Windsor Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner to join San Jose Sharks
Spitfires President and Head Coach Bob Boughner has agreed to a three-year contract that will see him become an assistant coach with NHL's San Jose Sharks.
Boughner will remain president and majority owner of the Spitfires.
"This has been a tough decision," Boughner said in a media release. "I've been fortunate to live out two lifelong dreams, playing in the NHL and becoming owner and coach of the team I grew up following."
Boughner says the opportunity to join the Sharks developed recently, and the process moved quickly, after former Spitfire Pete DeBoer was hired as San Jose's head coach.
"Once the offer was made, it became clear that if I was going to one day realize my dream of being an NHL head coach, the time was now," Boughner said. "My kids are older and better prepared for me to take on this opportunity. I wouldn't take a step like this without my family's full support."
The move also comes with the full support of the club's ownership partners.
"We're very happy for Bob as he takes on this new endeavour," John Savage of Cypher Systems Group, co-owner of the Spitfires said in a media release. "The ownership structure of the team will not change and we've let Bob know the day-to-day operations of the team are in good hands. Bob will definitely be missed. But we're ready to move the club forward, both on and off the ice, while he pursues his dream of becoming an NHL head coach."
The Spitfires are actively seeking a new head coach and an announcement is expected soon.
"This is going to be an exciting time for our entire organization and our fans," Boughner said. "I have full faith in [General Manager] Warren [Rychel] and where the team is headed. We've got some of the best emerging talent in the league and I have total confidence that the person we bring in as head coach will be outstanding. I think the change will be positive for everyone. This is an industry driven by change. Change often leads to great success."
Boughner says although he's excited to take on this new challenge, he will miss coming to the WFCU Centre each day.
"I can't thank our fans, ownership group and staff enough," Boughner said. "We've built something special here. I look forward to coming back during the off-season. I'll still be heavily involved in both hockey and business operations, while also continuing to work with the community through the Windsor Spitfires Foundation. Wherever this new path takes me, Windsor will always be home."
'A great step'
Rychel, the team's general manager, said the ownership arrangement won't change with Boughner's departure.
"All he's doing is taking a great job, a great step to the NHL," he told reporters at the WFCU Centre on Thursday.
Rychel told reporters that more than 50 people had expressed interest in taking on the now-vacant head coaching job with the Spitfires.
"It's a good place to come, people know it's a great city, great rink, great fans, great community and we're excited," Rychel said.
He said that the team had flown four candidates in for interviews over the past week.
"We've done our due diligence, for sure," Rychel said Thursday.
The general manager would not reveal who the new head coach will be, though Boughner admitted it is a name that hockey fans will be familiar with.