SAN JOSE – Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson wasn’t privy to all the details about why David Quinn was fired as the San Jose Sharks head coach last April.
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But the three-time Norris Trophy winner was among those who were a bit taken aback that Quinn was given only two years to lead the Sharks, given the team’s rebuilding state.
“We had one year together. It was his first year (in San Jose) and my last,” said Karlsson, who played with the Sharks from 2018 to 2023 before being traded to the Penguins. “The situation was a little bit complicated when you’re not expected to win a lot of games.
“What happened the second year, I’m not really sure. But I think everyone was a little bit surprised that he only had two years, with expectations being the way that they are. But it’s nothing that I know anything really about. I’ve had only had good experiences with him.”
Quinn, now an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was back on the ice at SAP Center on Monday morning as the team prepared to play the Sharks that night. Quinn was hired by the Penguins on June 24, joining Mike Sullivan’s staff less than two months after being let go in San Jose, where he had a record of 41-98-25.
This news organization requested to speak with Quinn on Monday, but, per a team spokesperson, the Penguins do not let their assistant coaches talk on the record with media members.
“He’s coached at so many different levels, and I knew he was going to make our staff a better staff,” Sullivan said of hiring Quinn, who he’s known for close to 40 years since their days together at Boston University. “He was going to make our team a better team, and that’s exactly what he’s done.”
Quinn was hired to work with the Penguins defensemen and coordinate the team’s power play. Before Monday’s game, Pittsburgh allowed 2.92 goals per game, tied for 17th in the NHL, and slightly improved over the 3.08 goals they allowed last season. The Pens’ power play was ranked sixth in the NHL before Monday at 26.9%, well ahead of the 15.3% it finished with last season.
Still, the Penguins, like the Sharks, are not in the spot they want to be.
While the Sharks came into Monday on a six-game losing streak and in last place in the NHL’s overall standings with 34 points, the Penguins entered the game in San Jose in 15th place in the Eastern Conference with 48 points, seven out of a playoff spot.
Before facing the Sharks, the Penguins had won just two of their last eight games.
Now the Penguins have to deal with the absence of center Evgeni Malkin, who was placed on injured reserve before Monday’s game. Malkin, a future hall of famer, is fourth on the Penguins with 34 points.
“He’s an important player for us,” Sullivan said. “Obviously, he’s a top-two center; he’s dynamic with the puck. He’s not an easy guy to replace by any stretch.”
The Penguins, who have the 31st-oldest roster in the NHL, will probably have to start rebuilding in the coming years. But the rebuild was just getting underway when Quinn started coaching the Sharks.
In Quinn’s first year with the Sharks in 2022-23, Karlsson had a staggering 101 points as he became the first defenseman since Brian Leetch in 1991-92 to record over 100 points in a season. On June 27, 2023, Karlsson won the Norris Trophy for the third time in his career, and on Aug. 6, he was traded to the Penguins as part of a three-team deal that involved multiple players, including Mikael Granlund and Jan Rutta, and draft picks.
The trade made the struggling Sharks even worse, at least in the short term, as the team finished last season with the worst record in the league at 19-54-9, with the second-lowest scoring offense (2.20 goals per game) and the most porous defense (3.98 goals allowed per game).
Quinn paid the price, as six days after the Sharks’ season ended, he was let go by general manager Mike Grier, who said at the time that the team needed a new voice.
Asked if Quinn was upset at being let go by the Sharks, Sullivan said, “I can’t speak for him. I’m sure it’s disappointing. That’s the hard part of coaching, right? There are certain things that you can control. There are certain things that you can’t. I thought (Quinn) did a terrific job controlling what he could, and he understands that aspect of what we do.”
Karlsson came into Monday with 31 points in 52 games, just slightly behind last year’s pace when he had 56 points in 82 games.
“It’s been nice,” Karlsson said of his reunion with Quinn. “Obviously, a familiar face, and a little bit easier to get things going and to have a communication level that’s already established. So I think it’s been nice, not only for me, but everybody on the back end.”
