Lizz Child
Early Friday morning, reports began trickling out that the San Jose Sharks had fired head coach Bob Boughner and his coaching staff. Just a handful of hours later, Sharks interim GM Joe Will was in front of the media on a Zoom call to discuss the move and what it means for the GM search as well as the reasoning behind the decision.
Here’s the full transcript — the San Jose Sharks interim GM covered a host of topics, from Boughner’s performance, the timing of the firing, the Evander Kane grievance, buying out Marc-Edouard Vlasic, where they are in the new GM search, and other things.
Joe Will’s opening statement:
Last evening, we made a decision to part ways with Bob Boughner, John MacLean, John Madden, and Dan Darrow. We appreciate Bob’s three-year run with the Sharks. And during his tenure, the team was known for working hard, and Bob was very invested in the plan to play and develop young players. Since the end of our season, and related to this GM search, we put together a thorough review of where we’ve been and where we’re going. This has been the most thorough and reflective review that we’ve had over the past 20 years, all aspects of this team have been evaluated: coaching, scouting, development, and management.
Although we’re all aware that this team’s played in 30 playoff rounds over the past 20 years, we did not make the playoffs in the past three seasons, we need to look ahead, we can, and we will, improve the team in all these areas. We have already made some changes, and modifications are in the works for many areas, both on and off the ice. That includes Barracuda coaching, development, analytics, and mental performance amongst others. Responsibility for this organization’s performance is shared between management, coaching, and the players themselves.
We’re now beyond looking backwards. And we’re now looking forward to the opportunities available with a new GM and a new head coach. And lastly, we moved into an in-person finalist stage with the GM search after about a dozen very thorough and lengthy Zoom interviews.
Will, on the reasoning behind the decision to let Bob Boughner and the coaching staff go (and the timing):
Up until yesterday, they were our coaching staff. And, in going through, there are some qualities, we said we worked hard, we played young players there, there are a lot of things that they could hang their hat on. But as we got further into this review, and it’s been very thorough in a lot of different areas, we just came to the conclusion that amongst everything else, we just want this fresh start, moving forward with a general manager, and a head coach, and that’ll also create the opportunity for the general manager to find their head coach and to partner up with them moving forward.
So, again, it’s not solely upon the performance of the coaches, for this past season or anything else. It’s a shared thing between, myself and our management team, the coaches and the players, we all need to get better, and that’s what we’ve done in this process, looked at every single way that we can get better across the board. And so that was it. It’s been a very thorough and exhaustive process. We’re at the point to where, we’re done looking backwards at everything. And now it’s looking at our solutions moving forward and implementing those solutions. So the decision again, for all of us, yes, everything is tied to not making the playoffs for the past three years, or a lot of it is. But it’s also tied with moving forward with the new GM and new opportunities.
Will, on if the GM candidates had any kind of influence over the decision to fire Boughner:
Again, I think with the candidates, and we did, with the candidates, we’ve gotten into a lot of things, everything they’ve been, the Zoom interviews, as Jonathan [Becher] mentioned, they’ve all been four to six hours. And then when people come up to San Jose, they’re full-day sessions and it goes over everything, coaching, scouting, development, analytics, mental performance, the direction of the team, and all these different areas.
I think with the candidates, it wasn’t like a direct, what do you think about the staff or anything like that. It’s more about what do you need moving forward? How do you envision coaching? I think there’s some common threads. They’re looking for teaching, they’re looking for culture and accountability, and they’re looking for somebody to manage, and maximize the performance of this group to get the best out of the players and the assets that they’re given. But a lot of that is just now the general manager will have the opportunity to move forward and select a head coach that matches the vision that they have in these areas. So again, yes, it’s been a process, since the end of the season.
I think we’ve went every day since the end of the season, looking at all areas. Now we’re at the point of, of moving forward, it’s been exhaustive, we’ve got to this point. Often these decisions are made immediately after the season. We weren’t prepared for that. This coaching staff did well, they deserved to be in consideration moving forward, and they truly have been all the way until this decision was made yesterday.
Will, on if the decision could have been made any quicker:
No. Again, it was their job until yesterday. They very well could have been the coaching staff of the Sharks moving forward, going into this with the new GM, and next season and everything else. So they were in consideration all up to that point until they weren’t. We’re going to do things right, as far as our review, and our review was exhaustive in all areas.
Will, on if a GM announcement might be made ahead of the Draft:
Well, I think we’re in a decent spot heading into next week’s draft and our upcoming free agency, and our contractual decision periods that we have over the next few weeks here. We have the personnel in place, we have the processes in place, all these type of things.
There’s even some commonality with different finalists that we have on the direction that they want to go that help us, makes some of the decisions we have to make kind of easier moving forward. So we’re not basing the hiring decision on timing with these things. We’re in a good spot with all these things. But we are in the home stretch. We’re in the home stretch with the candidates. It’s doing a lot of reference checking, vetting, finding out your hypothetical situations, looking at everything else.
So again, it’s been thorough up to this point, but we are in the home stretch. I don’t have a date on it. But, we’re getting much, much closer.
Will, on how many GM candidates remain:
I can say, we talked to around a dozen candidates by Zoom. Again, they were like four to six-hour interviews. Extremely thorough. We had multiple finalists come out to San Jose, and we are in that period right now.
We’re not at a single person yet, I guess I’ll put it that way. And when we get to that part, then we just do our very final process with them of vetting and everything else, and then we’ll introduce them.
Our finalists are going to be three to five. And that’s the area that we’re in.
Will, on keeping San Jose Sharks goaltending coach Evgeni Nabokov but not others:
Well, one of the things that we’ve talked about with multiple GM candidates, and it’s again, kind of a commonality with our finalists, is they all really want to ramp up the area of player development. Especially with the salary cap, more young players in this league, and everything else. They each really want to have a separate distinct development department, with a head of development and in very specific roles within there.
Nabby is generally more in a development spot.
He’s our guy with goaltending. He is overseeing all areas of goaltending here and when the GM comes in, we’ll be working with Nabby on how we structure moving forward in that area. But that’s one area, we’ve identified that we may bolster the staff with a little bit and I would expect some bolstering up the staff within player development as well. Adding to it, going out into prospect development, especially with that we’ve had more first and second-round picks and higher prospects than we had probably in the previous five years. And so our desire and ability to work with them is very important to us.
Will, on if the organization is waiting to name a GM to search for a new coaching staff:
That’s something too, that we always have ongoing lists of up-and-coming and current coaches. We have a rating or review system that’s kind of like players. You just keep it on the backburner in case you need that at some point in time. And so, yeah, we’re very aware here. We have that.
There’s been some talk [with GM candidates] about who are some coaching candidates and things like that out there that match your personality? Who are you intrigued by? What’s your philosophies on that? And so we’ve talked with many, many candidates on that and got some feedback, and of course, we always have people that we watch closely as up-and-coming people.
I have one here that I look at and GM candidates are. But no, we’re not going to go down that path right now.
Will, on if the Evander Kane situation plays into how the roster can be shaped:
I look at it like salary arbitration. Salary arbitration is a process that happens after free agency. And quite often, you just have to plan for an outcome you can’t predict. There’s a bit of that to it that we’ve been through before.
You just, you have to be cautious in all areas, because there are various outcomes in this decision. It’s unprecedented in the National Hockey League with a situation like this. And so, anything that comes down with this, although there may be possibilities for something to be done, before free agency, we have to plan like the grievance process is all going to be after, and then plan accordingly.
Will, on why the coaching evaluation hadn’t been done during the season:
I think [Bob] deserved to be in consideration. And that’s what we determined throughout there. Did an admirable job in certain areas here, but again, this organization hasn’t made the playoffs in the past three seasons, and we are going to have a new GM, and it all weighed together.
So it was not clear-cut that it wasn’t our coaching staff moving forward. It wasn’t clear-cut. As we went through the process, we wanted to go through it. So, coming back on that, they’ve been our coaches for three years, we’ve tried to give them every chance that we possibly can to succeed here and to continue to coach this team. And, again, decision was made last night.
Will, on the new GM possibly not playing a role in the draft:
Well, with the candidates, I’ve talked some draft hypotheticals. The situation. So we’re looking at who may be available, team needs, options to know what to do with the pick. Outside of selection, moving up, moving down, moving the pick, everything else is always under consideration. And that’s something through these long interviews, we had a section on the draft with everybody and kind of went through it. And again there’s a lot of commonalities when people look at our roster and situation.
We do have a full staff in place. Although we’re going to be adding in different areas and modifying things, we have a full scouting staff in place that we’re confident in. I’ve been through many, many drafts between the Sharks, and even back when I worked for the North Stars, I’ve been through many drafts on here, so it’s not our first time around here. So we’re moving forward and we are very comfortable that we’re not going to get into any situation that really contradicts the vision of any new GM coming in here.
Will, on if the late decision limits the coaching search:
I think there’s plenty of good candidates out there. And that’s another thing too, in talking with candidates here, it’s knowing the people they’re talking about.
There’s only a couple candidates out there that we’re into that weren’t there. There’s going to be numerous good options for us in the head coaching and coaching staff areas. So plenty of quality candidates out there, much like there’s plenty of quality candidates for the GM, and that’s what we found.
I was happy with talking with [all the GM candidates]. I think they all really had something to bring to the table. And I wasn’t disappointed along the way. So it tells me there are plenty of good general manager candidates out there. The biggest part is the specific fit to the Sharks. And I also believe in the head coaching area, it’s the same. Plenty of head coaching candidates that are perhaps assistants in the National Hockey League, former head coaches that are available, NHL head coaches, there’s AHL coaches, there’s coaches at international, junior, college, everywhere. So there’s a lot of good coaches out there.
Will, on qualities the organization is looking for in the new GM:
Well, the most important thing is leadership.
Just looking for the right leader, who has a vision and has the ability to lead this group of staff and players moving forward, and for hopefully, an extended amount of time here. So, leadership, by far. As far as everything else, you talk about the salary cap, the connection to coaching, the scouting, alumni, all these things, they’re nice. Everybody has their own unique fingerprint with their background.
All these areas that we identified early on, we talked to people in the international community, we talked to player agents, we talked to league personnel, we talked to former GMs, and we talked to current hockey staffers. We did talk to them all in that phase, that Zoom phase, and everything else. We touched all the areas we said, and again like we predicted, some were a little bit more in cap and some were a little bit more in scouting, and some have been connected to the Sharks. [But] leadership is one common thread and fit to the Sharks.
Will, on the buyout period opening today (through Jul. 12):
No, I don’t have anything specific to say with buyouts. We’re aware that it’s open. Buyouts are usually more of a last decision on people, to be quite honest. You look at other things until you get to there. When you go through that phase, people remain on the salary cap. It’s useful in a few situations, not in everything. There’s usually better solutions. And so yes, it is open. Yes, we’re aware. And it’s a tool for us and I won’t comment anymore about how that connects to anybody on our roster.
Will, on if the San Jose Sharks are keeping Marc-Edouard Vlasic:
You’re asking me the same question there. And again, I’m not anything that we’re going to do with any player here, I told you how I feel on Marc-Edouard and I’m very excited that he’s a member of this club and look forward to moving forward with Marc-Edouard so I’m not gonna go down this path.