Mike Grier reportedly hires his first head coach as Sharks GM

According to a report from NHL insider, the San Jose Sharks are expected to hire former New York Rangers coach David Quinn as their new head coach. Friedman also reports that Pittsburgh Penguins assistant Mike Vellucci and Toronto Maple Leafs assistant Spencer Carbery were also considered for the job.

Check it out:

The 55 year old Quinn has been out of a job since being fired by the Rangers last offseason in favor of Gerard Gallant. Quinn's dismissal from the Rangers was part of a house clearing by ownership that also included the firings of then GM Jeff Gorton and then President John Davidson. Gorton, of course, has since been replaced by Chris Drury, whom brought Gallant on board following Quinn's dismissal. 

Since then, Quinn has named head coach of the US men's team for the 2022 Winter Olympics after the NHL pulled out of participating. Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan had previously been named the team's head coach, but with the NHL pulling out of the Games, Quinn was hired on short notice. Quinn coached the team to a relatively disappointing 5th place finish with a 3-0-1 record. Unfortunately, that one loss came at the worst possible time when they dropped a 3-2 OT decision to Slovakian in the quarterfinals.

With Quinn's hiring in San Jose it appears that all NHL head coaching vacancies have now been filled after a wild offseason of change. Quinn joins Jim Montgomery (Boston Bruins), Luke Richardson (Chicago Blackhawks), Peter DeBoer (Dallas Stars), Derek Lalonde (Detroit Red Wings), Paul Maurice (Florida Panthers), Lane Lambert (New York Islanders), John Tortorella (Philadelphia Flyers), Bruce Cassidy (Vegas Golden Knights) and Rick Bowness (Winnipeg Jets) as new offseason hires. Oh... and there's mid-season replacements Jay Woodcroft (Edmonton Oilers), Martin St. Louis (Montreal Canadiens) and Bruce Boudreau (Vancouver Canucks) entering their first full seasons with their new clubs. Frankly, there have been so many coaching changes in the NHL that it's near impossible to keep track of who is coaching where. Even more interesting to me though is the quality coaches that are still on the open market. It's hard to believe that no one has taken a chance on guys like Mike Babcock, Claude Julien or Rick Tocchet this offseason.