Another NHL coach finds himself without a job, and this time it’s someone who previously coached the New York Rangers.
David Quinn has been let go by the San Jose Sharks after two seasons as their head coach.
The Sharks finished last in the NHL this season with 47 points and a .287 points percentage. They struggled, not managing to win consecutive games after a three-game winning streak ending with a 3-2 victory against the Rangers on Jan. 23.
During Quinn’s final 33 games with the Sharks, they only managed a record of 6-22-5 and had a dismal -150 goal differential for the season.
Sharks general manager Mike Grier stated, “After going through our end of the season process of internal meetings and evaluating where our team is at and where we want our group to go, we have made the difficult decision to make a change at the head coach position. David is a good coach and an even better person. I would like to personally thank him for his hard work over these past two seasons. He and his staff did an admirable job under some difficult circumstances, and I sincerely appreciate how they handled the situation.”
Quinn’s record as Sharks coach was 41-98-25 in 164 games over two seasons.
This marks the 16th coaching change in the NHL since the end of last season, with 50 percent of the teams having made moves behind the bench during that time. This includes the Rangers, who replaced Gerard Gallant with Peter Laviolette last May.
It’s the second time Quinn has coached a young, rebuilding team and then been dismissed shortly afterward. His first NHL coaching job was with the Rangers for three seasons, from 2018-21, where he replaced Alain Vigneault after the team announced a rebuilding plan.
Players like Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafreniere, and Igor Shesterkin began their NHL careers under Quinn’s guidance.
In Quinn’s first season with New York, the Rangers finished 20 points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The following two seasons were shortened due to the pandemic. The Rangers participated in the play-in round of the playoffs in 2020 but were swept in three games by the Carolina Hurricanes.
After failing to make the playoffs in 2020-21, Quinn was fired and replaced by Gallant. He wasn’t there when the team reached the Eastern Conference Final the next season, losing in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Quinn’s record as coach of the Rangers was 96-87-25 (.522 points percentage).
Before coaching in the NHL, Quinn spent five seasons coaching at his alma mater, Boston University.
