Reports: Slumping Sharks fire DeBoer

The San Jose Sharks, mired in a five-game losing streak, fired coach Pete DeBoer, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday night. Assistant coach Bob Boughner reportedly will take over as the interim head coach.

Numerous reports indicated the change was made for hockey reasons. The clarification comes amid an NHL-wide examination of coaching behavior in the wake of Bill Peters resigning as the Calgary Flames' head coach on Nov. 29 after he was accused of verbal and physical abuse. The Sharks lost 3-1 to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, concluding a 0-3-1 road trip that left them in a 0-4-1 skid overall. They are 15-16-2 on the season, leaving them in sixth place in the Pacific Division and five points off the last Western Conference playoff position.

San Jose has endured an inconsistent season. The Sharks lost their first four games, won the next three, then slumped to a 4-10-1 mark. They followed that by winning 11 of their next 13 games before the current five-game skid. DeBoer, 51, led the Sharks to the only Stanley Cup Final appearance in team history, when they lost in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. He compiled a 198-129-34 regular-season mark in 4 1/2 seasons on the job, plus a 32-28 playoff record.

San Jose reached the postseason in each of DeBoer's full seasons on the bench, including an appearance in the Western Conference finals last season, when the Sharks lost in six games to the eventual league champion St. Louis Blues. DeBoer previously coached the Florida Panthers (2008-09 to 2010-11) and the New Jersey Devils (2008-09 through part of the 2014-15 season). He guided the Devils to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost in six games to the Los Angeles Kings. His overall coaching record is 415-329-111 in the regular season, 46-38 in the postseason.

Boughner, 48, spent the past two seasons as the Panthers' head coach, producing an 80-62-22 record. Florida missed the playoffs both years. The Sharks return to action Thursday with a home game against the New York Rangers.

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