The start of NHL training camps is beyond exciting. I mean like Christmas morning exciting. Each player from every team reports to camp with the shot at a fresh start and playoff hopes. For some, it means getting back on the ice after an injury. For others it means the opportunity to improve on a sub-par prior season. But, players are not alone in this.

The head coach of a hockey team and his staff deal with many of the same emotions and excitement. The pressure is just as great - if not more so.

The 2017-18 season will be Pete Deboer's third with the San Jose Sharks. Deboer guided his team into the postseason in each of the first two seasons, including a magical ride to a franchise first Cup Final in his first. But history is not on Deboer's side and Father Time is not on the Sharks side.

Two days into the start of training camp, their are whispers of the Sharks demise . The team's core is either approaching or has already eclipsed their mid 30's. Patrick Marleau, a lifelong Shark, may have seen the writing on the wall with his departure for the Eastern Conference this summer.

However, there is some hope with some of the clubs young talent.

Timo Meier, Joonas Donskoi, Tomas Hertl and Chris Tierney are all 25 or younger. While Martin Jones, Logan Couture and Marc-Edourd Vlasic have yet to crack their 30's.

And what about Deboer? His track record is not great with developing players and the success of the Sharks will directly correlate to just that.

The 49 year-old coach is beginning his 10th season behind an NHL bench. San Jose is his third NHL coaching gig. I have included his complete coaching resume is below.



In Deboer's first two go-arounds in Florida and New Jersey, his teams experienced a sharp decline from year one to year three. Did I mention this was year three in SJ? The Panthers dropped from 93 to 77 to 72 points year-over-year. While the Devils nosedived from 102 points in year one to just 88 points by Deboer's third year. Did I mention this was year three in SJ? In both situations, Deboer failed to develop enough young talent to make up for an aging or exiting core. Did I mention this was year three in SJ?

Is history repeating itself yet again for Deboer? Has he learned from his past mistakes? Will he mishandle his youngsters again? Only time will tell, but it really does feel like the Sharks are a team in decline and Marleau’s exit could be just the beginning.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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