Thoughts on 10 Possible Sharks’ Head Coach Candidates

Mike Grier hasn’t said much about what he’s looking for in the San Jose Sharks’ next coach.

“I don’t want to rule anyone out if there’s someone that we come across that we’d like to speak to,” Grier said Wednesday, after David Quinn was fired. “Meeting with the players and reviewing the season, I think I have an idea of what they’re looking for, what they need and what I think they need.”

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

And what would that be?

First guess: Grier could be seeking a coach who has a history of getting the most out of his players, is comfortable with developing players during a rebuild, might be more fiery than Quinn, and possesses some degree of pro hockey experience. So, the San Jose Sharks GM likely is casting a wide net.

Here are more thoughts about each of these traits:

4 Things That Grier Might Be Looking for From Next Sharks Coach? (+)

And, here are 10 candidates who could be in the mix, in order of four more probable fits, three veteran bench bosses and three other hot candidates.

Dean Evason

Evason has seen the worst of the San Jose Sharks — he played on the expansion teams that won 28 total games in its first two years. Since then, he has become a successful NHL coach.

Former Sharks goalie Devan Dubnyk called Evason “super intense,” and that intensity has served him well in more developmental head-coaching spots (WHL from 1999 to 2005; AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals from 2012 to 2018). All this led to his first NHL head-coaching stint with the Minnesota Wild, with whom he went 147-77-27 from 2019 to this year, when he was let go midseason.

Kevin Fiala, Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis are among the stars who developed under Evason in Milwaukee.

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