On Tuesday, David Quinn was appointed head coach of the San Jose Sharks.
Bob Boughner, who’d been dismissed on July 1st, was overtaken by Quinn, who turned 56 on the Weekend. Quinn believes that managing players and trying to put them in the best possible position for achievement is the coach’s top priority, and make sure they are the greatest team they can be. He believes that as a coach, He is constantly attempting to strike a balance between being strict with his players and taking a break from others.
After a 3-season record of 96-87-25, Quinn was dismissed as the New York Rangers head coach on May 12, 2021, and was succeeded by Gerard Gallant.
On May 5th, the Rangers dismissed president John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton, and Chris Drury, who had been promoted to those positions, took their places. Quinn led the U.S. to a 5th-place completion at the 2022 Beijing Olympics despite not coaching in the NHL over the past season.
Quinn served time on Boston University’s coaching staff for seasons. In Beijing steadily for the past, he also led the American Olympic team to a 5th-place completion. After having missed the finals for the first time in franchise history for a 3rd straight season, the Sharks underwent an organizational makeover.
The last 3 years have been challenging, but Quinn also believes that has resulted from the Sharks’ achievement over the previous 15-20 years.
The Sharks had a record of 32-37-13 last year and were twenty points behind the Nashville Predators for the 2nd wild card from the Western Conference into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After making the playoffs 14, they missed the postseason for the 3rd consecutive year.
Quinn thinks the team will be in a strong position to move forward this upcoming season with a few tweaks. He also emphasized the importance of having a fast-paced, tenacious, aggressive, and intense competition team.
Brent Burns, a defenseman, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes by San Jose on July 13th after Mike Grier, the league’s first black general manager, was hired on July 5. The only group without even a coach in the NHL was the Sharks.
Quinn’s track record as a coaching staff at Boston University and in the NHL over the past few seasons have shown him to be successful in grooming talented youngsters.
Since the conclusion of the regular season, 10 head coaches have been hired, including Quinn.
