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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Ron Wilson Released From Shark Tank
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Do you know the way to San Jose? Well, regardless of whether or not you do…Ron Wilson was shown the way out of San Jose. The Sharks decided that four consecutive winning seasons, three 100+ points seasons, two conference championships and a conference finals appearance wasn’t acceptable enough in their eyes.
So, now that he’s officially on the market, let’s put him through the official vetting process.
Ronald Lawrence Wilson was an eighth round draft pick in 1975 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Between 1977 and 1988 he played played a total of 177 regular season games at the NHL level with the Leafs and later with the Minnesota North Stars amassing 26 goals and 67 assists. He also had 4 goals and 13 helpers in 68 playoff appearances. There were also two seasons played with Kloten and Davos of the Swiss A-League squeezed in as well.
After a few seasons in Vancouver as an assistance coach, he was named as the first head coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1993. He lead that team to their first playoff appearance in just their fourth year of play, (I guess someone had a four-year plan out there). They defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in seven games in round one, but were eliminated in the second round by the Detroit Red Wings. Impressive as that may sound he was released after that season.
Wilson was not standing in the unemployment line long as the Washington Capitals hired him and that team earned a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals the very first season he was behind the bench. The Red Wings, however, defeated the Caps in a sweep. In the five seasons he lead Washington, four times they had winning records, twice won the Southeast Division and only twice missed the playoffs. However, after the 2001-2002 season, he was relieved of his duties.
Once again he did not have to wait long for work as the San Jose Sharks hired his services during the next season and he had been there ever since. After failing to qualify for the playoffs that year, San Jose won the Pacific Division twice and came in second twice the next four seasons. In 2005 they advanced to the Western Conference finals but fell short to the Calgary Flames. In 2007 the Sharks were eliminated in the west finals by the Red Wings in six games, (Sara, stop snickering). In doing so, Wilson became the first coach ever to fall to the same team in post-season with three different teams.
Ron Wilson’s overall coaching record is 518-426-101-46 and was 206-134-45 in San Jose, (28-24 in the post-season). His teams have made the playoffs in 8 of the 13+ seasons he has coached. But, the big knock against him is that he has failed to take highly talented teams farther than what had been expected. However, it should be pointed out that the Sharks’ 49-23-10 record this past season was accomplished with a payroll that had a cap hit of about only $41 and a half million. That number ranked 27th in the NHL. Comparatively the Thrashers were 24th in the league with about $43 and a half million.
Now, it is almost a certainty that a coach with the Wilson’s track record will easily find a new place to direct another team in this league, and Ross McKeon of Yahoo Sports seems to think that he just might find that opportunity in Philips Arena.
If we are fortunate enough to land him in Atlanta, we could very find ourselves “moving in the right direction” toward contending for the Stanley Cup.
Just as long as we don’t run up against Detroit, I guess we’ll be OK.
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