SAN JOSE – One of the reasons Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said he hired Pete DeBoer as head coach is that the 47-year-old isn’t afraid to make tough decisions.
That was on display Wednesday night, when DeBoer benched Tommy Wingels and Tomas Hertl for the third period of a 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks. It was the latest example of DeBoer shortening his bench, but the first time it involved a pair of players that are such essential pieces to the team’s success.
While DeBoer has a little more depth up front than Todd McLellan enjoyed last year, and can therefore more easily send in-game messages, benching guys for long stretches was something the former Sharks coach rarely did during the 2014-15 season of dysfunction.