Former Sharks coach Peter DeBoer has not been out of a job long, and he reportedly might not wait longer.
DeBoer is open to coaching elsewhere this season, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday night during "Hockey Night In Canada."
"Sometimes coaches wanna take time, maybe the rest of the season before they come back," Friedman said. "The word is ... that, depending on the situation, Peter DeBoer is willing to listen and will consider coaching this year. But again, it depends on the situation."
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The Sharks fired DeBoer, assistant coaches Steve Spott and Dave Barr and goaltending coach Johan Hedberg on Wednesday. Bob Boughner was the only coach retained and he now is the Sharks' interim coach, with longtime minor league coach Roy Sommer and former Sharks Mike Ricci and Evgeni Nabokov filling out the rest of the staff.
DeBoer's tenure in San Jose lasted parts of five seasons, which was his longest stint as an NHL coach. He led the Sharks to a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2015-16 and another appearance in the Western Conference final last season.
The Sharks started slowly this season, winning just four of their first 15 games. San Jose later rattled off a six-game winning streak, but DeBoer's time behind the Sharks bench ended with another five-game losing streak.
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Goaltenders Martin Jones and Aaron Dell did not bounce back as expected this season, and the two combined for the NHL's fourth-worst save percentage (.887) at the time of DeBoer's firing. Those struggles coincided with others in the Sharks' defensive zone, as San Jose allowed the fifth-highest rate of expected goals (2.41 per 60 minutes) and rate of high-danger chances (11.73 per 60 minutes) in the league this season under DeBoer, according to Natural Stat Trick. A rash of offseason departures, including the loss of captain Joe Pavelski, didn't help the Sharks, nor did the slow acclimation of the team's prospects trying to take their place.
The Sharks opted to change the coaching staff in order to correct for those circumstances. They won't be the last team to do the same this season, and DeBoer -- whose .548 winning percentage is better than all but five active coaches -- reportedly will listen when another comes calling.