Portugal Colonial - NHL Sharks fire Boughner as coach after missing playoffs

The 51-year-old Canadian went 67-85 with 23 overtime losses after being promoted from assistant coach in December 2020 when the Sharks fired Peter DeBoer.

The Sharks, also seeking a new general manager, had not missed the playoffs in three consecutive campaigns since the team took the ice in 1991.

"As we progress through our search for the next general manager of the Sharks ... it has become apparent that the organization is in the process of an evolution," Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will said.

"The bottom line is we have missed the playoffs for the past three seasons, which isn't acceptable to our owner, our organization, or to our fans.

"As part of this evolution and evaluation, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to allow the next Sharks general manager to have full autonomy related to the make-up of the on-ice coaching staff moving ahead."

The Sharks went 32-37-13 this season, finishing 20 points behind the Nashville Predators for the last Western Conference playoff berth.

Boughner is 147-147-45 overall as an NHL coach having had a two-season stint with the Florida Panthers from 2017-2019.

San Jose joins Boston and Winnipeg as NHL clubs in search of a new coach.

This year's NHL Draft is Thursday at Montreal.

B.Godinho--PC