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The San Jose Sharks have made the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons, but after finishing with their lowest point total in those eight seasons and getting bounced in the first round by St. Louis, they could be at a crossroads.
Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Sharks team that is surely good enough to reach the playoffs again next season, but do they have enough to harbour loftier goals?
Without breaking a sweat, the Sharks could put together a roster for next season that has the skill necessary to reach the playoffs, but if San Jose is going to compete for the ever-elusive Stanley Cup, they may have to get bold and make moves to upgrade this summer.
It's reasonable to believe that leading scorer Joe Thornton will remain, even if he's no longer the dominant scorer he was in his first few seasons with the Sharks and Logan Couture, one of three 30-goal scorers, is the cornerstone of the offence going forward.
It's the other two 30-goal scorers that come into more question. Patrick Marleau has scored 234 goals since 2005-2006, which ranks sixth in the league over that time, but he always finds his way into trade rumours when the Sharks are coming off a disappointing end to the season.
Joe Pavelski is an excellent two-way player and it would seem that a forward who can play in all sitations, score 30 goals and finish with a career-high plus-18 rating isn't one that should be readily moved. Only seven forwards in the league scored 30 goals and finished better than plus-15 last season, and Pavelski played more than any of them with quality of competition numbers among the very highest in the league (BEHIND THE NET: Hockey Analysis and Statistics [new host]). If Pavelski is going to even be considered for trade, it had better yield a very significant return.
Ultimately, the Sharks may feel as though their window is closing with this group. Thornton, Marleau and defenceman Dan Boyle are all going to be 33-years-of-age or older next season and each of them has two years remaining on their current contracts. Moving at least one of them might help extend San Jose's window of opportunity.
Time is running out for the veteran core, for a coach who was on the hot seat after playoff elimination and even for the general manager, who has never missed the playoffs, but hasn't reached a Stanley Cup Final either. That ratchets up the level of urgency and could make the Sharks a very interesting team to watch when it comes to potential blockbuster deals this summer.
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The San Jose Sharks have made the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons, but after finishing with their lowest point total in those eight seasons and getting bounced in the first round by St. Louis, they could be at a crossroads.
Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Sharks team that is surely good enough to reach the playoffs again next season, but do they have enough to harbour loftier goals?
Without breaking a sweat, the Sharks could put together a roster for next season that has the skill necessary to reach the playoffs, but if San Jose is going to compete for the ever-elusive Stanley Cup, they may have to get bold and make moves to upgrade this summer.
It's reasonable to believe that leading scorer Joe Thornton will remain, even if he's no longer the dominant scorer he was in his first few seasons with the Sharks and Logan Couture, one of three 30-goal scorers, is the cornerstone of the offence going forward.
It's the other two 30-goal scorers that come into more question. Patrick Marleau has scored 234 goals since 2005-2006, which ranks sixth in the league over that time, but he always finds his way into trade rumours when the Sharks are coming off a disappointing end to the season.
Joe Pavelski is an excellent two-way player and it would seem that a forward who can play in all sitations, score 30 goals and finish with a career-high plus-18 rating isn't one that should be readily moved. Only seven forwards in the league scored 30 goals and finished better than plus-15 last season, and Pavelski played more than any of them with quality of competition numbers among the very highest in the league (BEHIND THE NET: Hockey Analysis and Statistics [new host]). If Pavelski is going to even be considered for trade, it had better yield a very significant return.
Ultimately, the Sharks may feel as though their window is closing with this group. Thornton, Marleau and defenceman Dan Boyle are all going to be 33-years-of-age or older next season and each of them has two years remaining on their current contracts. Moving at least one of them might help extend San Jose's window of opportunity.
Time is running out for the veteran core, for a coach who was on the hot seat after playoff elimination and even for the general manager, who has never missed the playoffs, but hasn't reached a Stanley Cup Final either. That ratchets up the level of urgency and could make the Sharks a very interesting team to watch when it comes to potential blockbuster deals this summer.
