San Jose Sharks Fire Head Coach David Quinn

Mike Grier

In a sudden change of events, the San Jose Sharks have fired head coach David Quinn. The 57-year-old coach posted a 41-98-25 record in 164 games with the Sharks on incredibly awful teams. This is a decision that shouldn’t have fallen on the coach or the players. The San Jose Sharks were intentionally terrible this year with the hopes of landing the first overall draft pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Quinn was hired to replace Bob Boughner shortly after Mike Grier was hired as general manager. Quinn spent two seasons and saw the team overhaul the entire roster with hopes of becoming a contender again. Quinn went from coaching a roster with Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and many other star players to an AHL roster playing at the NHL level. The 2024-25 NHL season was supposed to be Quinn’s final year with the San Jose Sharks under contract.

San Jose finished dead last in the league this season which results in them earning a 25.5% chance of earning the number one overall draft pick. The Sharks were outscored by 147 goals this season which also excludes shootouts. Additionally, San Jose lost nine games where their opponent scored eight or more goals, five of those games were nine goals or more and two of them were ten goals. San Jose tied the mark for most games in an NHL season where a team allows six goals or more which happened 18 times. This is the second most in a season since 1996-97.

San Jose set the franchise record for fewest goals per game (2.18) and had the fourth-worst mark in team history for goals allowed per game (3.98). San Jose’s 2023-24 season record saw them finish with 19 wins, 54 losses, and 9 overtime losses. The Sharks also managed to go on two separate losing streaks of 10 games or more.

The Sharks look to improve slightly ahead of the 2024-25 season as they will continue to overhaul the roster and bring in a new core. Mike Grier has significant draft capital and a younger team compared to when he first took over. Alongside Quinn, longtime head athletic trainer Ray Tufts will not return to the Sharks after spending over 20 years with the franchise. Quinn’s replacement is unknown as of right now and is one of many head coaching vacancies at the moment.


Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Conrad Jack

Conrad Jack is a Manitoba based sportswriter covering the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) and the Manitoba Moose (AHL). He also covers the NHL Draft and World Junior Championship for ITR. He writes the Bargain Bin blog which covers NHL News & Rumours.

Leave a Reply

Stuart Skinner

Opinion: Oilers’ Stuart Skinner Showing Some Steadiness Between the Pipes

When it comes to Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, one never knows what they are going to get. On one hand, one might see a version of Skinner, 26, who stands tall, comes up with big saves, does not get out of position, and does not allow soft goals. When this version of Skinner is […]

Read More

3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Carolina Hurricanes Game 5 | 05/28/2025

“Big players make big plays at the biggest moments when you need them too.” That’s what Sam Reinhart had to say about his captain, Sasha Barkov, in his post-game interview. The Cats rallied from a disappointing first period to score three unanswered goals in the second. The eventual game winner scored by Verhaeghe developed from […]

Read More
Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers Playoff Thoughts: Round 3, Game 5

Happy belated 9th Birthday, Ben Stelter. Tuesday night’s win was for you. We’re just one win away from a second straight Finals appearance. We always wish Ben were still with us and imagine how joyful he’d be to watch the Edmonton Oilers in these Playoff runs the last couple of years. A really nice gesture […]

Read More