San Jose Sharks: 3 positive takeaways from last season

1. The Peter DeBoer/San Jose Sharks breakup

Hear me out on this one — despite the decision being unpopular, this was a genuinely divisive move by Doug Wilson to fire head coach Peter DeBoer.

DeBoer’s often conservative style of coaching, in many ways, holds players back from their full potential. While some may argue it is to promote a team-first mentality, it likely ruined the Sharks chance at winning a cup.

Excluding the 2016 season, DeBoer objectively wasted the prime years of Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and many other fan favorites.

In the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues, the Sharks held a commanding 2-1 lead going into Game 4. San Jose outshot their opponents 30-22 and had multiple opportunities to send the game into overtime.

If it were not for DeBoer, the team would have moved into a 3-1 lead with a Game 5 at home, and San Jose very well could have won the series.

Historically, the bench boss starts strong with his teams, guiding both the New Jersey Devils and the Sharks to a Stanley Cup in his first season. But after that, they often fade into mediocrity.

With this decision, it allows San Jose to reset and head into a new brighter direction.