The San Jose Sharks are the latest NHL team to fire their head coach, as they fired Peter DeBoer. Why did he get fired, and where do they go from here?
Head coaches are dropping like flies in the NHL. Peter DeBoer, formerly of the San Jose Sharks, is the latest victim, as the Sharks fired him late on Wednesday night. Assistant coaches Dave Barr and Steve Spott, along with goaltending coach Johan Hedberg, were also let go.
Former Florida Panthers head coach Bob Boughner, who was an assistant under DeBoer, will serve as their interim head coach. Also joining the coaching staff are Roy Sommer, who will serve as an associate coach, assistant coach Mike Ricci, and goaltending coach Evgeni Nabokov.
It was a surprising move, mostly because people were wondering why it didn’t happen sooner. The Sharks have been among the most disappointing teams in the NHL this season. A lot of their flaws last season were masked by their best players. This season, their best players weren’t up to the task of making up for the Sharks’ weaknesses. The loss of Joe Pavelski certainly didn’t help.
Why Was DeBoer Fired?
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First of all, it’s my humble opinion that nothing gets a coach fired like bad goaltending. And yup, the Sharks certainly had that. Last season, they had the worst team save percentage in the NHL. This season, the Sharks have the fourth-worst. With better goaltending, I’d be willing to bet DeBoer wouldn’t have been fired.
But let’s take a deeper dive because the Sharks issues lie much deeper than just their goaltending. Their defense has never been outstanding, but thanks to Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, they’ve usually been able to outscore their defensive issues. This is no longer the case.
Expected Goals For Per Hour (All Situations)
- 2017-18: 2.85 (7th)
- 2018-19: 3.01 (4th)
- 2019-20: 2.67 (13th)
Expected Goals Against Per Hour (All Situations)
- 2017-18: 2.62 (10th)
- 2018-19: 2.61 (12th)
- 2019-20: 2.95 (28th)
Stats via Natural Stat Trick
A huge reason for this has been their decline on the power play. The Sharks power play has historically been extremely good. That’s what tends to happen when you have guys like Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, Logan Couture, and Joe Pavelski. Losing Pavelski really hurt their power play, which made it harder for the Sharks to outscore their issues. And they never replaced him.
Power Play Efficiency
- 2017-18: 20.6% (16th)
- 2018-19: 23.6% (6th)
- 2019-20: 16.0% (23rd)
Now, is DeBoer responsible for all of these issues? Probably not. The Sharks have simply not been good this season. Ultimately, that’s on the players. But it’s a lot easier to change the head coach than it is to change the roster, especially when you’re so close to the salary cap ceiling.
Why Now?
It’s easy to see why the Sharks fired DeBoer now – they’re struggling. But they’ve been struggling all season. And frankly, DeBoer might have been fired after the 2018-19 season if it wasn’t for their unforgettable comeback against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Sharks have yet to find their footing this season. So far, they’ve had separate losing streaks of four games (Oct. 2 to Oct. 8), five games (Oct. 25 to Nov. 2), and five games (Dec. 3 to present). This season is a critical one for the Sharks, as their core is aging. Did I mention the Sharks are currently out of the playoffs and they don’t have their own first-round pick?
Their struggles got to the point where general manager Doug Wilson could no longer wait for his team to get going. A change was needed, and DeBoer was the easy choice. Now it’s up to Boughner, the new coaching staff, and the players to get their season back on track.