SJHN Daily: DeBoer Says Old Sharks Group Chat Still Active

Want to guarantee a smile from Peter DeBoer?

Ask him about Brent Burns.

“I loved him. I love the player, I love the person,” the now-Dallas Stars head coach gushed yesterday, on the eve of his Western Conference Finals match-up with the Vegas Golden Knights. “I thought it was a great add for Carolina when they got him. I’m not at all surprised by what he’s done there.”

The San Jose Sharks traded Burns, who starred for them from 2011 to 2022, to the Carolina Hurricanes this past summer. The Canes are now taking on the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In fact, ask DeBoer about pretty much any of his old San Jose Sharks players.

DeBoer coached the Sharks from 2015 to 2019, leading San Jose to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final and the 2019 Western Conference Finals. He’s currently coaching Joe Pavelski in Dallas, who captained the Sharks in four of the five years that DeBoer was behind the San Jose bench.

“We’ve still got a little bit of a group chat, Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, some of the guys from that team. We’ll trade some barbs every once in a while,” DeBoer revealed. “But that was a special group of guys. The guys in San Jose that are still playing, Couture, Hertl, and some of those guys. The older group of guys there were special. Jumbo’s retired. But Burnzie and Pav are still going strong.”

Wait, Joe Thornton retired? 24-year NHL veteran Thornton, who didn’t play the 2022-23 season, has yet to officially retire.

Hold the headlines though – San Jose Hockey Now reached out to DeBoer, who says he misspoke in that instance.

Make no mistake though, DeBoer (and Pavelski) would love to face off against Burns in the Final.

But first things first: Carolina is down 1-0 to Florida after a Game One quadruple OT loss, Dallas and Vegas kick off their series on Friday night.

AT SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW…

What are the strengths and weaknesses of Matvei Michkov, Leo Carlsson, and Will Smith, the consensus three options for the San Jose Sharks at fourth-overall?

Could the San Jose Sharks get some new neighbors? Could the Arizona Coyotes relocate to California?

Are Shakir Mukhamadullin or Artemi Kniazev poised for breakout 2023-24 seasons?

Former San Jose Sharks captain and head coach are off to the Western Conference Finals.

OTHER SHARKS NEWS…

Future of the Sharks franchise coming soon 👀🦈

Join us for our 2023 NHL Draft Party on June 28 at @SAPCenter!

RSVP ➡️ https://t.co/OXz3yEc2eK pic.twitter.com/jdob4hmGQn

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 18, 2023

Do the Sharks really need a goalscorer this offseason? Max Miller explains why.

The Stanley Cup Final could include a couple of former Sharks.

Former San Jose Sharks are shining in the 2023 postseason.

AROUND THE NHL…

Vote on the Coyotes new home… via Twitter poll?

Pack, we want to hear from you. Where should the Coyotes build our new home?

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) May 18, 2023

The Florida Panthers will be channeling the passion of years past in their Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

Sidney Crosby paid for the lunch of a family on vacation.

The Golden Knights not “up to speed” with Robin Lehner‘s recovery.

Lane Hutson continues his success at the international level.

Henrik Lundqvist breaks down Sergei Bobrovsky‘s play style.

Is there a lighter side to former Flames head coach Darryl Sutter?

The Coyotes continue to fight to stay in Arizona.

Heard the same thing yesterday.
Fiesta Mall was one of several sites that I mentioned as possibilities in my story the morning after the Tempe vote.
I think the Coyotes could be looking at as many as 5-6 sites, however. https://t.co/nehokWcoAT

— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) May 18, 2023

What can the Chicago Blackhawks learn from the four remaining teams?

Connor Ingram with another hilarious Tweet:

If Kevin tweets a picture of every cities skyline he’ll guess right eventually??? https://t.co/JyGqxEsrtI

— Connor Ingram (@CBIngram1) May 17, 2023