Well, time to start looking forward to the playoffs ladies and gentlemen. The Sharks won 5-2 last night in San Jose, scoring four third period goals.
We're winning the Cup.
What the hell is up with that video? Is it just me, or does it seem like some terrible 80's highlight reel. I think the best way to describe it is "awkward".
From what I can tell from the clips, our defense really looks like they are moving the puck well along the blueline, and we're getting traffic in front of the net. All good signs. Anybody attend the game and have some keen observations?
Go Sharks.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Sharks Win Preseason Game
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Time To Pack Up Shop
Well, time to start looking forward to next year ladies and gentlemen. The Sharks lost 6-4 tonight in Anaheim, giving up four third period goals.
We're screwed.
On a lighter note, I've been brought on board Hockey Primetime, a pretty awesome site for hockey related news. If you're a semi-sane hockey fan, sign up on the site and get your kicks over there with me.
Most of the stuff I will be writing over there will be more "journalisty" if that makes any sort of sense, so I'm not leaving WBT (kind of a good looking acronym). I'll post links to articles I write over there so all you readers (read: lazy chumps) don't have to add another bookmark on your browser.
Go Sharks.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Never Forget
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Semenov Signs With Sharks
Per Sharkspage:
A well placed source has informed Sharkspage that veteran defenseman Alexei Semenov has signed with the San Jose Sharks. A 6-foot-6 235 pound native of Murmansk Russia, Semenov enters his sixth NHL season after compiling 4 points in 22 games with the Sharks last season. He entered this off-season as an Unrestricted Free-agent and now provides the Sharks with eight NHL caliber defenseman. Semenov won over management last season with his practice habits and positive attitude, but must eliminate the lapses of judgement that have haunted his game to date. This signing is likely the precursor to another roster move, as the Sharks remain over the salary cap.
I'm guessing he signed for the league minimum which means we're still a stone throws away from getting under the cap. With eight NHL caliber defencemen (a highly debatable point) on the roster as of right now, one of them should be on blocks.
This should stamp McLaren's ticket out of town.
Go Sharks.
Self Promotion
Greetings fellow internet nerds. Melt Your Face Off and The Pensblog ran my season preview on their site today. Go give it a whirl if you're so inclined; the Pensblog version has an interview with Hacksaw that didn't run on here.
Both sites offer up a lot of funny hockey news- Melt Your Face Off is the NHL's version of Kissing Suzy Kolber and the Pensblog, well, the Pensblog just kicks serious ass. Thanks again to both blogs for flipping off common sense and giving me a shot.
Go Sharks.
[Editor's Note] It was Battle of California Day at The Pensblog yesterday- Rudy's Kings Preview and Earl's Ducks Preview both knocked it out of their respective parks.
Wilson Watch (9/10)
After the departure of the Sharks all-time leader in coaching wins this offseason, we felt a twinge of nostalgia when we heard he would be headed north to coach the Leafs. Following the most succesful period in Sharks history (albeit arguably the most dissapointing), we decided to keep tabs on our old coach. Pension Plan Puppets, who cover the Toronto Maple Leafs, have decided to lend us a helping hand.
This Week's Mood: Clear Headed
Coach Ron has his eyes firmly set on the future and is done with the waiting game surrounding Mats Sundin:
"I'm preparing for Mats not to be here and I'm going to prepare our team for Mats not to be here."
He has a clear idea of the Leafs' problems (leadership) and after seeing most of the leadership crew run out of town on a rail (they actually used to do that?) he knows where it's coming from - the kids:
"If the leadership was a burden for some of the people that aren't here anymore, then we'll try to spread that out and shoulder the responsibility with a lot of our younger people. Inevitably, people step up and assume the leadership on a team when they see the opportunity is there. We've got to go in a different direction. We've got to get younger and we have to pass the torch to other people in that room"
As you can imagine, having this sort of non-dissembling, totally lacking in BS answer from a coach is a bit of a shock considering the last two seasons with Paul "This is my most talented team ever" Maurice.
Song on his iPod: "Waiting in Vain" - Bob Marley
- PPP
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
NHL 09 In Stores Tomorrow
And I am pumped. I wrote an article earlier this offseason about Dion Phaneuf's inclusion as cover boy, a problem that I'll have to deal with for the time being.
I'll get around to reviewing the game this weekend, so for any of you who are on the fence (read: anyone who still wets the bed) it will be a good determination of whether or not to pick it up. For everyone else who still has a brain, see you on XBOX Live tomorrow.
Hell, you'll even have an opportunity to start a blog about your team. Maybe even two if you're dedicated enough.
We Bleed Teal's Half Assed Season Preview
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.
Monday, September 8, 2008
WBT Fantasy League
Since I'm getting pretty pumped (one month!) for the regular season to rescue us from the dark abyss of the offseason, let's get talking about a We Bleed Teal fantasy league.
Consulting my magic ball, I figured that a Goon League would be the best bet. The complicated scoring system is as follows:
One point for every minute your hellion spends in the penalty box.
Site URL: http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com
League ID: 20535
Password: webleedteal
Unfortunately Yahoo won't allow me to track penalty minutes for goaltenders, so an executive decision was made to not include that position. Ron Hextall's out of the NHL, so it doesn't matter too much.
Short, simple, not so sweet. Five starters and two bench players. The live draft will be held on Thursday September 25th at 8 PM Pacific, but if you can't make it don't fret. The league lets you pre-rank your players.
Let's drop the gloves. Go Sharks.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Delaying The Inevitable; New Signings
So the season preview is in the bag, but I've decided against posting it due to the fact that The Pensblog will be running the same article in their annual Season Preview edition. I'll be posting that here on Tuesday. Syndication causes hell with semantics.
At any rate, I was interviewing Hacksaw for the season preview and realized that training camp must be awfully unproductive considering no one else has joined the squad. Which leads us to a whirlwind of signings before preseason kicks off. Thankfully we don't have to worry about the cap limit, as fantasy blog teams don't quite have the same type of relationship as say, the NHLPA and the team owners. Which is a good thing because a) lockouts would be more commonplace than a Joe Thornton assist (eh, it's okay) and b) we wouldn't have to make a decision regarding Kyle McLaren's future with the Sharks.
So here's the official We Bleed Teal training camp roster as of September 8, 2008. With Captain's practices starting to kick off tomorrow, following is a list of players who have a shot at making the big squad.
And let's make it clear, the following players will be used much like Rob Blake this upcoming season- on the powerplay.
Editor's Note: This has the potential to give this blog the extra push it needs to crack Fortune 500 count me in. And yeah, help that hockey team called the Sharks or something like that.
If anyone knows of any Bret Hedican types that might do the team some good in a depth role, shoot me an email at jasonplank@umail.ucsb.edu.
Go We Bleed Teal.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Preparing For September
Basically, summer is over. As we prepare for the season, we're working on a preview and prediction edition that will hit el shelves del internetico around Monday of next week. That is not a solid date, but just an ETA.
If you are writing a preview for your blog/myspace/grandmother, email me the link at jasonplank@umail.ucsb.edu. We will link you at the bottom of the article.
Lace em up- the season's just around the corner.
Go Sharks.
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