2014 - 2015 Expectations & Predictions

[23sharks]

they shopped both Both pulled thier NTCs, and probably the right deal wast out there. Its wise not to trade them for nothing and if the right return isnt offered, then it's smart not to trade.

That said, I cant see how dropping havlat, boyle, and stuart and adding Jon scott and promoting a few rooks is somehow going to change the culture of the team or somehow make them significantly better. Even passing down the C to cooch is not really gunna matter. At the end of the day, the big two are still there and they will still get all the big faceoffs and PP time at the end of the game, and they will still choke. I am glad dougie didnt toss them away for nothing, but I am equally disappointed he couldnt pull off a solid deal and truly get younger, faster, cheaper, and deeper. I was willing to watch a younger team struggle to make the PO's knowing that they were armed with a bunch of sub 25 year olds just poised for greatness. Chicago and Pitt took a few years after drafting their big studs to win the cup. I would be fine fielding a competitive team even if less "guaranteed" if it mean have a better long term future and having new faces to franchise.

The giants won two world series within 5 years of Barry Bonds' retirement. Was that a coincidence? maybe. Was it just luck? maybe. BUT, maybe it was because they got new faces for the franchise. New leaders who knew how to play well when it matters most. New players who had the fire and youth to make that last push. Who knows, but I could see the sharks being a very similar team. Talented, always knocking on the door, but with the wrong leadership and with the wrong 'stars'.

2008 giants stunk (the year after bonds)
2009 was good, not great. (88-74)
2010 = champs.

The Sharks could quite easily follow the same path. It's time...

Both of them waived their NTC?? This is the first I heard that.

 

[caliraftdude]

I wonder if they realize how stupid they sound right now? I have a feeling they shopped the big two around a little bit and got giggles and low-ball offers in return. I agree - you cant trade them away for nothing, that's worse than keeping them.. but you cannot build (rebuild) from a complete place of weakness which is precisely where dwill has put himself.

At least our regular season play is fun to watch.. I'll just root for someone else in the POs for the next 3 years I guess.

 

[RaiderZar]

Jimbo no longer wearin' the "C"...

 

[MrFlyingV]

Jimbo no longer wearin' the "C"...

Supposedly a rift in the locker room last year according to Kurz.

 

[Cbrower91]

Yeah Dumbo lost the "C" and Patty list the "A" seeing how Dumbo doesnt care about the "C" its not really going to effect him, Patty on the other hand was bothered when he got stripped of the "C" so id imagine this isnt sitting well with him

 

[sjrules99]

Yeah Dumbo lost the "C" and Patty list the "A" seeing how Dumbo doesnt care about the "C" its not really going to effect him, Patty on the other hand was bothered when he got stripped of the "C" so id imagine this isnt sitting well with him

I would doubt either cares much, nor that either is surprised. They basically told them this was gunna happen a while ago. Im not sure how much it matters when cooch or pavs gets the C. As long as the big two are there, they are the overshadowing figures in the locker room and will still get the top playing time in the key spots. This is largely symbolic, but means little.

 

[Slimpikins]

Window dressing. Wilson put his foot in his mouth with the rebuild comments and now needs to make it look like he's trying to shake things up. I say go no captain and have three alternates.

 

[23sharks]

Supposedly a rift in the locker room last year according to Kurz.

I wonder with who?
With Torres being out a significant amount of time, they'll be even worse than I thought.
Great offseason so far....Stuart and Boyle gone from D....so put Burns back there...which weakens an offense that already had problems scoring, and now Raffi out....
They'll still be good enough to make the playoffs, and then get beat in the first round.
So much for all these big changes.....

 

[RaiderZar]

Turns out it’s all the media’s fault there’s been so much speculation about San Jose trading Joe Thornton and/or Patrick Marleau.

In an interview with NHL.com, Sharks coach Todd McLellan, like his boss did a month ago, tried to clarify the “rebuild” to which the team has apparently committed after blowing a 3-0 series lead versus the Kings in the first round of the playoffs.

“We want to reset the hierarchy and culture in the organization, and that’s really where the term rebuild came from,” said McLellan. “We feel we have a tremendous talent pool. We feel the players that are with our organization are part of the solution and not the problem now. As a staff, we talked about the ability to push and win as much as we can while we get younger, while we adjust the roles a little bit and give some of the younger players more responsibility.

“The term or the word used like that can be confusing at times. I think a lot of people, especially in the media, immediately went to, ‘Well, they’re going to trade Thornton and Marleau.’ That’s not the case. We believe that those two are part of the solution, not part of the problem. That got a lot of play media-wise. That’s not what we were about. We think we have a very good hockey club and we think we need to tinker with a few things and continue to push forward.”

We wrote about this last week during San Jose Sharks Day on PHT. Is the club being forced to do all this clarifying because the media did, indeed, jump to conclusions about Thornton and Marleau? Or, is all this clarifying actually backtracking after the pair of veteran forwards refused to waive their no-movement clauses?

We’ll leave that for you to decide.

Do all Canadians talk, yet say nothing???

Part II of "Canadian Double Speak: What Did The Hoser Just Say?"

"We’re going to reestablish the hierarchy and the culture in the organization," McLellan said "If it’s real evident that [Thornton] is the guy, he’ll be the captain. If there’s somebody else that assumes that role and is prepared to take it on and is doing a very good job, then they will be. To say we stripped him, no. We’ve cleaned the slate, and we’re going to go forward.They’ll sort it out. They’ll show us. They’ll tell us. Their actions will speak volumes," McLellan said of the team.

 

[Cbrower91]

Id like to see Vlasic get it, he's calm and the absolutely most consistent shark on the team, but when he's pushed he shoves back and isnt afraid to get dirty. Something that was lacking with Jimbo. I could see Pav's getting it but he doesnt sell out like Couture does.

So im guessing Cooter and or Pickles, Wingles,Torres,Braun, and Pavelski all candidates for the "A" Hell even Desi should get some consideration

 

[Cbrower91]

I didnt know this but only 4 sharks players played a full 82 games last season, thats pretty impressive considering where they finished in the standings

 

[23sharks]

Id like to see Vlasic get it, he's calm and the absolutely most consistent shark on the team, but when he's pushed he shoves back and isnt afraid to get dirty. Something that was lacking with Jimbo. I could see Pav's getting it but he doesnt sell out like Couture does.

So im guessing Cooter and or Pickles, Wingles,Torres,Braun, and Pavelski all candidates for the "A" Hell even Desi should get some consideration

Vlasic makes the most sense to me too, for the reasons you mentioned.

 

[RaiderZar]

Hard to argue with this article:

Offseason From H. E. Double Hockey Sticks

Whether it be fans, players, coaches, or media, almost everyone agrees that both Sharks GM Doug Wilson and head coach Todd McLellan are amongst the best in the league in their respective roles.

Lots of hockey minds would go as far as rating each of these men in the top-5 at their positions. However, as the cliché goes, all good things come to an end. With Wilson having run the Sharks for over a decade and McLellan already entering his seventh season as head coach, patience may be running thin. Not only have the Sharks continually disappointed come the postseason, but this current offseason has been a public relations nightmare.

Even though the Sharks still feature an elite core of players including Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Wilson seems to have lost faith. Shortly after their first round loss to the Kings Wilson told the media that his team “isn’t close enough” to the other top teams and that his organization would be “fooling themselves” to think they didn’t need to go through a rebuild.

Double Stomach Punch to Fans

Despite being in a strong position financially in terms of competing (currently six million in cap space), the Sharks have made zero improvements to their NHL roster. After the worst collapse in franchise history, where they blew a 3-0 opening round series lead, the organization has done absolutely nothing to reinvigorate their fan base. In fact, in what would have seemed inconceivable during the immediate aftermath of the shocking defeat, the Sharks have actually done the opposite to their fans in the months that have followed.

To go along with the negative nancy “not close enough” comments, Wilson also used the term “rebuild” which was appropriately scoffed at by the media. The Sharks were still a dominant possession team just last year and have no business using the term rebuild. Had the Sharks put together a strong or even average summer, they would still be a popular choice to finally break through and win the Stanley Cup.

Instead, with a terrible offseason, the Sharks find themselves being openly mocked by the hockey community. Somehow, someway, their only new NHL acquisition this offseason has been John Scott. Yeah, that’s right, John Scott.

To say the Sharks offseason has been a mess, would be a severe understatement. They also “let go” (read: fired) beloved television color man Drew Remenda. According to sources within the broadcast industry, the main reason for the dismissal is that Remenda was too critical of the Sharks. Is that how the organization treats a beloved team member of nearly two decades? By randomly kicking him to the curb? All of a sudden he is too critical? Many of those who love him would argue he was often overly pro-Sharks. Never once have I heard a Sharks fan criticize Drew for being too hard on the team.

But wait, there is more. The Sharks decided this offseason to bring aboard “ice girls” and made the announcement concurrently with images of silly midriff baring jerseys for female ice crew members. The men however, were pictured getting to wear an environmentally appropriate track suit and jacket. Different levels of revealing uniforms based on gender is sexist, plain and simple. Impossible to argue otherwise.

Therefore, to sum up, the GM has no confidence in his team and failed to add any new established talent, and the COO has both fired a beloved color commentator and made a sexist business decision.

Doug Wilson: Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde

Wilson is without a doubt the best GM the Sharks have ever had. His teams have been tremendously successful in the regular season and made a few good runs over his tenure as GM. A ten year playoff streak and three Western Conference finals over that span is a great resume.

That resume also includes a reputation for knocking blockbuster deals out of the park. Wilson managed to steal Joe Thornton for Wayne Primeau, Brad Stuart, and Marco Sturm. He brought in Dan Boyle for Matt Carle and Ty Wishart. Then he added Dany Heatley for Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo before finally acquiring Brent Burns for Devin Setoguchi and Charlie Coyle.

Each of these trades ended up being a sparkling success. Each time they received a dominant player while giving up far less in return. These moves are at the core of what Wilson has built over the years. San Jose has been a playoff team every year (and often a high seed) in large part due to Wilson’s penchant for scoring big in the trade market.

Along with being great at wheeling and dealing, Wilson has always done a handsome job at resigning his own players to team friendly deals. Contract extensions for his core: Thornton, Marleau, Couture, Vlasic, Pavelski, and Burns have all been below open market value allowing the Sharks wiggle room to add the necessary depth to win a Stanley Cup.

Unfortunately, this is where Wilson flips a 180. The Sharks GM has never put together a strong bottom-six and has annually struggled when it comes to signing free agents. Since 2010, Wilson has signed the following free agents: Antero Niittymaki, Antti Niemi, Jim Vandermeer, Colin White, Michal Handzus, Adam Burish, Brad Stuart (trade and sign), and John Scott.

This is no longer the old NHL where tough guys without puck skills are valuable. These days you need four lines that can actually play hockey. The fact of the matter is the Sharks employ three of the worst forwards in the league with Burish, Scott, and Mike Brown taking up $3.7 million dollars in cap space. The Sharks simply don’t have the necessary depth players to beat out the likes of LA and Chicago and maybe now not even the Ducks, or Blues either.

Todd McLellan vs Ron Wilson

When there were rumors about McLellan’s future with the Sharks earlier this offseason, the assumption was that if the Sharks let him go, he would be snatched up in a hurry. Many believe he is a great coach, but in a results oriented business, how much better has he been then his Sharks predecessor Ron Wilson?

McLellan inherited a Sharks team that had been to three straight Western Conference semi-finals. He inherited a group already featuring Thornton, Marleau, Pavelski, Vlasic, Ryane Clowe, Milan Michalek, Evgeni Nabokov, and Christian Ehrhoff. Not to mention, the Sharks also added Rob Blake and Dan Boyle during the offseason prior the McLellan’s first year.

How many other first time NHL head coaches get to start out with such a fantastic team? While you can color me a much bigger fan of McLellan’s attacking style than Ron Wilson’s conservative approach, has McLellan actually been more successful?

In six years as head coach McLellan has been behind the bench for 11 postseason series. Wilson on the other hand was coach for two fewer seasons (four full years) but despite much less talent to work with, oversaw the team in nine postseason series.

When you think about it, it’s difficult to argue that McLellan has been better than Wilson. McLellan’s teams have been significantly less successful despite having more talent. While Wilson’s teams never lost in the first round, McLellan’s have been ousted in the opening round 50 percent of the time.

Furthermore, McLellan continually misuses Pavelski as a wing despite the team being incredibly more successful when he plays center. While certainly a good coach, McLellan has made his fair share of mistakes and his teams have underachieved in the postseason on a regular basis.

At what point is it time for change for change sake? Ron Wilson got the ax after three straight second round exits. But those three straight exits are better results than what McLellan’s last three years have been: two first round exits and one second round exit.

Mystery Majority Owner Hasso Plattner

Majority owner Hasso Plattner prefers to stay out of the day to day activities. He has rarely talked with the media except to tell them he is directing all hockey questions to Wilson. Obviously that leaves the media without anyone to talk to about Wilson’s performance and job security.

From what we know, Plattner is an ultra competitive man and a big sports nut who watches all the games. However, one has to wonder how established he is in the NHL community. Even if he were thinking of making a change at GM, does he trust himself or any of his inner circle to make a smart hire? Thus far he has been a hands off owner, which can be good or bad. But with this being San Jose’s worst offseason in recent memory, a more visible and vocal ownership would be beneficial.

For the time being Plattner is throwing his support behind Wilson and Wilson is throwing his behind McLellan. However, dominoes are likely to start falling if the Sharks have a fourth straight early exit in the postseason.

 

[sjrules99]

Indeed an interesting article. I cannot disagree much either. The only caveat I would throw out is that aside from the 2004 ouster of the superstar Colorado team, the competition in the west got much tougher. Kane-Toews-Keith-seabrook were drafted from 2002-2007, so the balckhawks of Wilson's tenure sucked while the hawks today are ridiculous. LA is similar with doughty, kopitar, brown, and co coming of age in the Mclellan era. Furthermore, Mclellan was handed a great team early on, but the last few years has seen a serious lack of depth (aside from last year) and aging "stars". lastly, The sharks have really failed to draft well ove the past 6 years or so. Since 2008, the only NHLers currently with the sharks are wingels, Demers, Nieto and Hertl. Go back to 2006 and you can add just couture and Braun. Now, that is a solid supporting cast and nieto and hertl remain to be seen, but with the exception of couture, you basically have no established top 6 forwards and no top pairing Dmen. other teams in the west have drafted star players and the sharks just havent. Over time, that will lead to the decline we've seen the last three years. Look at Mclellan's first 3 years and you have two conference finals. Disappointing as those were, that's pretty good. In the last few years, Boyle has been old. Jumbo and patty too. the bottom 6 were pathetic. Sadly, it looks to get worse...

The only area where I agree wholeheartedly with any indictment of Mclellan is in the Playoff powerplay. Last year, 0-16 to go out in a whimper. 0 for 12 in the 4 losses to LA in 2013. 1 for 14 in the 4 losses to STL in 2012. In the last three years combined, the 12 PO losses that ousted them featured a combined 2 for 45 on the PP. To me, that's one of the most telling stats, and to me, that's also a coaching problem. Yes, it helps to have a bomb from the point or whatever, but I feel like those kind of PO powerplay failures year after year are a direct result of mclellan's failure to instill a good, fluid system. The Jumbo on the half boards looking to be cute policy failed and Tmac had no answer. He sent the same unit to fail the same way over and over and over. Good PP's can score pretty or ugly, but not the sharks, and not when it matters. You arent going to go too far in the PO's if you are 2 for 45 in your losses.

I see Tmac as having one more year. I figured this would be the revolutionary summer, but it wasnt. If they either miss the POs entirely or bow out early, I cannot see them sticking with jumbo-patty and Todd. There comes a point to pull the plug on the old guard. I was hoping that already happened and if they suck next year, the trade value will be that much lower, but I think Dougie has to be concerned not just about what to do with the big two and the coach, but about his own ass. He has had a great track record with the major deals, but a disaster one on the minor ones like trading 2nd rounders for kennedy and moore, trading bonino, mcginn, and ehrhoff for junk, and having several unsuccessful rentals from guerin and soupy to White and Wallin. Not to mention the horrific record of UFA signings like Burish, Brown, and Scott as well as several others. Dougie has a great track record of putting together good teams, but if doesnt make this transition to the future smoothly, he'll be on the hot seat too, particularly in light of his predecessor and the coach he fired having won 2 stanley cups in LA.

 

[Cbrower91]

when did nabby sign with tampa lol