© James Guillory | 2019 Dec 5
BY JOSH DUBOW, AP Sports Writer
The San Jose Sharks fired coach Peter DeBoer on Wednesday, a person with direct knowledge of the move said.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the firing hadn’t been formally announced.
The 51-year-old DeBoer was fired a day after the Sharks’ 3-1 loss at Nashville. San Jose is 0-4-1 in its last five games and 15-16-2 overall.
DeBoer was 198-129-4 in parts of five seasons with San Jose, leading the Sharks to the Stanley Cup finals in his first season in 2015-16. He also has coached New Jersey and Florida.
DeBoer is the fifth NHL coach to lose his job this season and the third for performance reasons. New Jersey canned John Hynes and Toronto fired Mike Babcock after rough starts, while Calgary accepted Bill Peters’ resignation following allegations of abuse in previous organizations and Dallas dismissed Jim Montgomery on Tuesday citing “unprofessional conduct.”
The Sharks host the New York Rangers on Thursday night.