Bob Boughner will remain as part of the Sharks coaching staff after the Colorado Avalanche hired Jared Bednar to be their next head coach on Thursday.
The 45-year-old Boughner, who oversees the Sharks defense and penalty kill, was interviewed by Colorado for its vacant position after former head coach Patrick Roy resigned earlier this month. The Sharks granted the Avalanche permission to interview Boughner.
A Sharks spokesman confirmed that Boughner would return to San Jose for the upcoming season as an assistant coach.
Bednar joins the Avalanche from Lake Erie (AHL), where he led the top Columbus Blue Jackets affiliate to a Calder Cup championship in 2016. He also won a Kelly Cup with the ECHL's Charlotte Stingrays in 2009.
"Even though we had to accelerate the process with training camp approaching, we feel we met some real strong candidates with a lot of potential to become head coaches in the NHL in the near future," Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said in a statement. "I would like to thank the general managers who gave us permission to talk to key staff members at such a precarious time."
Prior to joining the Sharks last offseason as part of head coach Pete DeBoer's staff, Boughner was the head coach of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires for eight seasons, leading them to a Memorial Cup championship in 2009 and 2010. He was named as the OHL/CHL coach of the year in 2008 and 2009, and was an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010-11.
San Jose Sharks
Boughner played 10 NHL seasons, wrapping up his career in Colorado as a teammate of Sakic in 2003-04 and 2005-06.
