San Jose Sharks hire Jim Johnson as new assistant coach -NHL offseason Update
Working under a coach like Dale Hunter last 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season with Washington Capitals, really raised the bar for assistant coach Jim Johnson, who was hired in the same capacity by San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, July 10,
2012.
Dale Hunter and his group of coaches led Washington to a drastic turnaround in the regular season and brought them back into the playoffs but saw their defeat against New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
For Johnson, this is an opportunity to establish himself as a revolutionising coach as the San Jose Sharks are struggling and they are in dire need of a game changing coaching member.
"My ability to communicate is key," Johnson said, reportedly to The Canadian Press. "I'm a real teacher of the game and a guy that pays attention to details and how to articulate them to the players. I think that's so critical in how you do it. I've always
said that good coaches are teachers first and foremost."
San Jose Sharks also brought in Larry Robinson a day earlier, as an associate coach, who is also a Hall of Famer former defenseman and may give the team that much needed strategy on how to improve their weak defensive end.
"Adding two defensemen, both that have had tremendous careers as players and coaches, it would only make common sense that we push them in that direction," Sharks GM Todd McLellan said in a conference call. "We're all aware that our penalty kill has to get
better -- and I'm taking full responsibility -- and we're anxious to get some new ideas and new thoughts."
Jim Johnson had a short, but colourful career in the NHL as he spent time with teams like New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. In a total of 302 games played, Johnson had 186 points (75 goals, 111 assists).
For now, McLellan is working on the reconstruction of his team, which had included acquiring Jim Johnson for quite some time. With some major grounds covered, San Jose will now be looking to shift roles around and according to the GM, “they will be more
clearly defined” as training camp kicks off soon.
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