Lizz Child
San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier announced David Quinn as the 11th head coach in the team’s history on Tuesday morning.
Here’s the press conference, which most of you have seen and heard:
Following the press conference, the two met with members of San Jose media and got even deeper about the state of the Sharks organization, Quinn’s experience with the New York Rangers, and more. Here are some of the highlights.
Grier shed light on the Radim Simek and Sasha Chmelevski situations, how many coaching candidates he talked to, a potential Kevin Labanc buyout, Mario Ferraro’s new contract, and whether or not Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl are excited about the Sharks’ new direction.
Quinn tells us what he thinks of Erik Karlsson, when we might expect his coaching staff to get filled out, what former Boston University player Nick Bonino has told him about the Sharks’ situation, and how close he was to getting the Sharks’ head coaching gig in 2015.
MIKE GRIER
Grier, on working on getting a Mario Ferraro contract done:
I think we’ll be able to get it done. We’ve had good talks with his agent, and Mario’s here working out, so I’ve seen him a couple of times. So I think it’ll get done. Sometimes, especially when you don’t have arbitration and things like that, it’s gonna take a little bit longer, but I think we’ll be able to work something out here and get him into camp.
Grier, on Chmelevski signing in the KHL:
We talked to his agent and told him our stance on things with him and he and his agent thought it would be best for him to go play in Europe. I have to do what I feel is best for the organization and on the other side of it, the agent is trying to do what he thinks is best for his clients. At the end of the day, hopefully, it works out for Sasha, but this is the path he’s decided to go down right now.
Grier, on if he’s talked to Radim Simek’s agent about a potential fresh start:
I haven’t had any conversations with [Simek’s] agent yet, so I’m not sure how he feels. I know I’ve read the stuff before I got the job, how he wasn’t happy with how his season went and how he was handled, but I’m looking forward to talking to him when he gets into camp. If his agent has any things he wants to discuss, he certainly knows where I am.
Grier, on Kevin Labanc coming back to the ice:
It’s good just to see him healthy. He’s in the gym here every day. He’s skating three times a week. I’ve seen him out on the ice. He seems to be in a good space mentally. Physically, he’s healthy. He’s shooting the puck and doing everything our strength coaches are asking him to do, so it looks like he’s 100 percent ready to go for camp. I’m looking forward to seeing him healthy and playing again.
Grier, on top players he’s spoken with about their thoughts and the state of the team:
I talked to Logan [Couture]. I talked to Timo [Meier]. I talked to Tomas [Hertl]. I talked to Erik [Karlsson]. All those guys, I’ve had conversations with and we’ve talked about where the team is, how they feel their game is, and how their summer is going. I’m getting to know them on a personal level, but we did talk about the team and the group. They shared their opinions on where they think things are, but I think the overall feeling was that they’re all excited about the change and all looking forward to coming back and getting ready to work.
Grier, on if the Matthew Tkachuk trade situation could be something we see next year with Timo Meier:
I mean they’re similar in the fact that they both have the big [qualifying] number in their last year, but I haven’t given it too much thought comparison-wise. Timo is a good player. We hope he wants to be here, and until I hear otherwise, I’ll assume this is the place he wants to be. Matthew [Tkachuk] made the choice that he didn’t want to be in Calgary anymore. He had a good, successful run there, but he wanted to try something new. I can’t really compare the two. Timo’s a good player, I expect him to be here and I think he’ll enjoy playing here until I hear otherwise.
Grier, on looking forward to seeing how the team performs for David Quinn:
David is such a good communicator, and I think the guys will really enjoy playing for him. I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone’s games evolve and get a bump from having a different voice in the room and a different perspective on hockey. I’m really looking forward to seeing how that translates on the ice.
Grier, on how Quinn will enjoy a new start in San Jose:
I think we all know New York is not an easy place to coach and play in. It’s a great sports town, but the standards and demands from the fans and media are pretty high. I think it’s not an easy place to play or coach and I’m sure he’s maybe happy to be out of that kind of cauldron a little bit.
Grier, on how many people were interviewed for the head coaching position:
I think we had nine candidates. Then we went down to three and then down to two. I have to say that everyone we interviewed, interviewed very well. They were all impressive and it was tough. It was very tough to even cut it down the nine to three, it was very fine margins. I think we’re happy with the list of people we interviewed. At the end of the day, Quinny just was the best fit for everything we were looking for.
Grier, on if Quinn having experience as a head coach in the NHL influenced the decision:
[Quinn’s NHL experience] was part of it. It wasn’t the end all, be all of it, but it was part of it. I think there’s some personalities in our dressing room, which I think you all are aware of, and I think his past experience dealing with Bread [Artemi Panarin]. Bread is not an easy guy to deal with in New York, and Mika [Zibanejad] and Foxy [Adam Fox], those guys are very good players, but they all have their quirks and personality to them that he had to deal with. I think that’s something that definitely factored in, that he’s had that experience, that he knows what it takes to deal with those type of talented, but maybe sometimes difficult, players.
DAVID QUINN…
Quinn, on if there was pressure to find another coaching position after New York:
The good news is I had two years left in my deal. There wasn’t that complete sense of urgency. I knew I was gonna coach this year. If I wasn’t gonna be a head coach, I was gonna be an associate coach somewhere.
Quinn, on coaching Thomas Bordeleau, Strauss Mann, and Jaycob Megna in the Olympics:
Bordeleau is very talented. He got hurt halfway through it, so he [didn’t play a lot] the last few games. Mann, I had in the Olympics as well, he’s a good goalie. Megna played very well for us.
Quinn, on how he thinks the hiring process went:
I think we went about it the right way. He didn’t just hire his friend, right? Obviously, a plus, for all of us is that Mike and I have a great personal relationship.
Quinn, on his time with the Rangers:
Obviously, [Grier] knew what went on in New York. The situation in New York, it was so unique. We sent a letter out [before my first year] that we were doing a full-blown rebuild. The thought was, my fourth year [in 2021-22] was the year we were going to be good.
I always say, if you want to know what an organization’s intentions are, what are they doing at the Trade Deadline?
My three years in New York, my first year, we traded Zuccarello, Hayes, and McQuaid. We ended up finishing three games under .500. My second year, after January, we were one of the top teams in the National Hockey League. And when the pandemic hit, we were two points out of the playoffs. That Trade Deadline, we traded Brady Skjei, one of our top-four D. We wanted to make the playoffs, but we were sticking to the plan. We weren’t adding people and everybody around us is adding people. The next year, we’re still hanging around the playoffs, we’re five, six games over .500 during the Trade Deadline. We add nobody, everyone else adds [somebody].
We had bought out Shattenkirk and we had bought out Lundqvist, so that was gonna be a tough year for us. But that money was going to free up. I give the Rangers a ton of credit. Chris made some great moves as a GM, adding at [this past] Trade Deadline, which was our plan all along, and Gerard did a good job coaching.
When people talk about the New York experience, not just for me, but for all of us, we did probably what we were asked to do and maybe a little bit more.
Quinn, on when assistant coaches (he was asked specifically about Ryan Warsofsky and David Oliver) may be joining his staff:
I’m anticipating here the next week, we’ll certainly narrow things down.
Quinn, on Erik Karlsson:
He’s one of the elite players in the National Hockey League. I know he’s battled some injuries over the last few years. But when he’s healthy, there aren’t many guys better in the league. He’s still relatively young at 32. He’s got a lot of great hockey ahead of him. If we’re going to achieve our goals, we certainly need him at the top of his game. That’s our job as coaches is to put him in the best position to have success and be at the top of his game and I really believe he can get back to that.
Quinn, on what Nick Bonino (who played at BU when Quinn was an associate coach) is thinking about the Sharks:
He’s optimistic.
Bob Boughner is a good coach. We’re just in a profession where change happens. They were four points out of a playoff spot [late in the season] last year, so it wasn’t all bad.
[Bonino] certainly believes that there are answers in this locker room. If we can get everybody to be playing a little bit higher level, everybody, then there’s your answer.
Quinn, on how close he came to the Sharks’ head coaching position when he interviewed in 2015:
I don’t know. You’d have to ask Doug Wilson and Tim Burke. (laughs) Close enough that I met with them in-person.
Quinn, on Sharks players who were unhappy with their ice time last year:
Plenty of guys in New York that weren’t happy with their playing time too. You’re never getting away from that.
Quinn, on being on the same page as Mike Grier:
Mike and I, instinctively and naturally, see this game very similar.