Apologies for my absence for a few days. I just accepted a new short-term job opportunity that will soon take me out of the Bay Area for a couple months starting very soon. But I plan to still write some Sharks (and to a lesser extent, A's) posts on this site. But that's subject to change. I'll do my best to keep up.
It's now put up or shut up time for several key figures in the San Jose Sharks' family. The general lack of offseason transactions/urgency looks more like a mistake than the brilliant move it appeared to be when the Sharks started off with seven victories in succession. Now nine losses, three resulting in a point each, in 10 games has likely kept everyone wondering what's in store for this team. The Sharks host Colorado tonight without Brent Burns (leg injury) and Ryane Clowe (completing a two-game suspension), and it's unsure if Marty Havlat and Tommy Wingels are 100 percent. So the clock is ticking on what General Manager Doug Wilson will or should do to give his slumping team a boost.
In my mind, Wilson already blew his chance to shake up what looked like roster with some holes last summer after the Sharks appeared to be lagging behind the Western Conference's elite. Rick Nash to San Jose was feasible, though it likely would have cost Wilson at least Joe Pavelski and one of his young defensemen to have a shot at Nash. If not a big splash move like Nash, Wilson could have made a less sexy transaction to add some punch within the top six forwards. But Adam Burish was the team's only real addition up front, and even given a four-year deal he received to provide grit and toughness, Burish wasn't expected to provide much in the offensive zone. That clearly put some pressure on third and fourth-line returnees Wingels, Michal Handzus and TJ Galiardi to contribute some secondary scoring. But that trio has been mostly non-existent with just two goals among them, and both were scored in the same game. The Scott Gomez experiment has scientifically failed, and unless he somehow can suddenly be a playmaker centering the Sharks' sputtering wings like Patrick Marleau and Havlat, he's no longer the kind of player to move the needle. Tim Kennedy can only do so much, and that lack of electricity from your bottom six options is magnified when your big guns are misfiring as often as wingers Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Havlat and Clowe have during the Sharks' drought. Essentially, the team's only "dangerous" snipers have combined for six of 12 total goals scored in the last 10 games.
I don't get paid to make hockey decisions, but by now with almost half the season completed, the Sharks could use an offensive pick-me-up. Granted, there isn't much in the prospect pool -unless young goalies are in play- for the Sharks to make a trade for a forward capable of providing some goals without weakening another position. Burns' slow start coming off hernia surgery and his current leg issues complicate matters, but given how well young Matt Irwin filled in when Burns couldn't start the season, the Sharks seem to have some competent defensemen to deal. Either Justin Braun or Jason Demers are logical candidates. Perhaps Wilson could package one with one of his young goaltenders like Alex Stalock or Harri Sateri and return some value that can help now. Is there a combination that could secure someone like talented Buffalo veteran Jason Pomminville, or more realistically at the level of Columbus' Vinny Prospal? And could the Sharks' rather precarious salary cap total handle that kind of trade anyway numbers-wise?
The answer is complex, not for a team with so many veterans holding no trade or no movement clauses getting in the way. But it's becoming clear the Sharks can't stand pat with the roster they currently have. And no, I don't believe firing Coach Todd McLellan is the solution, either. Tonight's game should be one even the depleted, banged-up Sharks should not lose. But they just might because the Sharks are not very good right now, and teams seem to be sensing that and seizing the opportunity.
It's now put up or shut up time for several key figures in the San Jose Sharks' family. The general lack of offseason transactions/urgency looks more like a mistake than the brilliant move it appeared to be when the Sharks started off with seven victories in succession. Now nine losses, three resulting in a point each, in 10 games has likely kept everyone wondering what's in store for this team. The Sharks host Colorado tonight without Brent Burns (leg injury) and Ryane Clowe (completing a two-game suspension), and it's unsure if Marty Havlat and Tommy Wingels are 100 percent. So the clock is ticking on what General Manager Doug Wilson will or should do to give his slumping team a boost.
In my mind, Wilson already blew his chance to shake up what looked like roster with some holes last summer after the Sharks appeared to be lagging behind the Western Conference's elite. Rick Nash to San Jose was feasible, though it likely would have cost Wilson at least Joe Pavelski and one of his young defensemen to have a shot at Nash. If not a big splash move like Nash, Wilson could have made a less sexy transaction to add some punch within the top six forwards. But Adam Burish was the team's only real addition up front, and even given a four-year deal he received to provide grit and toughness, Burish wasn't expected to provide much in the offensive zone. That clearly put some pressure on third and fourth-line returnees Wingels, Michal Handzus and TJ Galiardi to contribute some secondary scoring. But that trio has been mostly non-existent with just two goals among them, and both were scored in the same game. The Scott Gomez experiment has scientifically failed, and unless he somehow can suddenly be a playmaker centering the Sharks' sputtering wings like Patrick Marleau and Havlat, he's no longer the kind of player to move the needle. Tim Kennedy can only do so much, and that lack of electricity from your bottom six options is magnified when your big guns are misfiring as often as wingers Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Havlat and Clowe have during the Sharks' drought. Essentially, the team's only "dangerous" snipers have combined for six of 12 total goals scored in the last 10 games.
I don't get paid to make hockey decisions, but by now with almost half the season completed, the Sharks could use an offensive pick-me-up. Granted, there isn't much in the prospect pool -unless young goalies are in play- for the Sharks to make a trade for a forward capable of providing some goals without weakening another position. Burns' slow start coming off hernia surgery and his current leg issues complicate matters, but given how well young Matt Irwin filled in when Burns couldn't start the season, the Sharks seem to have some competent defensemen to deal. Either Justin Braun or Jason Demers are logical candidates. Perhaps Wilson could package one with one of his young goaltenders like Alex Stalock or Harri Sateri and return some value that can help now. Is there a combination that could secure someone like talented Buffalo veteran Jason Pomminville, or more realistically at the level of Columbus' Vinny Prospal? And could the Sharks' rather precarious salary cap total handle that kind of trade anyway numbers-wise?
The answer is complex, not for a team with so many veterans holding no trade or no movement clauses getting in the way. But it's becoming clear the Sharks can't stand pat with the roster they currently have. And no, I don't believe firing Coach Todd McLellan is the solution, either. Tonight's game should be one even the depleted, banged-up Sharks should not lose. But they just might because the Sharks are not very good right now, and teams seem to be sensing that and seizing the opportunity.
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