Give San Jose credit -- the organization is sticking to its word.
Following GM Doug Wilson’s assertion that this year’s playoff collapse shouldn’t affect the Sharks’ front office and coaching staff, the club has re-upped with AHL Worcester’s Roy Sommer -- the league’s longest-tenured bench boss and all-time leader in games coached.
“The San Jose Sharks pride themselves in developing players within our organization and Roy has been an integral part of that success,” San Jose assistant GM Joe Will said in a statement. “I am looking forward to work closely with Roy and his staff next season in Worcester with a primary goal of winning the Calder Cup.”
So, a quick overview of what San Jose’s done this summer:
-- Retained the services of both Wilson and head coach Todd McLellan.
-- Extended associate coach Larry Robinson and promoted him to director of player development.
-- Re-signed Will, despite the fact he had “several opportunities” with other NHL clubs.
-- Re-upped with Sommer.
As such, it seems changes in San Jose will be entirely to the on-ice product. The team has already traded away the rights to longtime defenseman Dan Boyle and said it would part ways with Martin Havlat; CSN Bay Area floated the idea of a possible buyout for Adam Burish; both Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have been identified as potential trade targets and Alex Stalock was re-signed with the intention of challenging Antti Niemi for the No. 1 goaltending gig.
Also, Wilson announced that Brent Burns would be returning to play defense after skating this season as a forward.