Will the Sharks give Bob Boughner a second chance?
San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson points to Bruce Cassidy, Mike Sullivan and Craig Berube as coaches who succeeded in their second NHL coaching opportunity; Will he give Bob Boughner that same chance?
Judging by everything he’s said so far, general manager Doug Wilson would have no problem bringing back Bob Boughner to be the Sharks’ head coach next season.
A major reason is Boughner’s experience. Not only does he know the Sharks’ personnel, but he also was the Florida’ Panthers’ bench boss from 2017-19.
“You take a look at some of the coaches around the league that have been very successful in their second coaching opportunity,” Wilson said this week. “Whether it be (Boston’s) Bruce Cassidy, (Pittsburgh’s) Mike Sullivan or (St. Louis’) Craig Berube, there’s a learning experience and journey that guys like that went through.”
Cassidy lasted just 15 months as the Washington Capitals’ coach from 2002-03. Sullivan’s tenure with the Bruins and Berube’s time with the Flyers were similarly short-lived, although both at least lasted two seasons before they were sacked.
What happened in their second go-round as coaches? Cassidy was one win away from leading the Bruins to the Stanley Cup last year, losing to Berube’s Blues. Sullivan has won two Cups with the Penguins.
“Usually you learn from your first experience,” Cassidy said before last year’s Cup final. “It’s a tough business. It’s a results oriented business, and if you’re not hitting the ground running, ready that first time, you learn some things so the next time you are completely prepared for all the elements.
“I think that’s what happened with me, probably happened to a lot of guys in this league, Craig, go right on down the line.”
Boughner was 46 when he was given his first NHL head coaching opportunity by the Panthers — about a decade older than Cassidy and Sullivan were when they got their first jobs, and two years younger than Berube. Boughner was taking over for interim coach Tom Rowe after a tumultuous season that also saw Gerard Gallant fired in disgraceful fashion.
In both of Boughner’s years in Sunrise, the Panthers got off to horrible starts, and spent the rest of the season scrambling to get back into the playoff picture.
They almost made it in 2018, falling one point short. But the following year, the Panthers started poorly, never recovered and finished 13 points out of a playoff spot. This was despite having offensive stars Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov combine for 328 points.
Although injuries played a role, preventing offense was the biggest issue, as the Panthers were fourth-worst in the NHL with 280 goals allowed.
The Panthers missed the playoffs for the 16th time in 18 seasons in 2019, and Boughner was let go a day after the regular season ended. Joel Quenneville, the second-winningest coach in NHL history with three Cups to his credit, took over as the Panthers coach one day later.
“I left there knowing that I made a difference,” Boughner told this news organization last year. “The guys played hard for me, and even though we fell short, I felt good about the job I did and I understood the direction the organization was going in.”
When Boughner was brought back by the Sharks to be an assistant on Pete DeBoer’s staff last year, he already had a familiarity with most of the players. Boughner, of course, was also an assistant under DeBoer from 2015-2017, helping the team reach the Cup final in 2016 and Brent Burns win the Norris Trophy in 2017.
Boughner took over for DeBoer, who was fired Dec. 11 after the Sharks got off to a 15-16-2 start. Boughner went 14-20-3 in the interim as injuries to Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and finally Erik Karlsson sealed San Jose’s fate as a non-playoff team.
Boughner immediately tried to implement more defensive structure in his team’s game, and the Sharks were able to cut down on goals against in the second half of the season. He also found a balance between holding players accountable in the form of reduced ice time, while also being someone the players could relate to and trust.
“(Bob) was great before, but you can see … he definitely evolved,” Burns said this week. “He was better. The atmosphere he creates is good. It’s tough to say that with how (badly) everything was going. But he did a great job with where he was at, and with where we were at.
“He had the knowledge, he was detailed. He was extremely detailed actually in the different scenarios. He was able to make little in-game changes. If he needed to snap, he could, very well. He was great.”
Erik Karlsson added: “I think Bob did a good job. I don’t think he entered a very easy situation. He did the best he could with what he had. I think that he not only thought about what he needed to fix immediately, I think that he had much more of a long term plan.
“Even though his future was uncertain, I think he did the right thing for the organization and the team moving forward, not necessarily for the season that we were in.”
A few things will be critical to any success the Sharks may have next season — including regaining an identity, committing to playing a more defensively responsible style and getting off to a good start.
Boughner’s Panthers largely struggled in those areas in his two years with Florida. The question is whether the Sharks will give him a chance to put what he’s learned over the years into practice next season and beyond.
Wilson said he wants to be thorough in his search for a new coach, adding that he doesn’t “want to look back and say, ‘What if?’ But I also really appreciate the work that people put in.
“When you look at it, you look at what your team needs, the entire staff that you’re trying to put together, how we want to play. So we’re going to be thorough, and we’ll get to a good place.”