Struggling San Jose Sharks fire coach Peter DeBoer, name Bob Boughner interim coach

The slumping San Jose Sharks fired coach Peter DeBoer on Wednesday, less than seven months after his team played in the Western Conference final.

The team decided to replace DeBoer with assistant Bob Boughner with the Sharks on a five-game losing streak and five points out of playoff contention.

DeBoer, 51, was fired a day after the Sharks completed a winless five-game road trip with a 3-1 loss at Nashville. San Jose is 15-16-2 overall.

"When you have had a level of past success, change is never easy, but we feel this team is capable of much more than we have shown thus far and that a new voice is needed," said general manager Doug Wilson. "As a team and as individuals, our play has not met expectations this year and our level of consistency has not been where it needs to be. This group of individuals who will lead our team moving forward are very familiar with our players, and we think this change can provide our group with a fresh start."

DeBoer was 198-129-34 in four-plus seasons in San Jose. He led the Sharks to their only Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history his first year in 2016. San Jose made the playoffs again the following three years under DeBoer, losing to the eventual champion St. Louis Blues in last season's conference final in six games.

All things Sharks: Latest San Jose Sharks news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

DeBoer also has coached New Jersey and Florida.

Boughner, who'll be interim coach, had an 80-62-22 record in two years as coach in Florida before he was fired after last season.

Assistant coaches Steve Spott and Dave Barr and goalie coach Johan Hedberg were also fired and replaced by Roy Sommer, Mike Ricci and Evgeni Nabokov.

The Sharks have struggled mightily this season, leading to the first in-season firing since Wilson was hired in 2003.

San Jose opened the season with four consecutive losses and have had a pair of five-game skids as well. The Sharks had one sustained stretch of success with 11 wins in 13 games in November,

DeBoer is the fifth NHL coach to lose his job this season and the third for performance reasons. New Jersey canned John Hynes and Toronto fired Mike Babcock after rough starts, while Calgary accepted Bill Peters' resignation after allegations of abuse in previous organizations and Dallas dismissed Jim Montgomery on Tuesday, citing “unprofessional conduct.”

The Sharks host the New York Rangers on Thursday night.