Since losing in the 2019 Western Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, St. Louis Blues, the San Jose Sharks have failed to make a postseason appearance, and have produced a dismal regular season record of 123-199-50 under three different head coaches. At the end of this season, General Manager of the Sharks, Mike Grier, announced that the team would be parting ways with head coach David Quinn after two years behind the bench.
After winning the NHL Draft Lottery last week, San Jose has the opportunity to select forward Macklin Celebrini with the first overall selection, allowing them to take one leap forward in their ongoing rebuild. However, another integral part of the organization’s development and future success will be the choice of the next head coach of the organization.
Following up on a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his recurring ’32 Thoughts’ podcast, Sheng Peng of SJ Hockey Now confirms that the Sharks organization has an interest in naming Jeff Blashill as the team’s next head coach. Currently, Blashill has been serving as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning since the beginning of the 2022-23 NHL season.
Before his career led him to western Florida, Blashill had experienced a good amount of success in the NCAA and the AHL. After serving as an assistant coach with Ferris State University and Miami University (Ohio) for several years, Blashill got his first opportunity as a head coach in the NCAA with Western Michigan University for the 2010-11 season.
Blashill led the Broncos to a 20-13-10 record in his first season at the helm, coaching Western Michigan to an appearance in that season’s NCAA Frozen Four Tournament. After only one year, the Detroit Red Wings brought Blashill on as an assistant coach for the 2011-12 NHL season, before naming head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, a role he held for three years.
Coaching the Griffins to a Calder Cup Championship in 2013, Blashill quickly became the heir-apparent behind the bench to longtime Red Wings coach, Mike Babcock. When Babcock eventually left for the head coaching position with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015-16, Blashill was named the next head coach for Detroit.
Ultimately, Blashill was not put in a position to succeed with the Red Wings, as the roster began deteriorating quickly after he became head coach, with the organization’s last playoff appearance coming in the 2015-16 NHL season. After producing a 204-261-72 record with Detroit from 2015-2022, the Red Wings decided to move forward in their rebuild without Blashill, relieving him of his duties after the 2021-22 season.
With plenty of available head coach candidates this offseason, the Sharks will have their work cut out to find the correct candidate. In Blashill, he has shown the ability to work well with younger talent at all levels of the game but has not yet had the opportunity to coach an up-and-coming roster at the NHL level.