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Swimming with the Sharks Ron Wilson hired to help lethargic San JosePosted: Wednesday December 04, 2002 1:53 PMUpdated: Wednesday December 04, 2002 10:49 PM
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- When the pain of his recent firing still was fresh in Ron Wilson's mind, he thought he'd be perfectly content to stay home this winter, watching hockey games and falling asleep in his easy chair. It took one trip to Toronto for a broadcasting assignment to remind him that he missed coaching desperately -- and his high-definition, surround-sound home theater in Hilton Head Island, S.C., was no substitute for NHL excitement. Wearing a tie accented with teal, Wilson was hired by the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, three days after the team fired Darryl Sutter and his two assistants. "I was missing the game intensely," Wilson said Wednesday night at the Shark Tank following a news conference. "You get the energy, and you want to be a part of it. You think, 'I'm not going to hear the national anthem this year.' That was really depressing." Wilson, fired by Washington last May after five mostly successful seasons, coached the U.S. team in the 1998 Olympics, to the gold medal in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and twice in the world championships. He also spent four years as the first coach of division rival Anaheim. When Sharks general manager Dean Lombardi called Wilson last Sunday night to persuade the veteran coach to take over his talented but struggling team, Wilson didn't need much convincing. When he got to California on Wednesday, Wilson and team owner Greg Jamison needed about 10 minutes to hammer out a two-year contract. "When I got the call Sunday evening, I was rather shocked -- and happy," Wilson said. "This was the first opening [in the NHL] this season, and I'm the first guy in line. Just how lucky can I be?" Once he gets to know his new team's personnel, Wilson believes he can point the slumping Sharks back toward the playoffs -- and his reputation as a prognosticator is at stake in his new job. During Wilson's brief stint a studio analyst for Canadian sports network TSN, the Rhode Island-raised American boldly predicted that the Sharks and Philadelphia would meet in the Stanley Cup finals next June. Now, he's been handed the responsibility for making his own prediction come true. "Boy, be careful what you say," Wilson said with a grin. "I'll stick by that: Sure, San Jose is going to come out of the West." The phone interview wasn't the first time Lombardi and Wilson discussed the Sharks' coaching job. In 1997, Wilson was all but offered the job, but he chose the Capitals -- and Lombardi went with Sutter. Wilson's credentials are as impressive as nearly any unemployed coach this side of Scotty Bowman, and he'll be among the league's highest-paid coaches, though financial terms weren't immediately available. He'll make his debut as the Sharks' sixth permanent head coach on Friday night, when San Jose hosts Columbus. The Sharks moved quickly to fill their vacancy with a veteran coach who can get the attention and respect of a veteran team. Sutter, the winningest coach in franchise history after nearly 51/2 seasons, was fired along with assistants Rich Preston and Lorne Molleken in a risky shakeup. "He's got old-time hockey in him, which is important. Look at his family tree," Lombardi said of Wilson, whose father and uncle both played for Stanley Cup-winning teams in Detroit. "And he's also very well-versed in the technical side of things. He knows how to take advantage of things that his dad and uncle never dreamed about." Sutter led the Sharks to five consecutive seasons of improved point totals, but they struggled to an 8-12-2-2 start that put them in last place in the Pacific Division, which they won last season. They got a 3-2 overtime victory over Phoenix on Tuesday night with scout Cap Raeder coaching the team. Wilson will run his first practice on Thursday morning, with Raeder sticking around to help out for a few days until Wilson hires his assistant coaches. Tim Army, Wilson's right-hand man in Anaheim and Washington, is the head coach of the AHL's Portland Pirates -- the Capitals' top affiliate. Wilson had his greatest success in Washington, where he led the Capitals to the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. He won two division titles and led Washington to 102 points in the 2000-01 season -- more points than the Sharks have earned in any of their 12 seasons. But the Capitals missed the playoffs by two points last spring. Washington didn't win a playoff series in Wilson's last four seasons with the club. Following Saturday night's home game against Nashville, the Sharks have four days off, which will allow Wilson to further implement his plans -- though Wilson doesn't plan to force the Sharks into any particular system. "I've always prided myself on being flexible," Wilson said.
"The players will find out if you're playing hard and you're on
top of your game, you're going to play a lot. If somebody else can
do a better job, then fine."
© 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
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