Has the Dust Settled?

The 2011-2012 San Jose Sharks season finally came to a merciful end a few weeks ago but this unfortunate collapse only began more questioning as to whether this group of players will ever win a cup. Patrick Marleau has become a pseudo-scapegoat for the past few seasons, especially in the postseasons. However, this season he may have played his way off of the team taking a few others along with him. A few things need to be changed dramatically before the beginning of the next season. As for the bandwagon fans that always say the Sharks choke when it comes to playoffs, it is important to remember how to keep things in perspective.

Patrick Marleau is a six time 30 goal scorer in the NHL, which is nothing to sneeze at. The problem that fans (and Jeremy Roenick) have with him is his lack of intensity when his teammates need him. Marleau’s best trait also happens to be his worst: what you see is what you get. He never seems to get down when things are bad and doesn’t get up when things are good. When he was captaining the Sharks, fans wanted to see the intensity that Owen Nolan had during his tenure. They wanted him to stand up and lift the team on his shoulders and carry them to Lord Stanley’s promised land. When Sharks fans finally realized Marleau won’t be who they wanted him to be, they immediately wanted to trade him. The problem is, who will take him and his $6.9 million contract? I have a feeling Doug Wilson will move Patrick somewhere this summer because if he doesn’t, Doug’s head may be put on a stake.

If we take a look at this past season, it was easy to see that the Sharks were not looking their best going into the postseason. The only team I was hoping to avoid was St Louis because deep down, I knew Ken Hitchcock had our number. Anyone could easily see the mismatch just by looking at the regular season numbers, but I actually watched those games and saw how Hitchcock outcoached Todd McLellan. I like Todd and think he is a great guy, but by refusing to change the offense or to adjust the league’s worst penalty kill (almost) during the year does not help his job security. Doug Wilson has not exactly announced McClellan’s safety, but I do think he will be around for at least next year.

Doug Wilson also did everything he could to improve the personnel for the penalty kill, but it ultimately came down to the system and its inability to function as intended. Dominic Moore is an elite defensive forward built for the penalty kill but he was not being used to his full potential and his play suffered as a result. Daniel Winnik was also brought in for his PK ability and both he and Moore said they were not used to the laid back style on killing penalties, which took some time to adjust to. I hope the Sharks change the PK system along with the resigning of Moore and Winnik since both are unrestricted free agents and very valuable assets to the Sharks. And if Todd McClellan does not change his coaching ways, I have a feeling he will and should be relieved of his duty regardless of being the winningest coach in San Jose’s history. It was painful to watch the Sharks take a penalty all year because everyone in the building knew the penalty wouldn’t be killed.

My last point is regarding the bandwagoners and complaints about the Sharks choking in the playoffs every year. True, the Sharks have played 21 seasons in the NHL and have zero cups or finals appearances, but believe it or not, there are teams that are even worse – 11 to be exact. The Vancouver Canucks have been in the NHL since 1970 and have made the finals three times but still have not won a cup. The St Louis Blues hold the record for most consecutive years of making playoffs (25) yet never made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in any of those years and have lost three times in the finals. The Sharks are not the worst team in the playoffs and their time will come. Every year is a different year and the postseason is especially an entirely different season. Making playoffs is just one battle; winning the 16 games necessary for the Cup is open to any of the 16 teams vying for it, regardless of what happened in the season. Every year there will be 15 teams that “choke” with management thinking about what went wrong and how to fix it. Since the introduction of the salary cap, dynasties in hockey are a thing of the past and I don’t think there will be any repeat champions with the amount of parity. So don’t fret Sharks fans, our time will come….and hopefully before another 23 seasons of nothing.

What do you think of Marleau being traded or Todd McLellan and/or Doug Wilson still having their jobs for next season?

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