New Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky looks to bring 'light' to a struggling franchise

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Warsofsky had a front-row seat to some of the worst hockey played by the San Jose Sharks since their expansion days as an assistant under David Quinn the past two seasons.

Now the 36-year-old who was hired last week as the youngest coach in the NHL will be tasked with overseeing a youth movement led by projected No. 1 overall draft pick Macklin Celebrini that Sharks general manager Mike Grier hopes can get the franchise back into contention.

“We just went through two really tough years. I know what they need,” Warsofsky said at his introductory news conference Monday. “They’re beat up a little bit. We need some new light. We need some energy. We need some positivity. Now we have some hope with the prospects that are coming. This is a really exciting chapter in this franchise with the prospects that Mike’s brought in and drafted and we’re starting to develop and now with this draft coming up. So exciting times are definitely ahead."

Those exciting times have been lacking since San Jose made a run to the Western Conference Final in 2019. San Jose has missed the playoffs for five straight seasons and bottomed out the past two as Grier began a teardown that now seems primed to bear fruit in a rebuild.

Grier traded away several star veterans such as Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier to help restock a prospect pool that was bereft when he took over and now will add the No. 1 overall pick after winning the draft lottery last month to a group that has several talented young players.

Grier believed Warsofsky was the perfect fit to lead a young group with his ability to communicate and relate with young players and his experience developing them as a successful coach in the AHL before joining San Jose.

“He’s a great communicator, which is going to be important,” Grier said. “We’re going to have a young group here. Connecting and speaking with and bonding with these young players is going to be super important. It’s going to be a big part of us taking the next step forward. He just checked every box to us."

Warsofsky previously had been head coach of the Chicago Wolves for two seasons in the AHL. He led the Wolves to the AHL’s best regular-season record with a 50-16-5-5 record in 2021-22 and captured the 2022 Calder Cup.

That kind of success has been lacking in San Jose.

The Sharks went 41-98-25 in Quinn’s two seasons for the worst mark in the NHL in that span, including a league-worst 47 points this past season. San Jose’s 19 wins this season were the fewest in a full season since the franchise’s second year as an expansion team in 1992-93.

The Sharks were non-competitive at times, allowing at least six goals in 18 games, including back-to-back games early in the season of 10 goals allowed.

“There will be some changes,” Warsofsky said. “Obviously, the numbers weren’t great, the analytics weren’t great. We have to make changes. There has to be a system in place that our players know what’s going on. They understand the system. ... When we have the puck we know what to do with it and when we don’t, we know how to get it back.”

San Jose has had the worst record in the NHL the past five seasons and has struggled to fill the Shark Tank with fans turned off by the poor play on the ice. The fan interest started to change as soon as the Sharks won the draft lottery.

Team president Jonathan Becher said the season ticket renewal rate is the highest it's been since the team made a Stanley Cup run in 2016 and that new sales are also trending at a record pace. Becher said the team is on target to sell out its draft watch party and could double the previous high attendance for it by any team.

“Obviously the mood around the franchise substantially changed after the number one pick went our way,” Becher said.

Grier ended the news conference by making a point to shut down rumors that he is looking to trade captain Logan Couture, who played just six games this past season because of injuries.

“That is absolutely false,” Grier said. “If you look at us bringing in young players here and having a young team, he’s exactly the kind of person you want to have around your young players. He’s our captain. He had a tough year but we love him, as a person most importantly but he's also a heck of a hockey player."

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier speaks at a news conference introducing Ryan Warsofsky as the NHL hockey head coach of the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Ryan Warsofsky speaks at a news conference where he was introduced as the NHL hockey head coach of the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Ryan Warsofsky, second from right, holds a jersey as he poses for photos with his family at a news conference where he was introduced as the NHL hockey head coach of the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Ryan Warsofsky, left, talks with San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier before a news conference introducing Warsofsky as the NHL hockey head coach of the Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Ryan Warsofsky holds up a jersey at a news conference where he was introduced as the NHL hockey head coach of the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Ryan Warsofsky, left, shakes hands with San Jose Sharks president Jonathan Becher at a news conference introducing Warsofsky as the NHL hockey head coach of the Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Ryan Warsofsky, middle, holds up a jersey between San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier, left, and president Jonathan Becher at a news conference introducing Warsofsky as the NHL hockey head coach of the Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Ryan Warsofsky speaks at a news conference where he was introduced as the NHL hockey head coach of the San Jose Sharks in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of people with private health insurance would be able to pick up over-the-counter methods like condoms, the “morning after” pill and birth control pills for free under a new rule the White House proposed on Monday.

Right now, health insurers must cover the cost of prescribed contraception, including prescription birth control or even condoms that doctors have issued a prescription for. But the new rule would expand that coverage, allowing millions of people on private health insurance to pick up free condoms, birth control pills, or “morning after” pills from local storefronts without a prescription.

The proposal comes days before Election Day, as Vice President Kamala Harris affixes her presidential campaign to a promise of expanding women's health care access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to undo nationwide abortion rights two years ago. Harris has sought to craft a distinct contrast from her Republican challenger, Donald Trump, who appointed some of the judges who issued that ruling.

“The proposed rule we announce today would expand access to birth control at no additional cost for millions of consumers,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "Bottom line: women should have control over their personal health care decisions. And issuers and providers have an obligation to comply with the law.”

The emergency contraceptives that people on private insurance would be able to access without costs include levonorgestrel, a pill that needs to be taken immediately after sex to prevent pregnancy and is more commonly known by the brand name “Plan B.”

Without a doctor's prescription, women may pay as much as $50 for a pack of the pills. And women who delay buying the medication in order to get a doctor's prescription could jeopardize the pill's effectiveness, since it is most likely to prevent a pregnancy within 72 hours after sex.

If implemented, the new rule would also require insurers to fully bear the cost of the once-a-day Opill, a new over-the-counter birth control pill that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved last year. A one-month supply of the pills costs $20.

Federal mandates for private health insurance to cover contraceptive care were first introduced with the Affordable Care Act, which required plans to pick up the cost of FDA-approved birth control that had been prescribed by a doctor as a preventative service.

The proposed rule would not impact those on Medicaid, the insurance program for the poorest Americans. States are largely left to design their own rules around Medicaid coverage for contraception, and few cover over-the-counter methods like Plan B or condoms.

FILE - The emergency contraceptive levonorgestrel is displayed for sale in a vending machine on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle on Friday, June 2, 2023. (Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times via AP, File)

FILE - A one-month dosage of hormonal birth control pills is displayed in Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)