Comments on: The Next Coach of the Sharks Will Be….Mike Sullivan

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:09:41 +0000

I bet nobody thought it would be McClellan.

By: skr213

skr213 — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:51:55 +0000

fire section 209? why that’s just sacreligious or something!! however, i would suggest a better time for the “hey ____, YOU SUCK!” shout-out. every game, the poor person singing the national anthem thinks the “YOU SUCK” is being directed at them.

By: JC

JC — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:02:42 +0000

When can we fire section 209?

They are a poor act who has not improved in years.

Get Sharkie a duck whistle for the Anaheim games and let’s just wall off the “never-was-beens” in 209. Please?

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:30:38 +0000

I’m basing my opinion of Mike Sullivan on the aforementioned Boston sportswriters’ opinions. They make him sound like a guy who’d be great to grab a pint with, but not exactly the strongest head coach.

“Sullivan is a fine human being, a guy you’d want for a brother-in-law or next-door neighbor.”

“Could he do things better, such as how he manages timeouts? Sure”

“Sullivan, in his first head coaching gig, rarely cut back a player’s ice time during a game, even if that player clearly wasn’t willing to bring total effort. Good guy, Sullivan. Honest. Straightforward. But the best in the biz (examples: Al Arbour and Scotty Bowman) were never shy about telling even their best players to take a seat. He’ll have to develop that edge if he is ever truly going to gain his players’ attention and respect.”

I think the Sharks need a hardass sans sarcasm.

By the way, wasn’t Bowman the GM and head coach of those championship Penguins teams?

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:44:02 +0000

My money’s on Paul Maurice. He’s got the Cup appearance with a group that had lesser talent than the current roster.

…they’ll pluck Dave Lewis from the high-flying Kings for the same reason.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:39:02 +0000

It’s an interesting point, but I don’t see how a “players” coach would by definition not be able to get the things you think (and I agree) the Sharks need. If anything, RW proved that a sarcastic hardass isn’t the right guy. Perhaps the key to the equation is more carrot and less stick.

As far as Scotty Bowman goes, it’s not happening. Reportedly Toronto offered him a coaching job before they hired Paul Maurice, and he didn’t take it becuase he wanted more control than that, I think he wanted to be the GM as well. I don’t like the idea of anyone, even Scotty Bowman, doing both jobs. There’s not not enough hours in the day to do them both well.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:21:28 +0000

I like your out-of-the-box thinking, but I don’t believe the Sharks need a coach who coddles his players. Was Mike Sullivan able to get good effort out of his players in Boston despite the losing? Yes. But is a player’s coach like Sullivan the right fit for a franchise that’s basically at a point of Cup or bust? No.

Certainly, one of the priorities of the new Sharks head coach will be to get a much more consistent effort from this team than we’ve seen. However, the biggest priority of the new head coach will be to elevate the play of his players – particularly his star players like Marleau and Thornton.

Marleau was very impressive in this year’s playoffs and I’m desperately hoping that he’s finally turned the corner. Thornton, on the other hand, continues to disappoint during the playoffs. The new coach will need to figure out how to squeeze every ounce of potential out of these guys. That’s the only way for the Sharks to be legitimate Cup contenders.

What about Scotty Bowman? Any chance DW could lure him out of retirement? Bowman brings credibility. Bowman brings accountability. Bowman brings championships.