10 head coaching candidates the Sharks could consider to replace Quinn originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Mike Grier hasn’t said much about what he’s looking for in the Sharks’ next coach.
“I don’t want to rule anyone out if we find someone we would like to talk to,” the Sharks general manager said Wednesday, after David Quinn was fired. “Meeting with the players and looking at the season, I think I have an idea of what they’re looking for, what they need and what I think they need.”
And what would that be?
First guess: Grier could be looking for a coach who has a track record of getting the most out of his players, who is comfortable with developing players during a rebuild, who can be more impetuous than Quinn and who possesses some degree of experience professional hockey. So Grier is likely casting a wide net.
So here are 10 candidates who could be in the mix, with four more likely fits, three veteran bosses and three other interesting candidates.
Evason has seen the worst of sharks – he played on expansion teams who won 28 games total in his first two years. He has since become a successful NHL coach.
Former Sharks goalie Devan Dubnyk called Evason “super intense,” and that intensity served him well in more developmental head coaching positions (WHL from 1999 to 2005; AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals from 2012 to 2018). All this led to his first stint as an NHL head coach with the Minnesota Wild, with whom he went 147-77-27 from 2019 until this year, when he was released mid-season.
Kevin Fiala, Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis are among the stars who developed under Evason in Milwaukee.
Grier and Halpern were teammates on the Washington Capitals from 2002 to 2004. In fact, Grier told a Halpern story earlier this season after the Sharks started 0-10-1, about how the brave attackers copedas players, with a disastrous start to the 2003-04 season.
Halpern has since joined the Tampa Bay Lightning organization as a development coach and assistant coach, and won the Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. He has no head coaching experience, but his development track record could be a feather in his cap for the sharks.
Much has been made about Grier and Quinn’s connection to Boston University, so perhaps Grier will sign another Terrier.
Grier and Pandolfo, the current BU coach, were college teammates from 1993 to 1996. The wing-checker also won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2000 and 2003.
Pandolfo was part of the Boston Bruins organization from 2014 to 2021, as a development coach and director of player development, and primarily as an assistant coach from 2016 onwards.
Oh, and Pandolfo currently trains Macklin Celebrinithe presumptive No. 1 overall pick – potentially by the Sharks – in this year’s NHL draft.
The Sharks fan favorite, who played eight seasons in San Josehas been considered an NHL coach in waiting since he led Germany’s surprising silver medal-winning team at the 2018 Olympics.
Sturm has added to his portfolio over the past six years, serving as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings from 2018 to 2022 and then bench boss for the AHL’s Ontario Reign the past two seasons.
Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke are two potential stars who have developed under Sturm.
Why would Berube, who led the St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup in 2019 and is considered one of the best free agent coaches in the NHL, take the Sharks job? Only released mid-season by St. Louis, Berube is a new addition to the coaching group.
Berube will probably be offered better situations than San Jose, if we’re being honest. But there is no doubt the once feared executioner is an attractive coaching candidate with his development experience (AHL head coach from 2006-08 and in 2016-17) and track record of getting the most out of his teams (leading the last-place Blues midway through the season, to the World Cup in 2019).
Speaking of getting the most out of players, is there any better example of that than Gallant leading the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final?
A fierce competitor on your playing days, Gallant brought the same intensity behind the bench in four NHL games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers (2016 Jack Adams winner), Golden Knights (2018 Jack Adams winner) and New York Rangers (2018 Finals appearance). 2022 Eastern Conference). He was also head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL from 2009 to 2012, helping Jonathan Huberdeau achieve stardom.
Gallant is probably too decorated to consider rebuilding the Sharks, but he was passed over for head coaching vacancies last summer, so he may be itching for a new home in the NHL.
Sharks fans, of course, are very familiar with McLellan, who led San Jose very successfully from 2008 to 2015. That was his first NHL head coaching job, and he hasn’t been without it for long since.
Soon after the Sharks released McLellan, the Edmonton Oilers signed him in 2015. After the Oilers fired him mid-season in 2018, the Kings signed him to take over next season.
Fired mid-season by LA, McLellan still appears to be one of the more desirable veteran coaching options, perhaps not a great fit for a rebuilding team like the Sharks. That said, McLellan helped turn the rebuilding Kings into a perennial playoff team.
The brother of former Sharks defenseman Matt Carle rose to fame as the head coach at the University of Denver, winning three national championships, the first as an assistant to Jim Montgomery in 2017 and the next two as the starter in 2022 and 2024.
But Carle has no professional experience as a hockey player or coach, not even as an assistant. Can Carle come straight out of the NCAA and command respect on an NHL team?
Another Sharks fan favorite, Ward has accumulated coaching experience in the Golden Knights organization since retiring as a player in 2018first as an assistant with the Henderson Silver Knights from 2020 to 2023 and then as an NHL assistant coach this season.
However, Ward may not have enough coaching and development experience to be considered the front-runner for the Sharks’ top job.
Woodcroft was McLellan’s assistant in San Jose from 2008 to 2015. He was also head coach of the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors from 2018 to 2022, before ascending to bench boss for the Edmonton Oilers and leading them to the Western Conference Finals in 2023.
While Woodcroft isn’t as experienced as Berube, Gallant or McLellan, he will likely be ready for a more competitive situation than what the Sharks could offer this summer.
