Sharks’ Boughner talks job status, impact of Evander Kane’s absence on season

SAN JOSE – Bob Boughner said he is still unsure as to whether he’ll be back as the Sharks’ coach next season, adding that he and his staff would like to have some clarity about their futures sooner rather than later.

Boughner said he and interim general manager Joe Will are planning to talk in the near future but did not know if someone in the Sharks’ current management structure would be the ones to decide to keep him aboard or if that decision might be left to the next full-time GM.

Will has been busy with various exit interviews since Friday, the day after the end of the regular season. Several players who spoke with the media last week said they appreciated the job Boughner and his staff did and believed he deserved the opportunity to coach the Sharks again next season.

“I would say this that, obviously, sooner than later, we’ll have to know so we can move forward,” Boughner said. “Whether that’s a new GM or whether that’s Joe or management or ownership making those decisions, you’d have to ask him.”

Asked when it would be ideal to get some clarity about his job status, so he and his staff can begin preparations for next season, Boughner said jokingly, “tomorrow?”

“It’s been just such a busy weekend for everybody that we haven’t even really crossed that bridge and there’s no date, there’s no ultimatums or anything like that,” Boughner said. “We work together. We’ve been very open and transparent with each other about where we’re at and where we want to get to, so I’ll leave that question up to Joe to answer.

“But I’ve said this before, my staff and myself have put a lot of time in with this group and we want to be a part of it moving forward. I’ve said there’s light at the end of the tunnel here for sure.”

Will became the Sharks’ interim general manager after Doug Wilson stepped down as the team’s GM on April 7 after 19 seasons. Will, team president Jonathan Becher and owner Hasso Plattner are part of the search committee for the next GM, but there is no hard timeline for when a new person has to be in place.

The Sharks finished 22nd in the NHL’s overall standings with a 32-37-13 record for 77 points, 20 points back of the Nashville Predators for the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. This was the third straight year the Sharks had missed the playoffs.

There were things to like about the Sharks’ season — and things that clearly need improvement.

The Sharks’ penalty kill was one of the team’s bright spots, finishing the year at 85.2 percent — second-best in the NHL – after it was at 80.2 percent last season.

The Sharks also finished with the NHL’s 22nd-ranked power play at 19.0 percent – not what the team was hoping for, but a significant improvement over the 14.1 percent of last season.

The Sharks goaltending with James Reimer, Adin Hill, and later Kaapo Kahkonen was also improved with a .900 save percentage, up from .891 the previous season with what was mainly a tandem of Martin Jones and Devan Dubnyk.

The Sharks also dressed a franchise-record 18 rookies this season, and those players combined for 34 goals and 60 assists.

“There’s some great progress being made,” Boughner said. “I think this organization is deeper than it’s ever been with young talent. But with that comes competition.”

Still, scoring was the Sharks’ biggest issue, a void that was never filled with Evander Kane’s season-long absence.

The Sharks finished with 2.57 goals per game, which ranked 30th out of 32 teams. They also scored a league-low 142 goals during 5-on-5 play. The Sharks only had four players score more than 15 goals in Timo Meier (35), Tomas Hertl (30), Logan Couture (23), and Nick Bonino (16).

“I think it was time for both sides to part and I think it was the right decision,” Boughner said of Kane.  “Do we miss his offense? Of course. But there’s a vision and a focus of this group moving forward, and number one, you’ve got to win the game in the locker room before you win it on the ice, and I think we have a strong locker room.

“We have guys that really care for one another, play hard for one another and they want to take that next step as a group.”

Kane signed with the Edmonton Oilers in January, shortly after the Sharks placed him on unconditional waivers and terminated his contract for what it felt was a material breach of his deal with the team and a violation of AHL COVID-19 protocols.

The NHL Players’ Association filed a grievance on Kane’s behalf. The Sharks and the NHLPA had a hearing with an independent arbitrator earlier this month, and that hearing will continue on a date that’s still to be determined.

Kane and the Oilers are beginning a first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. Kane had 39 points in 43 regular-season games with the Oilers.

“To assess the whole thing, was it a positive or negative, we didn’t go into this with our eyes shut, thinking that we weren’t going to lose some skill and offense,” Boughner said. “But also at what cost? I think at the end of the day, it was time for both sides to part and I think (Kane is)probably in a better situation. And I think we are too.”