San Jose Sharks: ‘All signs point to Bob Boughner returning’ next season
By Justin Fried
All signs point to the San Jose Sharks retaining head coach Bob Boughner for next season.
The San Jose Sharks have just finished one of their most difficult seasons in recent memory. And they’ll now be faced with an interesting decision regarding interim head coach Bob Boughner.
After making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season, hopes were high that the Sharks could make another run in the playoffs this year. This was despite some crucial losses in the offseason including captain Joe Pavelski.
But it quickly became apparent that this was going to be a season unlike any other in recent years.
The Sharks started the season off with four straight losses scoring just five goals during those first few games. And soon, the team found themselves with a 4-10-1 record at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
They’d manage to get up to around .500 again but following a 16-17-2 start to the year, San Jose opted to fire head coach Peter DeBoer after four and a half years with the organization.
And in his place, they name assistant coach Bob Boughner the interim head coach for the time being.
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How did Bob Boughner fare as interim head coach of the San Jose Sharks?
Now on paper, Boughner didn’t exactly fare much better. In fact, his lowly 14-20-3 record insists the opposite. But context is important as Boughner was forced to deal with a number of significant injuries during his time as head coach.
And for that reason, it seems as though the Sharks are willing to give him another chance to lead the team next season.
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic recently answered a question about Boughner in his latest mailbag and in his answer he stated that “all signs point to Bob Boughner returning as the head coach.”
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given that it’s what many fans have been expecting for months now. But barring any unforeseen developments, it appears that Boughner will return as a full-time head coach next season.
Despite other big-name candidates such as Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette, and Mike Babcock being on the market, the Sharks seem content with allowing Boughner to have another opportunity with a hopefully healthy and improved roster.
After all, the Sharks were already a mess before injuries to the likes of Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture. It’s hard to blame Boughner for that.
Just as it seemed the Sharks were beginning to put things together, they were struck with the injury bug. Combine that with an already flawed roster and it’s fair to wonder what Boughner could do with a better team.
And that’s exactly what the Sharks seem intent on figuring out.
Next. San Jose Sharks: A complete offseason strategy to fix the team. dark
Expect to see Boughner leading the charge next season with a hopefully improved situation.