New assistant coach begins work on one of the Sharks’ biggest issues

After Rocky Thompson's departure, Bob Boughner turns to longtime former NHL player to fix ailing power play

SAN JOSE – John MacLean was officially hired by the Sharks to be an assistant coach less than three weeks ago and it was a scramble for him to get to know all of the players, particularly the young guys.

“It has been a bit of a whirlwind,” MacLean said. “I got in here a week before (camp), trying to get up to speed with everything. I’m still learning everybody, who the guys are. But it’s been a good first (few) days.”

Becoming familiar with everyone on the roster was the first challenge for MacLean, 56. Another one involves trying to revitalize a power play that finished among the league’s worst in 2020-2021.

The Sharks on Sept. 3 announced that Rocky Thompson was stepping down as associate coach, with Thompson saying in a statement that due to a “medical exemption that prevents me from taking the COVID-19 vaccine, under the new League protocols, I am not permitted to fulfill my duties on the Sharks coaching staff at this time.”

Still, it sounded like it was Thompson’s choice not to receive the vaccine, and new NHL protocols for this season state that any individual whose job requires them to be within 12 feet of players needs to be inoculated against the coronavirus.

The league’s new regulations also include strict guidelines for unvaccinated players, particularly when they are on the road.

Both Boughner and Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said they were disappointed Thompson could not remain with the team, as he was thought of as being one of the NHL’s top up-and-coming coaches.

“It wasn’t an easy conversation. We knew these (protocols) were coming,” Boughner said. “I think we all hoped that something was going to change, but at the end of the day, it was a personal choice by Rocky. He knew the fallout that was going to come with it, and I respect his personal choice, I really do. And he was very understanding that we had to move in a different direction.”

With the Sharks, Thompson worked with the defensemen and coordinated the power play.

“We have such great respect for Rocky,” Wilson said. “We respect the decision. It’s because of new league protocol that he wasn’t able to fulfill his duty, but Rocky’s a special guy.”

Four days after Thompson’s departure was announced, MacLean was officially brought in.

Boughner said he spoke with roughly a dozen individuals — including some who were NHL head coaches last season — before he decided on MacLean. The Oshawa, Ontario native had 842 points in 1,194 NHL games, has 13 years of coaching experience in the league, and has won a Stanley Cup as a player and an assistant coach.

“I was looking for experience, I was looking for that winning pedigree and someone that’s had some power-play experience,” Boughner said. “Even in his career, that’s how he sees the game. He made a great living being a power-play guy at the height of his career.”

“It’s the best league in the world, so you always want to be a part of it,” said MacLean, who last worked as an assistant with the Arizona Coyotes from 2017 to 2020. “There’s a lot of good coaches (who) aren’t working this year. I enjoy doing it, so I was very happy to come.”

The Sharks’ power play finished 29th in the 31-team NHL last season at a paltry 14.1 percent. Thompson brought in some innovative ideas, but the Sharks’ man-advantage rarely clicked, going an abysmal 7-for-78 (9 percent) over the last 26 games of the season.

MacLean and Boughner said the Sharks’ power play this year, at least at the start of the season, will be a little bit more meat-and-potatoes.

“Getting multiple chances, getting lots of traffic. Being hard on second and third (chances) in front of the net,” Boughner said. “We had no problems getting in and setting up. But we weren’t exposing the seam, we weren’t getting enough net-front traffic, enough net-front presence. That’s the big thing we’re going to concentrate on.”

Nick Bonino figures to be added to the unit for his value in the faceoff dot and as a net-front presence. But more changes may be on the way, and MacLean and Boughner work together to try and solve one of the Sharks’ biggest issues.

“You’re going to see guys that you didn’t see in certain spots last year,” Boughner said, “we’re going to change that up personnel-wise.”

“It’s going to be a partnership. You’re going to work together and you’re going to have to really pay attention to the details,” MacLean said. “We have talented players here. Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson as quarterbacks — whether they play together, they don’t play together — you’ve got two pretty high-end guys.

“That’s usually what every team is looking for, and it’s here already, so now it’s just to get everybody on the same page.”

NOTE: Karlsson was initially expected to play in Anaheim on Sunday but Boughner said the two-time Norris Trophy winner has a thumb infection. Karlsson is being treated with antibiotics and if all goes well, he will play in Tuesday’s preseason game with Los Angeles at SAP Center.