GM Wilson taking temporary medical leave
Sharks general manager Doug Wilson is temporarily stepping away from his day-to-day duties with the team to attend to a medical issue, the team announced Friday.
Joe Will, the Sharks’ assistant GM, is taking over Wilson’s duties, the team said.
Wilson, 64, has dealt with a persistent cough since at least early September when the Sharks were in Scottsdale, Arizona for a rookie tournament that featured prospects from several other teams. He also had the cough when he spoke with reporters at the start of the Sharks’ training camp later that month.
Wilson’s condition is not believed to be COVID-19 related.
Wilson, who has a home in the Phoenix area, has been the Sharks’ general manager since May 2003. Earlier this month, he was officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Player Category after a 16-year NHL career. He spent 14 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks from 1977 to 1991, and two seasons with the Sharks from 1991 to 1993.
Will is in his 11th season as the Sharks assistant general manager and his ninth as GM of their AHL affiliate, the Barracuda, formerly the Worcester Sharks.
Will’s primary responsibilities included contract research and negotiations, scouting operations, fiscal planning, salary cap analysis, and hockey administration. He also coordinates and plans training camps, scouting meetings and scouting conference calls each season.
BOUGHNER SAYS HE’S OUT OF LOOP ON PLANS FOR EVANDER KANE >> Will Evander Kane join the Sharks on their upcoming five-road trip, or won’t he? Bob Boughner — as of early Friday afternoon — said he had no idea.
Kane’s 21-game suspension officially ends after Sunday’s game in Chicago, and he would be eligible to play again when the Sharks face the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. The organization, though, has yet to publicly articulate their plan for Kane and his potential return.
The Sharks leave for Chicago on Saturday morning. After Tuesday, they play the New York Islanders on Thursday, the New York Rangers on Friday, and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
“Management’s got to make a decision here in the next couple of days,” Boughner said before the Sharks played the Toronto Maple Leafs at SAP Center. “We’re just sort of focusing on tonight and Chicago on Sunday and let the rest take care of itself.”
Boughner said earlier this week that it would not be realistic for Kane to jump right into an NHL game after he missed all of training camp and the first six weeks of the Sharks’ season.
Whether that could mean that Kane starts a conditioning assignment with the Barracuda is unclear. The Sharks’ AHL affiliate is scheduled to practice early next week in San Jose before they play in Abbotsford on Dec. 4.
Per the NHL and NHLPA’S Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player has to give consent if the club wishes to have him play with its minor league team to improve conditioning. Any conditioning loan could not last for more than 14 days.
Boughner said he’s been kept out of the loop as to what the Sharks’ plans are for Kane.
“The public wants to know and I’m sure the fans want to know, and we understand that,” Boughner said. “But what I’ve appreciated is I haven’t been involved very much at all. They’ve let me do my job and really, that’s the way I’ve treated it with the players.
“At a certain time, I’m going to be told either way what’s going on, and then I’ll have to deal with it. But they’ve just really taken the distractions out of our room.”
It’s been a familiar refrain for the Sharks that they haven’t talked or thought much about the end of Kane’s suspension and what his future holds.
Asked if it would help Sharks’ players to get some clarity, defenseman Mario Ferraro said, “that stuff can’t be on our mind. We’re all just focused on playing game by game. We can’t get carried away with that kind of stuff. We can’t can be focusing on that, otherwise, it’ll affect our play.”
DAHLEN STILL OUT >> Forward Jonathan Dahlen took part in the Sharks’ morning skate Friday but is still not ready to play, Boughner said. Dahlen was injured in last Saturday’s game with the Washington Capitals and has now missed three straight games.
“He says not quite there yet,” Boughner said of Dahlen. “I want to make sure that when he comes back, he’s as close to 100 (percent) as he can be. He’s a big part of us a big part of our offense.”
The Sharks are making one lineup change for Friday, as Boughner is inserting Jonah Gadjovch on the fourth line with Nick Bonino and Andrew Cogliano, and scratching Scott Reedy, who played against Carolina and Ottawa earlier this week.