughes, Bear, Studnicka

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The St. Louis Blues are in a rocky stretch of their season at the moment. After getting off to a 3-0 start, the Blues have stumbled and are now 3-4 and second-to-last in the Central Division. Injuries haven’t played a major role in the team’s lackluster performance, but St. Louis could still nonetheless certainly stand to get healthier. Forward Brandon Saad has skated in just three games this season, and the Blues have to be hoping that he can return to health soon.

Despite the fact that he has not been placed on injured reserve, it doesn’t look as though Saad will be returning any time soon. As The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reports, Saad hasn’t been practicing due to an upper-body injury, and per Blues head coach Craig Berube, he’s “still a ways away.” Saad is an important contributor to the Blues’ all-around game, and the 24 goals and 49 points he scored last year is certainly the sort of production St. Louis could use right now.

Some other notes on Western Conference teams:

  • The Vancouver Canucks’ defense has been ravaged by injuries so far this season, although their situation has begun to improve. As noted by The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, top defenseman Quinn Hughes was back on the ice with his teammates today at practice. Hughes has missed Vancouver’s last four games with a lower-body injury, but could be returning soon. The American blueliner has five assists in five games this year and had 68 points in 76 games last season.
  • The Canucks have been busy on the trade market as of late, acquiring center Jack Studnicka from the Boston Bruins and defenseman Ethan Bear from the Carolina Hurricanes. Drance reports that both Bear and Studnicka are on the ice today at practice. Bear and Studnicka have played just one NHL game combined so far this season, so it will be interesting to see how coach Bruce Boudreau chooses to deploy them to begin their Canucks careers.

San Jose Sharks Announce 2022-23 Coaching Staff

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Today, the San Jose Sharks announced their full coaching staff for the 2022-23 season via a team release. In addition to the previously announced or reported hirings of David Quinn as head coach and Ryan Warsofsky as an assistant coach, the team has hired Scott Gordon as an assistant coach, Thomas Speer as their NHL goaltending coach, and Nick Gialdini as video coach.

Quinn spoke on the hires today:

I am thrilled to announce our coaching staff for the upcoming season. Scott brings an immeasurable amount of experience and knowledge of the game to our staff, and Ryan is a passionate individual who has proven himself as an up-and-coming head coach, winning the Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves this past season. Thomas has a great track record with each of the goalies he has worked with, and Nick has earned the opportunity at the NHL level after having been with the Sharks organization for the last several years. We are excited to have each of them with us.

Gordon, 59, is a former AHL Coach of the Year winner in 2008 with the Providence Bruins. After that, he served as the head coach for the New York Islanders from 2008-09 before being replaced midseason in 2010-11 by Jack Capuano. Most recently, Gordon was the head coach of the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms from 2015 to 2021, including a stint as interim head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2018-19.

Speer, 35, is a decorated goalie coach in the North American minors. Speer won back-to-back Kelly Cup championships with the ECHL’s Allen Americans in 2016 and 2017, and won a silver medal at the 2018 U18 World Junior Championship with the United States. For the past three seasons, Speer has been the goalie coach for the AHL’s Stockton Heat. He replaces Sharks legend Evgeni Nabokov in that role, who the Sharks noted has been promoted to Director of Goaltending.

Gialdini gets his first NHL job after spending the last six seasons as the video coach for San Jose’s AHL affiliate, the Barracuda. He’d also served as the team manager since 2019.

San Jose Sharks Hire David Quinn

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July 26: The Sharks have now made it official, announcing Quinn as their next head coach. Earlier in the day, Kevin Weekes of ESPN also reported that Calder Cup-winning coach Ryan Warsofsky will be interviewing with the team for an assistant position, after failing to land the head coaching job.

July 21: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the San Jose Sharks are “zeroing in” on former New York Rangers bench boss David Quinn to be their next head coach. While this is no confirmation that a deal between the two parties is done, it seems likely that Quinn will return to an NHL bench in 2022-23 with the Sharks.

Friedman reports that Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Spencer Carbery, who was reported as a candidate yesterday, and Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci were finalists for the job.

Quinn has been out of an NHL job since the Rangers fired him shortly after the 2020-21 season, concluding a mediocre three-year run with the team. According to reports, Quinn was at one point the front-runner for the Boston Bruins’ vacancy this offseason before they opted to go with former Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery.

Those three seasons in the Big Apple comprise Quinn’s only NHL coaching experience aside from one season spent with the Colorado Avalanche as an assistant coach in 2012-13. Between 2013 and 2018, Quinn had a strong run as the head coach of the Division I program at Boston University.

He’s also represented USA Hockey as a coach at multiple international tournaments, including serving as their head coach for the 2022 Winter Olympics and World Championships. The USA failed to medal in either tournament.

This story will be updated as details emerge.

Latest On Boston Bruins Coaching Search

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There could be an answer as soon as today on who will be the next head coach of the Boston Bruins and a new name has entered the ring. Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that Pittsburgh Penguins assistant Mike Vellucci has interviewed for the job. In fact, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff believes that Vellucci has been interviewed twice now.

Still, Seravalli notes that the finalists are Vellucci, Jay Leach, and David Quinn, with many believing that the latter is the front-runner for the opening.

Vellucci, 55, may not have a lot of NHL experience but he is a proven winner at basically every level along the way. The former Hartford Whalers defenseman has won championships in the NAHL, OHL, and most recently the AHL, taking home the Calder Cup with the Charlotte Checkers in 2019. He has been named Coach of the Year at all three levels and has now been behind the bench with Pittsburgh for the past two seasons.

The Bruins, who fired Bruce Cassidy after a disappointing playoff exit, seem focused on less experienced names for the vacancy. Leach also has experience as a head coach in the minor leagues–with the Providence Bruins, no less–but has just one year behind an NHL bench as an assistant. David Quinn had just one year as an assistant when he landed the New York Rangers head coaching job in 2018, a tenure that lasted just three seasons.

Boston is one of three teams still without a coach, along with the Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets.

East Notes: Quinn, Devils Front Office, Sabres

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Eyebrows raised leaguewide when the Boston Bruins fired Bruce Cassidy, letting him walk to the Vegas Golden Knights in coaching free agency. Now, they seem to have zeroed in on a replacement. Although he’s been interviewed and/or linked to multiple teams so far, The Fourth Period’s Shawn Hutcheon reports that the Bruins have made former New York Rangers head coach David Quinn their leading candidate for the role. While other names like former Providence head coach Jay Leach had been rumored, they seem to have opted for another “hometown” coach.

While a Rhode Island native, Quinn has extensive experience in the Boston area, spending multiple years as an associate coach and head coach with Boston University. Quinn did not coach this past season after the Rangers replaced him with Gerard Gallant this past offseason, aside from serving as the head coach for the United States at the Olympics and World Championships.

  • The New Jersey Devils seem to have quietly cleaned out some front office names, removing the roles of Patrick Rissmiller (player development coach), Pierre Mondou (amateur scout), and Andrey Plekhanov (European scout) from their website. Rissmiller will leave the only front office job he’s ever known, holding the role with New Jersey since he retired as a player in 2015. Mondou, 66, was let go after nearly 20 years of scouting for New Jersey. Plekhanov had been with the team for four seasons.
  • As the Buffalo Sabres look to finally take that next step forward in 2022-23, the team has announced the dates for their development camp. The session for fringe prospects and rookies will be held July 13-15, with a three-on-three tournament to be held on the 16th.

Latest On Boston Bruins Coaching Search

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The NHL’s head coaching market is now moving quickly. The Philadelphia Flyers introduced their next head coach today, and the Vegas Golden Knights did the same yesterday. Next on the list could be the Boston Bruins. After firing Bruce Cassidy earlier this month, the Bruins have a major decision to make with who will be behind their bench next year. With Brad Marchand out for potentially the first two months of the 2022-23 season and team captain and franchise face Patrice Bergeron’s status on returning for next year unknown, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding a team that hasn’t missed the playoffs in over a half-decade.

Because of that reality, it’s likely that the Bruins’ next coach, whoever that person may be, will be expected to maintain the organization’s winning standard and continue the playoff streak. Given the challenges the Bruins look to be facing early next year, one might assume that GM Don Sweeney, who is running the coaching search, would opt to pick from the top of the coaching market and hire a veteran coach with a long, proven record of success at the NHL level.

That assumption seems to be wrong, though. According to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, former New York Rangers head coach David Quinn has “emerged as a top candidate” in the Bruins’ search, and will be interviewing with the team next week. (subscription link) Shinzawa also names Jay Leach, an assistant coach on Dave Hakstol’s staff in Seattle as another “leading candidate.” Both coaches have deep ties to either the Bruins organization or the Boston area but aren’t the sort of big-name, big-ticket head coaching options that some fans may prefer.

Quinn, 55, was most recently the head coach of the United States’ men’s hockey team at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and his most recent NHL experience came as head coach of the New York Rangers. From 2018-19 to 2020-21, Quinn led a rebuilding Rangers club that was struggling in the aftermath of a near decade-long cup-or-bust competitive window. The furthest Quinn took the Rangers in his three years of coaching there was the qualifying round of the 2020-21 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the Rangers were swept out of the bubble by the Carolina Hurricanes. Quinn’s record over those three years is 96-87-25. Perhaps best known for his upbeat, encouraging style, the height of Quinn’s coaching career came when he led Matt Grzelcyk and the Boston University Terriers to the NCAA National Championship in 2014-15, before losing to Providence College.

The other candidate to be named as a leader in the Bruins’ search by Shinzawa’s sources is Leach, an assistant coach with the Kraken. Before joining Seattle, Leach was the head coach of the Providence Bruins for four seasons. Leach went a combined 136-77-26 in Providence, helping introduce current Bruins such as Jeremy Swayman and Trent Frederic to professional hockey. Leach is a candidate who the current Bruins front office is undoubtedly highly familiar with, and that familiarity could help him in the hiring process. Like Quinn, Leach is also expected to have an interview with Boston in the near future.

While it’s definitely possible that the Bruins hire someone other than one of these two names as their next coach, these two being named as “leading candidates” in the Bruins’ search does shed some light on the team’s priorities in the process. Through these reports, we’re learning about what the Bruins want to see in their next coach. Both Quinn and Leach have vast experience coaching young players specifically, and their shared experiences indicate that skill in player development is something the Bruins are targeting in their next skipper. Both coaches are also known quantities in the world of New England hockey, meaning familiarity with the overall market the Bruins serve could also be a desired trait in this search. Regardless of who specifically they choose, it would be somewhat surprising if the Bruins’ next head coach does not possess at least one of those two qualities.

 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Flyers Head Coach Search, Sharks GM Search, Point, Kannok-Leipert

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According to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, the Philadelphia Flyers have reportedly narrowed down their list of candidates for their vacant Head Coach position (link). It appears the finalists for the position include, but may not be limited to, John Tortorella and Barry Trotz. The Flyers recently held their second interview of Torotrella in Philadelphia and have since told other candidates that they are no longer in the running for the position. In addition to Tortorella and Trotz, the Flyers have also interviewed the likes of Mike Velucci, Rick Tocchet, Jim Montgomery, Jeff Blashill, David Quinn, and likely others who have not been named. It’s unclear if any of these are also finalists in addition to Tortorella or Trotz.

Seeing the Flyers narrow their field is an interesting development for the coaching market as a whole, as more positions, and candidates, have opened up as time has gone on, but few of those positions have been filled. Philadelphia making a decision, depending on when that decision comes and who is selected, could serve to get the ball rolling for the rest of the league. Philadelphia has struggled in recent seasons, culminating in trading franchise forward Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers in March, however the organization has shown an unwillingness to commit to a true rebuild. Hiring either of Tortorella or Trotz would certainly help the organization get back to its winning ways, even as the team’s roster experiences some transition in personnel.

  • From one high-profile search to another, it appears the San Jose Sharks are also planning to narrow their list of candidates for their vacant General Manager position this week, says The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. It’s unclear who exactly would be on the Sharks’ shortlist, though LeBrun says the organization has had lengthy interviews of 4 to 6 hours each with a dozen candidates. The organization made clear after former GM Doug Wilson stepped down that they would take their time finding his replacement. Much like the Flyers, the organization has shown they are not interested in a lengthy rebuild and would like to find a GM who shares that vision (link).
  • After earlier reports that Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point could be a game-time decision for tonight’s Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, it appears he is now considered doubtful, says Seravalli. Though it would be disappointing for Tampa to again be without one of their best players, Seravalli does add that Point is very likely to play in Tampa’s next game, whether that be in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, or in Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals, depending on the result of tonight’s game. Point was injured during Game Seven of Tampa Bay’s first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and has not played since. As crucial as Point has been to Tampa Bay’s recent playoff success, the team has managed to go 8-2 since he went down, including the game against Toronto, losing only the first two games of the conference final.
  • The Abbotsford Canucks, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, announced they have signed defenseman Alex Kannok-Leipert to a one-year contract extension that covers the 2022-23 season. Originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals in 2018, Kannok-Leipert spent five years with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, where he was team captain for two seasons before turning pro and signing with Abbotsford ahead of the 2021-22 season. The defenseman had a solid rookie campaign in the AHL, putting up five points to go with a plus-5 rating in 41 games. An interesting note on Kannok-Leipert is though a Regina, Saskatchewan native, he was born in Thailand and is the first Thailand-born player in AHL history and the first to be drafted in the NHL Entry Draft.

Coaching Notes: Richardson, Flyers, Samuelsson

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When Dominique Ducharme was unavailable due to a positive COVID-19 result in the 2021 playoff run, assistant Luke Richardson stepped in without missing a beat. The long-time NHL defenseman, who played more than 1,400 games in the league, had some head coaching experience with the Belleville Senators previously and had no trouble taking the reins in Montreal. The team played well, and Richardson was suddenly being looked at as a future NHL coach.

Now, with openings all over the league, Richardson’s name has emerged again. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have asked permission to interview Richardson for their head coaching vacancy, and Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports confirms that he is a candidate. Chicago has also requested permission to interview Vancouver Canucks assistant Brad Shaw.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have not yet started their second round of interviews, according to Seravalli, but did speak with Jeff Blashill during the first round. Bruce Cassidy and David Quinn are also expected to be on their list (with Quinn also linked to the Detroit Red Wings), and John Tortorella will be a part of the second round, whenever that occurs. It’s quite a carousel this offseason with such a deep pool of qualified candidates available.
  • Even if Shaw doesn’t leave the Canucks, the team is looking for another assistant coach. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV tweets that Ulf Samuelsson could be a candidate, as he is no longer with the Florida Panthers. Samuelsson had been with Florida for two years but there could be more changes coming for the Panthers, who have yet to announce whether Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette will return as head coach.

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