There was a bloodletting in San Jose yesterday, but it doesn’t include Thomas Speer.
Yesterday, the San Jose Sharks announced that they were letting head coach David Quinn go.
GM Mike Grier, when asked about the future of Quinn’s assistant coaches, Ryan Warsofsky, Brian Wiseman, and Scott Gordon, left it up in the air. It wasn’t clear if goaltending coach Speer was considered a part of that trio.
“The assistants will stay on for now. Whoever is brought in will have the opportunity to speak with them, if they like,” the San Jose Sharks GM said. “For themselves, they’ll be able to pursue other opportunities that come up.”
Usually, new head coaches like to bring their own people in, so that sounded like code for, to quote Deion Sanders, “Jump in that portal!”
Goaltending, however, can be a separate position unto itself on a staff. And as recent as Saturday’s exit interview, Grier gushed about Speer’s work with Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen this past year.
“He’s done a really good job — even going back to last year with Kaapo, kind of breaking him down, I think Kaapo was little stubborn at first and not wanting to maybe make some of the changes that were suggested to him. Speersy’s got such a great personality and work ethic that he kind of stuck with it and eventually won Kaapo over. I think Kaapo had a really good year because of it this year,” Grier said. “Blacky and even Cooley have come up. I think Speersy’s put in a lot of work and put some time in with them, and I think he’s got the right mind-set to be a goalie coach. I think he sees the game well, but I think he also was able to communicate any changes or things that guys can work on or implement in their game.”
For the last-place Sharks, the goaltending was indeed a bright spot.
To that end, a source tells San Jose Hockey Now that the organization wants to bring Speer back.
His contract is up, but it appears, barring something unforeseen, that Speer will be back as the San Jose Sharks’ goaltending coach next year.
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