Jan 30, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; New Jersey Devils head coach Peter DeBoer watches from behind the bench against the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Devils won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
It appears that Doug Wilson has finally got his man. After weeks of interviewing numerous candidates, reports have surfaced that Peter DeBoer will be the next head coach of the San Jose Sharks.
ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to break the news on Wednesday morning, although LeBrun said that Wilson has yet to confirm the report. According to LeBrun, sources indicated that the official announcement should happen before the end of the week.
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the coaching search that DeBoer was the eventual choice. DeBoer was one of the few candidates to receive a second interview with Wilson and he does have a familiarity with Larry Robinson, who was an assistant under DeBoer with the New Jersey Devils.
DeBoer has spent seven seasons as an NHL head coach with stints with the Florida Panthers and the Devils. DeBoer’s most successful season came in his first in New Jersey as he led the Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012 where they fell to the Los Angeles Kings in six games.
Like the Pete DeBoer hire in San Jose. That's a situation where you want a coach with experience, who can make tough decisions.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) May 27, 2015
Detractors of DeBoer’s will point to the fact that he has made the postseason only once in seven seasons, and the Devils never replicated their initial season success which ultimately led to his firing in December. The Devils made a decision to go younger as DeBoer’s tenure wore on and that might have had an impact as his talent base dwindled.
With the Sharks, DeBoer will have a veteran team that is trying to incorporate younger players into the lineup as well. It should be interesting to see if he can blend the two dynamics together in next year’s team.
DeBoer has ammassed a 205-183-70 record in the NHL, and will be replacing Todd McLellan who was the most successful coach in Sharks history with 311 wins. DeBoer recently served as an assistant under McLellan on Team Canada’s gold-medal winning world championship team. I bet there was more than one conversation about the Sharks job and Bay Area housing prices between DeBoer and McLellan in Prague.
Stay tuned to bladesofteal.com for more on the Sharks coaching news as this story develops.