San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson is stepping down from his front office role after 19 seasons. Wilson, 64, took a leave of absence from the team in November citing medical concerns.
In a statement posted to the team website, Wilson remarked “These past 19 years serving as general manager of the San Jose Sharks have been a privilege and one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable periods of my life…I have been incredibly fortunate to work for and with some of the most talented and passionate people in the game of hockey.”
The former front office exec would go on to thank the club’s owners, players, scouts, and other various members of the Sharks staff. He did however note that while he’s stepping away from the club at present, his future in hockey is very much still up in the air.
“While I have made great progress over the last several months, I feel it is in the best interest of the organization and myself to step down from my current duties and focus on my health and full recovery. I look forward to continuing my career in the NHL in the future.”
During Wilson’s time in San Jose, the club qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs 14 times, including a stretch of ten straight appearances between 2004-2014. Excluding lockouts, the franchise averaged 100.7pts per season between 2003 and 2020.
While their ability to reach the postseason was a virtual guarantee most years, playoff success was one area that eluded the Sharks during Wilson’s time. The club reached the Stanley Cup Finals only once (2016) during his 19 seasons in the Bay Area.
San Jose did however capture a President’s Trophy, 5 Pacific division titles, and reached the conference finals 5 times with the former Norris Trophy winner as GM. For his career, Wilson is only the 5th member of the 1000/1000 club in NHL history (1000 games as a player, 1000 games as a GM).
Since going on medical leave, Joe Will has been running the day to day operations for the Sharks. Owner Hasso Plattner has indicated that Joe will continue in that role through the remainder of the 2021-22 season. However, the club will reportedly be looking to bring in an outside hire to replace Wilson full time in the offseason.
Team president Jonathan Becher told reporters that while Wilson’s departure will signal a new era for the club, the team’s long term vision remains unchanged. “By definition a new GM will have new ideas, but certain things are core to who we are as a franchise,” Becher said. “We’re a cap team. We’re going to spend to the cap, not to the bottom. We’re focused on making the playoffs every single year and competing for the Cup, not tanking for picks. We’re going to keep our picks, grow the prospect pool, get younger. So those fundamental things you’ve heard us say over the last year remain true.”
The Sharks currently have 13 games remaining on their schedule, but are likely to miss the postseason for the third consecutive season. San Jose is next in action on Thursday against the Calgary Flames.
Photo: California National Guard. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.