Former Rangers coach latest to be fired in NHL
Another NHL coach is on the unemployment line, and this time it’s one who previously worked behind the bench for the New York Rangers.
David Quinn was fired by the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday after two seasons as their coach.
The Sharks (19-54-9) finished last in the NHL with 47 points and a .287 points percentage this season. They did not win consecutive games after completing a season-high three-game winning streak with a 3-2 win against the Rangers on Jan. 23.
San Jose was 6-22-5 in their final 33 games under Quinn and had a miserable -150 goal differential this season.
“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,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said in a statement. “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 was 41-98-25 in 164 games over two seasons as Sharks coach.
This is the 16th coaching change in the NHL since the end of last season, meaning 50 percent of the teams have made moves behind the bench in that time frame. That includes the Rangers, who replaced Gerard Gallant with Peter Laviolette last May.
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David Quinn fired by Sharks, also coached Rangers for 3 seasons
It’s the second time Quinn was hired to coach a young, rebuilding team and then was dismissed shortly thereafter. His first NHL gig was on Broadway, where he coached the Rangers for three seasons, from 2018-21. He replaced Alain Vigneault months after the Rangers sent “The Letter” to fans detailing a plan to rebuild.
Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafreniere and Igor Shesterkin are among the current Blueshirts who cut their teeth in the NHL under the guidance of Quinn.
In his first season with New York, the Rangers finished 20 points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The following two season were abbreviated because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Rangers did take part in the play-in round of the playoffs in 2020, but were swept in three games by the Carolina Hurricanes.
After the Rangers failed to reach the postseason in 2020-21, Quinn was fired and replaced by Gallant. Quinn was not there when the team topped 100 points the next season and reached the Eastern Conference Final before losing in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Quinn was 96-87-25 (.522 points percentage) as coach of the Rangers.
Prior to working in the NHL, Quinn coached five seasons at his alma mater, Boston University.
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