Rebuilding Sharks fire coach David Quinn after 2 disappointing seasons

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks have fired coach David Quinn after two rough seasons as part of a massive rebuilding project.

General manager Mike Grier announced the decision on Wednesday following a review of the team's season.

"After going through our end of the season process of internal meetings and evaluating where our team is at and where we want our group to go, we have made the difficult decision to make a change at the head coach position,” Grier said in a statement. “David is a good coach and an even better person. I would like to personally thank him for his hard work over these past two seasons. He and his staff did an admirable job under some difficult circumstances, and I sincerely appreciate how they handled the situation.”

Grier hired Quinn to replace Bob Boughner shortly after taking over as general manager in 2022. Quinn spent two seasons in San Jose that were marked with lackluster play as the team traded away several high-priced stars like Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier, part of a major overhaul to get the franchise back to being a contender.

The Sharks had a 41-98-25 record in Quinn's two seasons for the worst mark in the NHL in that span. San Jose finished in last place in the league this season and has a 25.5% chance of earning the No. 1 draft pick and the prize that is expected to be Hobey Baker Award winner Macklin Celebrini, who played one season for the Sharks junior team while living in the Bay Area.

The Sharks were outscored by 147 goals this season, excluding shootouts, for the 12th-worst mark ever and the worst in 30 years since Ottawa was outscored by 196 goals in 1993-94 in its second season as an expansion team.

San Jose set a franchise record for fewest goals scored per game (2.18) and had the fourth-worst mark in team history in goals allowed per game (3.98). The Sharks allowed at least six goals in a game 18 times, the second-most times that has happened in a season since the start of 1996-97.

The Sharks have missed the playoffs for a franchise-record five straight seasons after making the 2019 Western Conference Final and have the worst record in the NHL in that span. San Jose had been one of the most consistent teams in the league before this stretch, making the playoffs in 14 of 15 seasons with five trips to the conference final and one trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016 before losing in six games to Pittsburgh.

But the core of that roster was aging, and San Jose struggled the next three seasons before Grier took over and started a rebuild that has given the team significant draft capital, with two extra first-round picks the next two seasons and an extra second-rounder this year.

Grier also announced that head athletic trainer Ray Tufts will not return after spending more than two decades with the franchise.

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Josh Dubow, The Associated Press