San Jose Sharks to hire former New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer

The San Jose Sharks will hire former New Jersey and Florida coach Peter DeBoer to replace the departed Todd McLellan.

A person familiar with the search said Wednesday that DeBoer will be formally introduced at a news conference Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the hire yet.

The decision to hire DeBoer ends a lengthy search that started April 20 when the team and McLellan announced that he would not be back for an eighth season in San Jose. The departure was announced as a mutual agreement and McLellan was later hired as head coach in Edmonton.

General Manager Doug Wilson interviewed numerous candidates before deciding on DeBoer, who has coached seven seasons in the NHL with the Panthers and Devils.

After three seasons without making the playoffs in Florida, DeBoer was fired by the Panthers following the 2010-11 season.

He took over the Devils in 2011-12 and led New Jersey to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season where they lost to the Kings. The Devils have not made the playoffs since and DeBoer was fired by New Jersey in the middle of his fourth season in December. His career record is 205-183-70.

DeBoer most recently served as an assistant to McLellan at the world championships, where Team Canada won the title.

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Former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ vacancy. A person familiar with the discussions told the Associated Press the talks took place in Buffalo and included Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula and General Manager Tim Murray. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Sabres have declined to discuss their search to replace Ted Nolan, who was fired last month.

Bylsma spent five-plus seasons in Pittsburgh, where he won the 2009 Stanley Cup championship and was the NHL’s 2011 coach of the year. He was fired a year ago after winning a franchise-best 252 games.