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Sharks primed to add Scott Arniel as assistant coach

Scott Arniel

Many believe that the San Jose Sharks’ coaching staff lacked NHL experience beyond head coach Todd McLellan. Now they’re set to add a guy who fits that bill, although his most recent experience could probably be described as “harrowing.” Roger Millions reports that the team is on the verge of giving an assistant coaching gig to former Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel.

To be fair to Arniel, he didn’t have nearly as much to work with in Columbus as he would in San Jose - assistant or not. Matthew Taylor does bring up a potential downside, though: if Arniel and Rick Nash left off on bad terms, it wouldn’t help the Sharks’ chances of nabbing the big trade target.

At the same time, Arniel likely deserves some benefit of the doubt, especially since he’d be in an assistant role. This could be the first of a few pivotal moves for a Sharks team that still has plenty of questions to answer this summer.