Editor's Note: The Pensblog and Melt Your Face Off will be running a version of this preview at their respective sites sometime this week. I'll definitely take a closer look at some particulars once the season nears (especially considering someone, okay Kyle McLaren, will be on the way out before October 6th), but figured it would be a good idea to offer up something that would tide you over. Not that anyone reads this besides my mother.
It's no secret- the Sharks have had a helluva time getting past the second round the last three years. Every single season Teal Nation (we really don't call ourselves that- it's sort of a rip off of "Raider Nation", the Oakland Raiders fanbase who love supporting their team in the National Convicts League) gets more excited than me on high school prom night about the chance to finally score the big one. Unfortunately, it ends much the same- an early exit, people laugh, you retire from your career as a human being and start up a blog. It's a rough life.
Based off these facts, I've decided to go into this year with more of a realistic mind set. The following is a list of seven reasons (which represents a playoff series, yes I am original) of why the Sharks are less likely to choke like Mama Cass in the second round.
First off, that's one helluva photoshop.
Ex-Sharks coach Ron Wilson was notorious for being unable to motivate the team come playoff time. Rumors that he had lost control of the locker room surfaced after the year, and it was all but a guarantee he was done.
After Wilson got fired, Detroit's power play coach Todd McLellan was brought in as head coach. He's had a successful career behind the bench both at the AHL and NHL level (most notably winning the Calder Cup in 2003 with the Houston Aeros), and the consensus in Northern California is that he will inject lots of life into the frustratingly static powerplay, as well as other aspects of the team. We'll touch on all of those later in more detail, but let it be clear- McLellan is the biggest addition to the Sharks in that he changes the offensive side of the puck immensely.
I'm convinced Detroit's success on the power play centers around Holmstrom's ability to mindf*** the goaltenders every time his rear is hanging
Looking at the Sharks roster, there's no one else who can get in front of the net and disrupt the goaltender like Clowe. He was a big contributor in the first-round series against Calgary (4 goals, 4 assists) and established such a solid presence in the crease that it was difficult to fathom how the Sharks managed to post the league's second best record in the regular season without him. His skill set has lots of upsides- 6'2, 225 pounds, and good hands. Expect big things out of him this year, especially on the power play. A twenty five goal season is far from out of the question- in fact it might be a tad conservative.
The one concern with Clowe is his ability to stay healthy. He missed a majority of the regular season with a knee injury, and has never played a complete NHL season. If you're a member of MAAD you may have cause for concern as well- dude picked up a DUI when he was on the IR. But whatevs- do you like drinking? Hell, ya like drinkin', who da hell don't?
This reason sort of ties in with number one- Patty had a lot of differences with Ron Wilson, and that reflected on his play last year. Posting a paltry 48 points (19 G), he was involved in trade rumors all year long, but won't have to deal with them this year due to a NTC that kicked in after the entry draft. Rumor has it (and no, my source isn't Eklund) that the Sharks Captain didn't speak to Ron Wilson for a six month period. The importance of that is fairly undebatable.
Up until last year's postseason (where Marleau was still the most consistent Shark game in game out), he was tied with Jarome Iginla for most postseason goals (20) in the last three years. He banged the twine more than Magic Johnson banged.... well you get the point. And he's healthy, which is more than you can say for....yeah, you get the point.
Don't be swayed by last year's regular season performance. Expect a point a game from the Captain this year, production that will motivate his teammates and reignite a Sharks offense that was 19th last season in GF.
It's no mystery as to what Doug Wilson's plan was this offseason- bring in older players with Stanley Cup experience. With a roster that has aged considerably since the beginning of last season, the goal of bringing Stanley Cup rings (from zero to four) into the locker room has been achieved. The Sharks went from a fairly young team to one that now is looking at a rapidly closing window of opportunity. The players in question?
Rob Blake- Old and overpaid. it's not an overstatement in any sense of the word to say that Blake's glory days are behind him. But hell, at least he gives us an opportunity to throw in a reference to The Boss. Blake's purpose will be solely to provide support on the powerplay and do towel whips in the locker room, keeping the squad loose. Whatever that means.
The Cup ring and his experience as Captain sure don't hurt either.
Dan Boyle- After Brian "Soupy" Campbell (who will be referred to as "Poopy" on We Bleed Teal for the remainder of his wretched life) bolted for the Windy City, Doug Wilson went out and picked up another puck-moving defenceman to replace him. Boyle's coming off an injury plagued 07-08 year, so his $6.66 M/year contract that runs through 2013-2014 could be a bit of a gamble, but from what I've seen of Mr. Boyle, he could well be an upgrade over Campbell. Plus, it gives me so many opportunities to use cliche headlines such as "Sharks Begin To Boyle As They Win Third Straight." That stuff is important people.
Brad Lukowich- Lukowich won a Cup with the Lightning back in 03-04. He's basically a solid defenceman who's going to eat up minutes and not score a lot, but provide enough to earn his minutes. McLellan will probably pair him up with Boyle at the beginning of the year, solely based off the fact that is the role they played in Tampa.
Yes, that is the second thing that popped up on a Google image search. And yes, I will probably be using that for the rest of the season.
Ah, the Sharks power play. It was a goddamn circus last year. Although a quick trip to the ESPN stat archives may tell you the Sharks were a respectable 10th in the league last year, don't believe it. They were frustrating as hell. Basically our plan of attack would consist of feeding the puck to Big Joe on the sideboards, him waiting around for a few seconds, and then firing an errant pass at the front of the net. As this was occurring, yours truly would be beating his dog while the pass got broken up.
Rinse and repeat.
Todd McLellan's expertise promised to change all that. With weapons such as Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek, Rob Blake, Dan Boyle, Ryane Clowe, and Joe Pavelski combined with McLellan's past experience of running one of the league's most feared power play units, teams are going to be paying for taking penalties against San Jose.
One of the huge reasons the Sharks went seven games with Calgary and lost to the Stars was their inability to make teams fear putting the Sharks on the power play. That's all about to change this year.
Although losing Craig Rivet was a blow to the squad as well as the fanbase, Doug Wilson's hand was forced because of the cap troubles the Sharks ran into. All of the aforementioned acquisitions in number four add to this list, but a big change this year will be more production from the blueline. Marc-Edouard Vlasic stated that this offseason that, "I think the coach wants a little more offense from the d-men," something that was sorely lacking last year.
For a defense that was ranked 3rd in GA and 1st in PK last season, the opportunity to press a little more in the offensive zone will be a welcome addition to the Sharks repertoire. Coupled with 2008 Vezina
Go Sharks.
2 comments:
As usual very witty and well written.
As long as your "Boyle" references are about how hot he is (as far as playing is concerned...although he does rank pretty high on the HOTNESS factor) and not to the large wart variety on the Sharks posterior, it should be an excellent season.
Thanks for putting my video up, totally works with the season preview. GO SHARKS!
and not to the large wart variety on the Sharks posterior, it should be an excellent season.
"Semenov, I told you to leave me alone. Stop calling."
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