There may have been two coaching changes in the NHL this week, but the Sharks’ Bob Boughner isn’t going anywhere — at least not right now.
Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will said he’s been pleased with the job Boughner and his staff has done so far this season for reasons greater than just the team’s improved record.
“I’m really pleased with what they’ve done this year because what they’ve instilled is a pathway to win through accountability,” Will said Thursday. “(Boughner) holds players very accountable. You can see it in the players going out on this last road trip.”
On their last road trip before the NHL all-star break, the Sharks went 1-1-2 against some of the Eastern Conference’s best teams to finish the unofficial first half with a 22-20-4 record.
Boughner had a combined record of 35-48-10 as the Sharks’ coach since Dec 11, 2019, when he replaced Pete DeBoer, to the end of last season when they finished tied for sixth in the West Division.
“Their willingness to block shots or willingness to come back in the zone and defend. Their willingness to play a hard (penalty kill) and protect the goaltender,” Will said.
“Those are buy-ins, and you don’t have buy-ins unless the team cares about each other and unless they respect and listen to what the coaches put out there. So I’m very pleased with what they’ve done this year.”
The Montreal Canadiens fired coach Dominique Ducharme on Wednesday after a dreadful first half of the season and named Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Martin St. Louis as interim coach. Thursday, Edmonton fired Dave Tippett and replaced him with former Sharks assistant Jay Woodcroft, who was coaching the Oilers’ AHL team.
The Sharks entered Friday with the sixth-best points percentage (.522) in the Pacific Division, worse than Edmonton’s .557, and are seven points out of a Western Conference playoff spot. Still, their 22 wins already eclipses their win total from 56 games last season.
No coach in Sharks history has been brought back for a third full season after missing the playoffs in the previous two, although the team entered what it called a ‘reset’ after it advanced to the Western Conference final in 2019, and expectations were modest.
Will said like everyone else in hockey operations, Boughner will be evaluated between now and the end of the season.
“We’re all evaluated every day on what we do,” Will said. “And a lot of that is, did we instill a competitive team this year? Are we integrating young players, are we drafting and developing young players, and everything else? Then at the end of the day, have we taken it far enough to have that level of success that we expect and that we’d like?
“That goes anywhere from players to coaches to management.”
WILL ON TRADE DEADLINE: Will said the Sharks’ approach to the March 21 trade deadline will depend on how the team performs over the next few weeks.
The Sharks, with 48 points, are seven points back of both Los Angeles and Anaheim, two teams they’ll likely have to pass to make the postseason. The Kings are in third place in the Pacific Division and the Ducks occupy the second wild-card spot in Western Conference.
The Sharks still have to play their Southern California counterparts a combined seven times and have 20 games left in total against division opponents, games critical to San Jose’s slim playoff chances.
“You assess as it goes along,” Will said. “Where are we sitting in two weeks, where are we sitting in three weeks? There are about five weeks until the deadline, so it gives us some time to see what we’re doing.
“If we hang around, if we’re in that playoff spot or in that playoff race, then we build and we adjust accordingly. If we’re not, then we adjust accordingly.”
WILL ON EKLUND, BORDELEAU: Will indicated that William Eklund will not be playing in San Jose this season but that the door may be open for Thomas Bordeleau to turn professional and join the Sharks if he so chooses. Eklund and Bordeleau, both forwards, are considered the Sharks’ top two prospects.
Will said there isn’t “a big push” to get Eklund, 19, back to San Jose once his season with Djurgarden ends in late March or early April. Eklund could also be called up to the Swedish national team for the IIHF World Championship in May.
Bordeleau, 20, a sophomore at Michigan, could decide to turn pro after the Wolverines’ season ends, potentially as late as the second week of April after the completion of the Frozen Four. Michigan is ranked fourth nationally in Division I.
Bordeleau, whose name has been discussed in recent Sharks hockey operations meetings, has 24 points in 24 games this season. The Sharks could tempt Bordeleau to turn pro by offering him a chance to play in the NHL this season, thereby burning a year of his entry-level contract.
“Quite honestly, it’s a huge discussion point and I think he would be capable of coming out and going into pro,” Will said. “It’d be a matter of whether he wants to or not.”
HRABIK’S STATUS: Barracuda forward Krystof Hrabik, suspended 30 games by the AHL on Jan. 21 for a racist gesture directed toward Boko Imama of the Tucson Roadrunners, can apply for reinstatement on March 12. But Will, also the GM of the Barracuda, indicated that Hrabik’s time in the organization might be over.
“He is suspended for a very serious offense,” Hrabik said. “I can’t say if he’s going to be welcomed back into this organization at the end of that.”
Hrabik has served 10 games of the suspension. If he is not reinstated early, and the Barracuda’s schedule remains the same, he will be eligible to return on April 3.
