SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks players said Tuesday that they heard general manager Mike Grier’s message loud and clear after two embarrassing losses last week not only left the team winless but its confidence in tatters.
Days after seeing the Sharks get throttled by a combined 17 goals in home games against Vancouver and Pittsburgh, Grier made his feelings known Monday in a meeting described by some Sharks players as both straightforward and needed.
“The last two are unacceptable, and embarrassing to say the least,” Sharks winger Luke Kunin said. “Everything he said, I agreed with. Now it’s time to go out and compete.”
The Sharks enter Tuesday’s game with the Philadelphia Flyers with a 0-10-1 record and need a victory to avoid becoming the first NHL team to lose its first 12 games of the season.
Grier would obviously love to see his team end its losing skid but indicated he would not accept more performances like the ones he saw the Sharks play against the Canucks and Penguins. Those catastrophic defeats left San Jose with a -43 goal differential, 25 goals behind the NHL’s next-worst team in that respect, the Edmonton Oilers at -18.
Grier said Monday, “There are certain things I won’t tolerate and some of that stuff has been happening, and I kind of let them know that. We’ll kind of go from there.”
“If the response isn’t there and I’m not seeing what I need to see,” Grier said later, “then everything will be evaluated, and I’m sure there’ll be some changes made.”
Sharks coach David Quinn said he and Grier spoke after Saturday’s 10-2 loss to the Penguins, and the two determined it was a good time for the GM to speak to the group. The coaches were not a part of the meeting, Quinn said.
“From his end of it, he talked about what we’re looking for moving forward here,” Quinn said. “Guys are either part of the problem or part of the solution, and the next week to 10 days is going to say an awful lot about certain guys and certain players.”
Following Tuesday, the Sharks close out their four-game homestand on Thursday against the also-fragile Oilers (2-8-1), losers of seven of their last eight. San Jose ends the week with road games against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
The public will get a clear idea by then — if not sooner — if Grier’s talk had any impact on the way the Sharks are playing.
“Anytime you get the general manager to come in with a different voice, it’s an eye-opener, and it should be,” Quinn said. “It’s an eye-opening time. Obviously, we had two incredibly embarrassing nights, losing in the capacity and the way we did, it’s unacceptable and embarrassing. I thought it was a good time for that, as did Mike.”
“We’ve just got to set a standard,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said. “The emphasis that (Grier) made at the beginning of camp is the standard that we have to bring to this organization, we just haven’t been meeting that, especially the last two games.
“The takeaway is that we’ve got to create a new standard, we’ve got to raise the standard a lot and not take this stuff for granted. I think a lot of guys took that meaning to heart, as we all should.”
FRIENDLY VISIT: John Hynes, former coach of the New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators and one of Quinn’s longtime friends, has been around the Sharks the last few days. Hynes watched Tuesday’s morning skate with some members of San Jose’s front office and visited with Quinn in his office as players were coming off of the ice.
Quinn said Hynes plans to be around the Sharks about once a month.
“He understands our struggles and what we’re going through,” Quinn said of Hynes. “He’s a great sounding board for me and obviously a lifelong friend. It’s good to have him here.”
Hynes coached the Devils from 2015 to 2019, making the playoffs once in 2018, and the Predators from 2020 to 2023, reaching the postseason three times in four years. He was let go by new Nashville GM Barry Trotz on May 30.
Hynes, 48, has an NHL coaching record of 284-255-63, but don’t expect him to join the Sharks’ coaching staff, Quinn said.
“He’s got no interest in that. We talked about that this summer,” Quinn said. “He’s (playing) plenty of golf in Nashville and Florida.”
BENNING SKATES: Sharks defenseman Matt Benning skated Tuesday morning for the first time since he was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 31. His injury is not serious but there remains no clear timeline for him to return.
Prior to his injury, Benning was averaging 18:29 of ice time per game, fourth-most among Sharks defensemen. Benning has a role with the Sharks not only with his play, Quinn said, but his impact in the locker room, his leadership, and his demeanor.
“He’s a guy that we count on a lot of ways. This injury has been bothering him and his play has suffered because of it,” Quinn said. “It’s hurt him, it’s hurt us, so hopefully he’s in a good spot and the things we’ve done here in the last 10 days are putting him in a better position to come back and be the player we know he’s capable of being”