Sharks fire Boughner, rest of coaching staff
On the verge of bringing in a new full-time general manager, the Sharks made sweeping and abrupt changes to their coaching staff, firing Bob Boughner as head coach and John MacLean, John Madden and Dan Darrow as assistants.
The moves, which interim GM Joe Will said came after an exhaustive review, were made Thursday night and announced
Friday morning — more than two months after the end of the regular season.
“Often these decisions are made immediately after the season. We weren't prepared (to do) that,” Will said. “This coaching staff deserved to be in consideration moving forward and they truly have been all the way into here until this decision was made (Thursday).”
Asked if the decision could have come earlier, as to give Boughner and the former Sharks assistants a better chance to catch on with another NHL team this season, Will said with the review they undertook, “no, it really couldn't have went any quicker.”
Efforts to reach Boughner on Friday were unsuccessful.
The decision to fire Boughner, MacLean, Madden and Darrow clears the way for the Sharks' next general manager to hire their own coaching staff. Reported candidates for the GM job include Ray Whitney and Mike Grier, and Darren Dreger of TSN reported Friday that Scott
Mellanby's name has also surfaced in some circles as the Sharks zero in on a hire.
The Sharks are going through their vetting process with the finalists, but there remains no timeline for a GM hire. Will felt he and other members of the Sharks' front office were equipped to handle the NHL Draft, which starts next Thursday, and the start of free agency on July 13.
“We're not we're not basing the hiring decision on