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March Madness

San Jose Sharks v. Vancouver Canucks.I am SO excited that March is here that I might have peed myself a little bit the other day. March means it will be warmer weather (hopefully), which equates to college coeds liking to show off the goods. For baseball, it means that Spring training is in full swing (ha!) and everyone is nutting about it. In the work place, it means that productivity will come to a stand still as everyone is clicking that boss button to hide watching the basketball games. Most places just complain about it being a dead time in pro-sports after the Super Bowl ends. But for me, I could care less about that other stuff (except the lovely coeds) because March is one of the most exciting months to be a Sharks fan.

The NHL trade deadline normally falls somewhere in February so March will bring the feeling of getting to know your team all over again since key players tend to get moved. This year, however, was a bit different. Since the hard salary cap in the NHL was introduced after the lockout, making trades involves a lot of moving around salaries and making sure both teams are compliant. With the added thinking/headaches, general managers have been making blockbuster deals a few weeks before the deadline, making the actual deadline day rather boring. This strikes me just fine because instead of hoarding over the computer for one day watching for trades, I get to do it for an entire month leading up to the date! It also keeps me on the ball for picking up guys in my fantasy hockey league to beat my buddies to the punch.

As for this year, Sharks GM Doug Wilson has only made three moves, two of them being trades. Wilson is one of the smarter GMs who doesn’t fall into the trap of overpaying for players at deadlines (or on July 1st at the free agent frenzy). The team is finally playing well over the last month (as I had predicted earlier) and have taken sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division (again, as I predicted earlier). The three players Wilson added (Kyle Wellwood,Ben Eager and Ian White) aren’t necessarily game changers but they have all settled in very nicely with the team and are acting as the much-needed catalysts. Also, great timing on picking up White as Dan Boyle is on the shelf for a bit with an injury. Ian White is not necessarily a replacement of Boyle by any means, but he can log some serious minutes and move the puck out of the backend for the time being. Once Boyle is back, you will see White man the second powerplay unit and thrive.

The Sharks are looking great going into the last month and a half of the season and could even challenge the top teams in the West and/or league. Losing Dan Boyle for a bit will definitely hurt their powerplay but I don’t see the team rushing him back when they keep winning. The signing of Niemi to a 4 year contract extension means that us Sharks fans will be getting used to seeing him as the official starter. Could Niemi also enter into the record books as the first goaltender to win back-to-back Stanley Cups with two different teams? Only 12 players of all time have ever done it.

On another note, both Devin Setoguchi (www.twitter.com/seto1661) and Logan Couture (www.twitter.com/Logancouture) are working on getting more followers with some rather funny banter between them. Seto has even offered to donate $5,000 to cancer research if he gets to 15,000 followers by March 15th (he is currently at 9,500+). So head on over there and follow them both….and while you’re at it, follow me and Bay Area Bias.

Enjoy the month, Sharks fans, it is great to be winning again. Maybe the crossover of the guys will bring them some mojo this year without the torture.

Fun Fact: There has been 10 penalty shots given in the Stanley Cup Finals and only one person has ever scored on it: the one and only size 8 skate wonder, Chris Pronger in 2006.

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