Confirmed with Link: Quinn out as HC, Ray Tufts not returning to team

[Hodge]

I'm sure you must not have a working Google connection when his name is literally at the top of almost any teams "Coaching Candidate List".

Teams are publicly posting lists of their coaching candidates now? Oh wait, you mean the Bleacher Report clickbait articles that get rehashed every time a coach is fired.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Quinn was largely a run of the mill sort of coach so moving on from him is not some detriment. However, the coaching job he did in Karlsson's last year is definitely deserving of praise. Revamping the whole system to maximize Karlsson to make him a tradeable asset that brought back positive value was a huge step in the right direction for the organization. That only happens because of Quinn and that shouldn't be forgotten amidst all the losing that happened.

 

[Hodge]

I think denial is the second stage of grief

If anyone is in denial it's the guy who's "1000% confident" Warsofsky will be the next HC when the GM just made zero reference to him as a candidate except to say he's free to go work for another team.

 

[themelkman]

If anyone is in denial it's the guy who's "1000% confident" Warsofsky will be the next HC when the GM just made zero reference to him as a candidate except to say he's free to go work for another team.

I don’t think it’s 100% by any means but I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s getting a serious interview. No reason to think he won’t get a shot

 

[Hodge]

I don’t think it’s 100% by any means but I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s getting a serious interview. No reason to think he won’t get a shot

There are actually plenty of reasons to think he won't get a shot. One is that the GM just explicitly said the next head coach will decide whether to keep Warsofsky and the other assistants. Why would he say that if the guy was being actively considered for the role? Why would Grier let Warsofsky interview with other teams if he was planning to promote him?

We can also easily read between the lines and assume locker room dynamics had something to do with Quinn's firing. Promoting Warsofsky or one of the other assistant coaches who were part of these dynamics wouldn't make much sense.

 

[Hangemhigh]

I kinda figured he'd be gone, you can't set the cap era record for least points in a full season and run it back and pretend it's not an intentional tank job, Quinn didn't stand a chance

I thought they were gonna have Quinn run it back because it is an intentional tank job. DQ was great at getting the Sharks the best chances of #1 pick.

 

[Jts4thgoal]

Sturm or Wardo.

 

[weastern bias]

I thought they were gonna have Quinn run it back because it is an intentional tank job. DQ was great at getting the Sharks the best chances of #1 pick.

I don't think Grier would be opposed to having done so if they weren't so historically bad, but I think this was an optics move more than anything

They need to sell something to the fanbase, bringing back the coach who just lead us to the worst record in the cap era just makes it a bit too obvious, at that point even the league office might start sniffing around, Quinn had to be let go to save some face

 

[ImTheDuke]

I'd like to see what he can do, but since we haven't seen Grier hire anyone other than Quinn at HC so far it's hard to know what he values

Whether he wants a veteran to set the tone for the culture or if he wants a younger promising mind, I guess we're about to find out

I just don't want them to hire a defensive minded trap coach. It's hard to watch them as it is.

 

[weastern bias]

I just don't want them to hire a defensive minded trap coach. It's hard to watch them as it is.

If they're really trying to improve team performance in the immediate moment that would actually probably be their best bet, this team lacks the talent to win on the strength of their abilities, they would need a stifling system to be competitive on a nightly basis

If they are prioritizing long term development then I would like to see a more offensive head coach, and hopefully they're still thinking long term, this team is 2 years away from being 2 years away from being 2 years away, hopefully they don't chase short term wins just yet

 

[Bleedred]

I understand about not wanting to share before. I've tried to comment less on here than I did before so I don't accidently share too much.

I will say this though, Ray is well respected from within the AT community from what I have heard. He can be a little more old school than some, with a "just play through it" mentality whereas others might be more cautious, I remember seeing the injury reports after playoffs were over and being amazed some of them were still on the ice.

He has so much experience I am really curious to see what he does next. I'd love to see him move into a teaching role of some sort so he can share his knowledge gained over his long career.

I'll also drop this here. I know of one more person in the org who was informed they wouldn't be coming back next season that hasn't been announced yet.

I'm not even sure he is one of those ''Just play through it'' guys. I feel like if Timo Meier were still here, he wouldn't have been allowed to play as much as he did in New Jersey with the injuries he had. I think the Sharks were more cautious with injuries than most, but like most teams they let had a bit of leniency when the playoffs rolled around. There's been times where I know Ray was able to overrule coaches about a player that the coaches wanted in. He had the relationship with Doug and pull with him where he certainly had the authority to do so. Maybe not so much under Grier.

For many years the Sharks led the league in fewest man games lost, which was not the case this past year. I think it was the other way around this year. I don't think that played much into Ray being let go.

He is very well respected with PHATS (professional hockey athletic trainers society) and I think he's highly regarded by those in the league, as well as with USA Hockey.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

This feels like Grier had a real honest and transparent discussion with all of the players during end of season discussions and maybe Quinn did not receive a very good endorsement.

 

[Levie]

I'm just amused that everyone was so bothered that Grier didn't have the opportunity to hire his own AHL head coach.

And now he's fired his own coaching hire, and kept McCarthy.

Are we sure that Grier is able to make any decisions on the Barracuda or is it just Joe Will being Joe Will. Joe Will is the first person who should be fired.

 

[yada]

Ah, they found the leak /s

I'm way more intrigued about Ray than Quinn. Like, I can't recall this happening to a long-tenured trainer.

Rangers let their long time trainer go before this season. Most likely Rangers trainer wanted too much money and he pissed off dolan.

 

[Hobocop]

Are we sure that Grier is able to make any decisions on the Barracuda or is it just Joe Will being Joe Will. Joe Will is the first person who should be fired.

I'm not sure why Mike Grier would have an assistant GM that he couldn't overrule.

 

[Levie]

I'm not sure why Mike Grier would have an assistant GM that he couldn't overrule.

Joe Will isn't assistant GM. He's GM of the Barracuda. Certainly seems like the only person who can fire Joe Will is Hasso.

 

[Hobocop]

Joe Will isn't assistant GM. He's GM of the Barracuda

Sharks Front Office Directory | San Jose Sharks

Sharks Front Office Directory

www.nhl.com

If what you were talking about was the case, why would we be asking about Grier hiring his own AHL coach then anyway?

 

[Hobocop]

One thing buried in the McCarthy non-firing that I didn't notice til now:

Grier Not Saying Much About Why He Fired Quinn, Who’s Next as Sharks Head Coach

At least today, Mike Grier wasn’t saying much about firing David Quinn. Grier says it wasn’t really about the San Jose Sharks’ 19-54-9 record this past season. And from a distance, it appeared as if the rebuilding team’s youngsters like William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau, and Henry Thrun were on...

sanjosehockeynow.com

Grier also thinks that San Jose Barracuda head coach John McCarthy is the right steward for the club’s AHL prospects.


“We’re still working through the Barracuda stuff. Right now, I would expect Johnny Mac to be back,” Grier said. “We’ll have to see how his assistants go. Both their contracts are up. That’s a whole ‘nother subject.”


That’s assistant coach Kyle Hagel, who worked with the Cuda forwards, and Louis Mass, who worked with the defensemen.

Contracts are up for Hagel and Mass. Barracuda gave up the most goals in the league last season, so that might be a message more for Mass than Hagel.

 

[Cas]

"Right now, I would expect Johnny Mac to be back" isn't exactly a vote of confidence.

 

[LadyStanley]

Brodie's "immediate reaction" take

 

[The Nemesis]

Introducing new player/coach Luke Kunin!

 

[Alaskanice]

Brodie's "immediate reaction" take

Brodie drops 3 names, Todd McLellan, Jay Woodcroft and Jay Leach. Interesting ideas.

 

[mogambomoroo]

MG is building a new culture through this move. Even though we are rebuilding, the record was really bad and I think the players probably didn't like the way it was going coaching wise either.
Even though some may not agree on the timeline it's time to make serious progress inside the team next year and I'm not talking about playoffs but I mean playing better and with a purpose to be the best team one day.
I also think MG is ready for some good prospects coming up and even with a little luck one of them from this year draft, and he wants to start from a clean slate with them.

John McCarthy should be next to be fired, I would even say he should have been before David Quinn.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Quinn’s system was horrible. If McCarthy was forced to use it, it may not be his fault that the Cuda were so systematically bad.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

I wouldn’t mind Jay Woodcroft. I also liked Mclellan and don’t think it would be a bad idea to bring him back. I also would love if like…Joe Thornton was given the job with Marleau next to him on the bench!