Another NHL coach has been fired, making it five coaches to lose their job already this season. The San Jose Sharks announced Wednesday night that they have dismissed head coach Pete DeBoer for hockey reasons -- a consequence of the team's disappointing start to the 2019-2020 campaign. 

The Sharks were expected to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference this season but things have not at all gone to plan for San Jose as it struggled during a 15-16-2 start. At the time of DeBoer's firing, the Sharks sit 6th in the Pacific division -- five points out of a Wild Card playoff spot in the West. Their minus-25 goal differential is the worst in the conference.

"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 via a team release. "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."

Things have been particularly rough for the Sharks of late; They've lost five in a row and have been outscored 23-7 in that span. As a result, San Jose has overhauled their coaching staff. Bob Boughner will take over as San Jose's head coach on an interim basis. Associate coach Steve Spott, assistant coach Dave Barr and goaltending coach Johan Hedberg have also been relieved of their duties. Roy Sommer, Mike Ricci and Evgeni Nabokov will take their places, respectively.

The Sharks suffered some key losses to their roster in the offseason -- including free agency departures of Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi -- but they've once again been bit hard by poor goaltending from their tandem of Martin Jones and Aaron Dell this season. After finishing dead-last in team save percentage last season, the Sharks sit 28th in the NHL with a mark of .887 through their first 33 games this year. 

DeBoer was in his fifth season as coach of the Sharks and his tenure was largely a success. The team made the playoffs in each of his four full seasons behind the bench and reached the Western Conference Finals twice, including a Stanley Cup Final runner-up finish in 2016. (The Sharks lost in six games to the Penguins.) 

DeBoer, 51, finishes his San Jose tenure with a record of 137-86-23 (.603 win percentage) in 246 games. He's the fourth-winningest coach in franchise history.

He becomes the fourth coach to be fired this season, joining Mike Babcock (Maple Leafs), John Hynes (Devils) and Jim Montgomery (Stars). Bill Peters (Flames) technically resigned from his position in Calgary after admitting to using a racial slur toward an ex-player.