Tag: Johan Hedberg

Peter DeBoer Out as Sharks Head Coach

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Photo credit: @CompleteHkyNews

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — Peter DeBoer is no longer the head coach of the San Jose Sharks. His time with the Sharks ended today, after the team returned from a winless four game road trip. They have just 15 wins this season in 33 games, and have lost their last five games. The Sharks also announced that assistant coaches Steve Spott and Dave Barr and goaltending coach Johan Hedberg were dismissed as well.

Assistant Coach Bob Boughner was named interim head coach, with Roy Sommer as assistant coach and Mike Ricci as associate coach. Evgeni Nabokov will step in as goaltending coach.

In their press release, General Manager Doug Wilson said: “When you have had a level of past success, change is never easy, but we feel this team is capable of much more than we have shown thus far and that a new voice is needed.”

The Sharks started this season with one of the worst Octobers in team history, only to rally in November and claw their way back into the playoff picture. Instead of continuing on that trajectory, they have dropped again to sixth in the Pacific Division and a recent record of 4-5-1. The team is laboring with a minus 25 goal differential. Only one team in the league has allowed more than the Sharks’ 114 goals against this season, and that is the Detroit Red Wings. That is somewhat shocking with two Norris Trophy winning defensemen on the Sharks’ blue line.

DeBoer became the Sharks head coach at the end of the 2014-15 season, replacing Todd McLellan. His tenure with the Sharks had an eerie similarity to his time with the New Jersey Devils, the NHL team he coached before the Sharks. In his first season in New Jersey, he led the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final. Their record declined steeply from there. Under DeBoer’s leadership, the Sharks also reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in team history. That was DeBoer’s first season with the organization and, as with the Devils, that was the high point of his record in San Jose.

Sharks Announce New Assistants, Wayne Thomas Retires

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks announced Thursday that they had hired Bob Boughner as assistant coach. They also confirmed that Johan Hedberg has been hired as assistant coach and goaltending coach. In a separate press release, the team announced that Wayne Thomas, a longtime executive and coach, is retiring.

New Sharks coach Peter DeBoer is very familiar with both new coaches. In the team’s press release, DeBoer said of Boughner:

He had a great career as an NHL player but also didn’t have any problem going back to juniors to hone his coaching ability. He has a great teaching ability from working with younger players in juniors and we’re very fortunate that he was available because he could have been working in this League a long time ago if he wanted to.

Boughner spent the past four seasons coaching the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, and is also President and part owner of the team. In his OHL coaching career, he led his teams to back to back Memorial Cup and OHL championships and also coached the U-18 Canadian team to a gold medal in the 2009 World Championships. He was briefly an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010-11.

Johan Hedberg worked directly with DeBoer, as a player, a scout and an assistant coach. Of Hedberg, DeBoer said:

He was a student of the game for his whole career and having been around him every day in our years in New Jersey, it was evident that coaching is something that came naturally to him. His willingness to go to the American League last season and learn the coaching trade speaks volumes for his commitment to coaching.

Hedberg arrives as his predecessors, Wayne Thomas and goaltending development coach Corey Schwab depart.

Thomas spent 22 years with the Sharks organization, 19 seasons as assistant general manager, and 14 as vice-president. He also served as goaltending coach and supervised goaltender development for the club. In all, his hockey career spanned 45 years, as player (243 games over nine seasons), coach and executive. He was also general manager of the Sharks’ AHL team in Worcester. In the Sharks press release, Thomas said:

“I am very proud to have been a part of this organization and its accomplishments,” said Thomas. “My only regret is not being part of a group that brought a Cup to San Jose. After 22 years of being part of the Hockey Operations of the Sharks, it is time to spend a little more time being a husband, father and grandfather.”

Per a report from the Mercury News, Corey Schwab will also not be returning to the Sharks. Schwab spent seven seasons coaching goaltenders in both Worcester and San Jose.

NHL Free Agency Opens

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By Mary Walsh

The start of NHL free agency 2015 has been unusually busy for the San Jose Sharks. Just after the draft, they acquired goaltender Martin Jones (3 years at $3m AAV). On Day One of free agency, they signed veteran defenseman Paul Martin (4 years at $4.85m AAV). They have re-signed defenseman Brenden Dillon (5 years at $3.75m AAV). Defenseman Matt Irwin has not been re-signed and seems to be testing the free agent market. As reported by Elliotte Friedman, the Sharks also hired Johan Hedberg as goalie coach.

Over 13 seasons, Hedberg played in 396 NHL games in regular season and playoffs. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Dallas Stars, the Vancouver Canucks, the Atlanta Thrashers and most recently the New Jersey Devils. His last NHL game was April 27, 2013. Such a career suggests that he has seen a good number of changes in goaltending and has worked with a number of goalie coaches, including Warren Strelow. After retirement, he worked as a scout for the Devils in 2013-14, and spent last season as goaltending coach for the Albany Devils of the AHL. He should be a good addition to the Sharks coaching staff.

The Sharks have also signed John McCarthy and Bryan Lerg to one year two-way contracts. McCarthy was drafted by the Sharks in the seventh round of the 2006 draft. He spent last season with the St. Louis Blues organization. He was moved in an AHL trade to the Worcester Sharks but was unable to play in the Calder Cup playoffs due to injury. The Sharks also re-signed Bryan Lerg to a one year two-way deal. He played two games with the Sharks, and 68 games with the Worcester Sharks, earning 41 points last season.

Other moves around the NHL:

Former Los Angeles King forward Justin Williams, noted for his success in playoff game sevens, will be leaving the West for the Washington Capitals. Short of adding him to their own roster, this had to be the best outcome for teams in the Western Conference.

One high profile move was Pittsburgh’s acquisition of formidable goal scorer Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maples Leafs. While the move will certainly impact the Penguins, presumably for the better, it is only significant for the Sharks because it means Kessel is not coming west.

The Chicago Blackhawks are in the situation everyone knew they would be in, having to shed salary to meet cap requirements. They were unable to come to terms with Brandon Saad and traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets. They also let Brad Richards walk, and he walked to Detroit. They did sign Viktor Tikhonov, who has returned from the KHL, and signed Artem Anisimov after acquiring him in the Saad trade from Columbus.

Coyotes do go home after all: Arizona (re)acquired Zbynek Michalek and Antoine Vermette, and signed goaltender Anders Lindback. Michalek was traded to the Blackhawks at the trade deadline last season, and returns to Arizona with a Stanley Cup ring. Michalek was traded at the same time, to the St. Louis Blues. Lindback spent last season with the Dallas Stars, and could be a significant improvement over prior Coyotes backups. Arizona also added forwards Boyd Gordon (another returning Coyote), Brad Richardson and Steve Downie, and defenseman Nicklas Grossmann.

The Los Angeles Kings signed goaltender Jonas Enroth, an interesting move as it breaks with their tradition of having less well-traveled backups for Jonathan Quick. Enroth played very well for the Stars last season, when their regular starter Kari Lehtonen was out with injury. The Kings had already acquired forward Milan Lucic from the Bruins during the draft, in a trade that led to the Sharks being able to get Martin Jones from the Bruins.  Lucic is the sort of forward everyone needs to keep an eye on. The Kings also terminated Mike Richards’ contract but gave no further details about the breach the termination was based on.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired defenseman Kevin Bieksa from the Vancouver Canucks and signed forward Shawn Horcoff. They added goalie Matt Hackett, formerly of the Minesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres. They also hired former Senators coach Paul MacLean as assistant coach. During draft weekend, they sent Emerson Etem to New York in exchange for Carl Hagelin and picks.

The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Taylor Fedun, who played seven games with the Sharks last season, after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers. Vancouver traded  Zach Kassian to the Montreal Canadiens for Brandon Prust. They signed goalie Richard Bachman, and defenseman Matt Bartkowski.

The Edmonton Oilers won the Cam Talbot sweepstakes, trading three drafts picks and receiving one in return with the coveted goaltender. They then signed two veteran skaters: defenseman Andrej Sekera and center Mark Letestu.

The Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Francois Beauchemin to a three year contract, and forward Blake Comeau. They traded ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Nikita Zadorov, forwards Mikhail Grigorenko and J.T. Compher, and a 2015 2nd-round pick. They did not re-sign Jan Hejda, Daniel Briere or Ryan Wilson.

Other moves of note for Sharks fans:

Thomas Greiss signed a two year deal with the New York Islanders. The Kings and others had inquired, according to Pierre LeBrun. Defenseman Sena Acolatse signed with the Florida Panthers.