A former Windsor Spitfires coach is heading back to the San Jose Sharks.
Bob Boughner, who left the Sharks in 2017 to become head coach of the Florida Panthers, will return to the NHL team as an assistant coach.
The Sharks made the announcement on Wednesday.
"Bob already has strong relationships with many of our key players and we expect that he will reintegrate himself into our organization seamlessly," said general manager Doug Wilson.
Boughner served as head coach of the Florida Panthers from 2017-2019, where he posted an 80-62-22 record. The team fell one point shy of a Stanley Cup Playoff berth in 2018.
"I'm extremely excited that Bob has chosen to re-join our staff in San Jose," said head coach Peter DeBoer. "He and I have known each other for more than 20 years and we're very familiar with all the intangibles that he brings to our team."
Boughner says he’s happy to be re-joining the Sharks family.
"I want to thank Hasso Plattner and the ownership group, Doug and Pete for their loyalty and I look forward to getting to work and building off a very successful season that saw the Sharks come within two wins of returning to the Stanley Cup Final," says Boughner.
Boughner also served as an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2010-11 season.
Prior to his stint with Columbus, Boughner was the head coach for the Windsor Spitfires where he also serves as the team's owner.
In his first four seasons with Windsor, Boughner was named the OHL and CHL Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons (2007-08 and 2008-09) and led the team to back-to-back Memorial Cup and OHL Championships in 2009 and 2010.
He became the first head coach in CHL history to win two Memorial Cups and two CHL Coach of the Year awards. In his eight combined seasons at the helm of Windsor, Boughner's teams posted a 282-213-49 record.
During his playing career, Boughner played in 630 NHL games with Colorado, Carolina, Calgary, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Buffalo, amassing 72 points (15 goals, 57 assists) and 1,382 penalty minutes.
Rob Zettler, who replaced Boughner on the Sharks coaching staff in 2017, will not be returning to the Sharks.
