Owner Plattner has confidence in GM Wilson

SAN JOSE >> San Jose Sharks owner Hasso Plattner is again giving general manager Doug Wilson his backing, saying in a news release Thursday he is supportive of Wilson’s plan to return the struggling team back to the NHL playoffs next season.

The Sharks have fallen well short of expectations this year, as they sit in 13th place in the Western Conference and have next-tono chance of making the postseason. With a 21-25-4 record, the Sharks are 11 points out of a playoff spot with just 32 games to go.

“I am supportive of Doug’s plan to get our team back on track,” said Plattner, the Sharks’ majority owner since 2010.

Plattner also stood behind Wilson the last time the Sharks missed the playoffs in 2014-15. Then, following a busy 2015 offseason in which Wilson hired a new coach in Pete DeBoer, spent money in free agency and traded for goalie Martin Jones, the Sharks returned to the playoffs the following year and advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final in 2016.

Clearly, Plattner believes the team, under Wilson’s guidance, can enjoy a similar type of turnaround for next season, although the team may face greater challenges now than five years ago.

“While we are all very disappointed in the team’s performance thus far this season, Doug has a long history of leading our team to success,” Plattner said. “The last time we failed to meet our winning standards in the 2014-15 season, we were able to quickly rebound and re-establish a winning culture for the next several years.”

Wilson has been the Sharks’ general manager since May 2003, taking over the job two months after Dean Lombardi was fired. Since Wilson’s hire, the Sharks have made the playoffs in 14 of 15 seasons, reaching the conference finals five times but never winning the Stanley Cup.

This season after the Sharks started the year with a 15-16-2 record, Wilson fired DeBoer on Dec. 11 and named Bob Boughner interim coach.

It was hoped the change would spark the team back into the playoff picture.