Sharks part with cornerstone GM Lombardi
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Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks fired general manager Dean Lombardi on Tuesday, capping their disappointing campaign with a complete overhaul of an organization that won the Pacific Division last season.
Lombardi, who transformed the Sharks from NHL laughingstocks to Stanley Cup contenders during seven seasons in charge, was abruptly fired by owner Greg Jamison. Assistant general manager Wayne Thomas will run the club's day-to-day operations until a successor is named.
The shocking move was made three weeks before the close of the Sharks' first regular season in six years in which they won't improve their points total from the previous season. San Jose is 26-33-6-7 this season, last in the division and 13th in the Western Conference.
"This season has been a struggle and clearly has not progressed as any of us expected,'' Jamison said in a statement. "We feel this move is a necessary step in returning the San Jose Sharks to the postseason next year.''
Lombardi, generally considered one of hockey's brightest young executives, took over the Sharks late in the 1995-96 season. He hired coach Darryl Sutter and acquired almost every player on the Sharks' current roster.
As the Sharks struggled this season, Lombardi fired Sutter and traded Marcus Ragnarsson, Jeff Jillson, Niklas Sundstrom, Owen Nolan, Bryan Marchment and Matt Bradley, but the team never turned things around.
Jamison, who leads a group of investors that purchased the team last season, apparently believed the Sharks' above-average payroll was too much to spend for a non-contending team. No other changes were made to the Sharks' hockey operations.
While Lombardi's player evaluation skills and deal-making abilities were commended, the Sharks seemed to engage in more annual holdouts with their top players than any other team. Lombardi claimed the holdouts resulted from his attempts to stick close to a tight budget.
Last fall, goalie Evgeni Nabokov and defenseman Brad Stuart held out through the start of the regular season, which played a large role in the Sharks' slow start.
When San Jose won just one of its first five games, Lombardi abruptly capitulated to Nabokov's salary demands -- but without participating in training camp, Nabokov started slowly and never got into top form this season.
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