What's Next for the Sharks?

After a great regular season, the San Jose Sharks season has once again ended prematurely. For a team that was fairly healthy, this series loss raises questions regarding the direction of the club. What will become of Doug Wilson who has been hailed as one of the better GMs in the league? If Wilson goes does this mean a new coach will be brought in? And most importantly how can you change the roster.

The Sharks currently have almost 47M committed to 7 forwards, 5 Dmen and Evgeni Nabakov. Their only RFAs are Clowe, Goc and Mitchell.

Of particular interest to Sens fans, would Travis Moen be a decent lower priced replacement for Chris Neil ? Now back to the Sharks.

It seems that there needs to be changes made to the top 2 forwards, Joe T has proven to be a huge playoff failure yet Patrick Marleau is the player most frequently brought up as someone who should be moved.

How would you proceed if you were making the decisions down by the Bay?

Marleau to Montreal, you can book that one. Not sure if Jumpin Joe will be moved however. They will sign Clowe if their GM has a brain at all, and Heater has talked about it before, we would gladly take Cheecho off their hands to see if a change of scenery would do him good, if they want to send Clowe our way too, I don't think I would argue.

Tough call. They are the Sens of the West. Remember the Division titles and the President's Trophy seasons coupled with early exits despite having a talent laiden team? It appears as though a major shift is needed but I wouldn't know where to begin. With the Sens it seemed as though some major adversity brought them together before their run so perhaps that's what these guys need? I sure wouldn't want to be the guy trying to figure this team out.

And before Neely says it's all Thornton and Marleau's fault I will just say it's not that simple.

No arguments there SF. I have to agree thar Marleau will certainly be courted and swooned by Montreal, that's for sure.
And as a Sens fan, I would be ecstatic if somehow we could snag both Cheechoo and Clowe... *drooling* but I won't get carried away.

Needless to say, speculation will continue to run rampant as the President's trophy winners were trounced and bounced by the lowest seed in the 1st round, although to be honest, reading Drew Miller's comments I believe, encompass what I've felt recently where he stated: "Everyone in (our) the dressing room knows we're not an 8th seed team, and now I think the league knows it too,"

IMHO Doug Wilson's done all he could reasonably do.

The Ducks improved their club substantially at the deadline, and are not your 'typical' 8th seed. Anaheim is a Cup Champion, and many of those players remain. They know how to win.

The Sharks need a younger D-man to replace Blake, but there aren't any discernible flaws on this team.

It's easy to dump on Marleau and Thornton, but the fact is NONE of the Sharks were able to solve the Ducks' defensive strategy and the exceptional play--with two shutouts to boot--of Jonas Hiller.

davetherave wrote:IMHO Doug Wilson's done all he could reasonably do.

The Ducks improved their club substantially at the deadline, and are not your 'typical' 8th seed. Anaheim is a Cup Champion, and many of those players remain. They know how to win.

The Sharks need a younger D-man to replace Blake, but there aren't any discernible flaws on this team.

It's easy to dump on Marleau and Thornton, but the fact is NONE of the Sharks were able to solve the Ducks' defensive strategy and the exceptional play--with two shutouts to boot--of Jonas Hiller.

Dave,

This was the Sharks year. They acquired Blake and Boyle to push them over the top. They had Thornton, Marleau and Michalek up front. They had young guys on cheap contracts contributing and they had the goaltending. Again they failed in their pursuit of the cup. They obviously need to improve, but how do that. They can't bring anyone in without moving a big salary.

RobbyJ wrote:

davetherave wrote:IMHO Doug Wilson's done all he could reasonably do.

The Ducks improved their club substantially at the deadline, and are not your 'typical' 8th seed. Anaheim is a Cup Champion, and many of those players remain. They know how to win.

The Sharks need a younger D-man to replace Blake, but there aren't any discernible flaws on this team.

It's easy to dump on Marleau and Thornton, but the fact is NONE of the Sharks were able to solve the Ducks' defensive strategy and the exceptional play--with two shutouts to boot--of Jonas Hiller.

Dave,

This was the Sharks year. They acquired Blake and Boyle to push them over the top. They had Thornton, Marleau and Michalek up front. They had young guys on cheap contracts contributing and they had the goaltending. Again they failed in their pursuit of the cup. They obviously need to improve, but how do that. They can't bring anyone in without moving a big salary.

Robby, I agree with you.

I frankly don't know what else Doug Wilson can do...and I suspect he doesn't know either at the moment.

Get ready for the Marleau/Briere/Lecavalier to Montreal rumours. Interestingly anyone trading for Marleau after July 1st can sign him to an extension immediately.

Marleau to Montreal is probably being discussed as we speak - but expect Marleau to use his NTC to stay the Diddle away. The last thing this guy needs is more pressure.

Thornton's future is in terrifying limbo. He could be offered around for a gritty winger. Someone who's been there before and can fight through the checking of the playoffs. But...Thornton was good enough to make a difference, no one else was, especially in game 6.

Setaguchi is a great regular season player. So is Pavelski - but there have to be doubts about their post-seasons.

Clowe is a killer player, so he'll move up with Thornton I would imagine. Probably insulate that line with Michalek so there's nothing but size and power.

DW will have to examine very closely the progress of Couture to see if he can be slotted in.

I would expect Cheechoo to be traded. Grier will move on, Roenick will move on,

There needs to be a little less skill and a little more toughness.

Devastating.

EDIT: It doesn't help that SJ's prospect pool makes ours look like Detroit's.

RobbyJ wrote:Get ready for the Marleau/Briere/Lecavalier to Montreal rumours. Interestingly anyone trading for Marleau after July 1st can sign him to an extension immediately.

Robby, you are right again on this, but is Marleau really the problem?

Under McLellan, he had an excellent year.

Gainey certainly has no one the Sharks would want. Neither does Holmgren, who can't afford to part with the d-man San Jose would need to replace Boyle.

Injuries are no excuse, of course, but the Sharks were quite possibly not healthy going into the playoffs, those injuries (I suspect to both Blake and Lukowich, as well as Clowe) lingering or otherwise undisclosed.

The Sharks did not finish the season strong, going just 5-4-1 in their last ten, and barely winning half of their games in March.

The Ducks, on the other, brought in fresh troops in March and were on an upswing since the trade deadline.

And then there was Hiller, who clearly outplayed Nabokov.

davetherave wrote:
Robby, you are right again on this, but is Marleau really the problem?

Yes.

He was one of about 5 serious issues, but by far the biggest.

504Heater wrote:

davetherave wrote:
Robby, you are right again on this, but is Marleau really the problem?

Yes.

He was one of about 5 serious issues, but by far the biggest.

504H, who were the leading goal getters for San Jose in the playoffs?

Who had the best plus-minus on the team in that series?

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:

davetherave wrote:
Robby, you are right again on this, but is Marleau really the problem?

Yes.

He was one of about 5 serious issues, but by far the biggest.

504H, who were the leading goal getters for San Jose in the playoffs?

Who had the best plus-minus on the team in that series?

No one. They all failed. :D:

Most goals was a whopping 2: By Boyle and Marleau

Best plus minus was: Cheechoo with a...plus 1.

Egads.

504Heater wrote:Most goals was a whopping 2: By Boyle and Marleau

Best plus minus was: Cheechoo with a...plus 1.

Egads.

Precisely...the failure is shared by all.

It's easy to put it on Marleau...but his mates didn't exactly help him out.

Marleau is still the worst captain in the NHL IMO.

Neely4Life wrote:Marleau is still the worst captain in the NHL IMO.

Worse than...the unnamed Captain of the Leafs? LOL

davetherave wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Marleau is still the worst captain in the NHL IMO.

Worse than...the unnamed Captain of the Leafs? LOL

does anyone want that designation? I hear its a career killer

I actually agree with Neely that Marleau should not be captain of the Sharks...Dan Boyle deserves that C.

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:Most goals was a whopping 2: By Boyle and Marleau

Best plus minus was: Cheechoo with a...plus 1.

Egads.

Precisely...the failure is shared by all.

It's easy to put it on Marleau...but his mates didn't exactly help him out.

still his responsability to motivate the others. I am not in the locker room so I dont know about his leadership, but the fact that you notice Niedermayer everytime he is on the ice and not Marleau when he is is a bit concerning.

marakh wrote:

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:Most goals was a whopping 2: By Boyle and Marleau

Best plus minus was: Cheechoo with a...plus 1.

Egads.

Precisely...the failure is shared by all.

It's easy to put it on Marleau...but his mates didn't exactly help him out.

still his responsability to motivate the others. I am not in the locker room so I dont know about his leadership, but the fact that you notice Niedermayer everytime he is on the ice and not Marleau when he is is a bit concerning.

As I said, maybe Marleau's not the guy who should wear the C.

Dan Boyle, IMHO a better choice.

The whole team Dung the bed. Where was the secondary scoring from Michalek, Clowe, Setoguchi, Cheechoo, or Pavelski? Where was the scoring from Thorton or Marleau? Nabokov was straight up outplayed by Hiller and they couldn't match a D with Pronger, Neidermeyer, Beauchemin, Wisniewski, and Whitney.

I would be expecting big changes in SJ in the offseason. This should have been the year they got the 800 lb gorilla off their backs. This season should be considered a failure, despite the President's trophy. A story way too familiar to us Sens fans.

What I find fascinating is that everyone talks about the Sharks 'choking' and no one talks about the Flames' almost identical series of first round exits.

:KJK:

I was listening to Bill Waters on my ride home. He was going on about how SJ MUST trade Thornton. He said that he was discussing trade partners with Dreger and they agreed that Ottawa would provide the best partner. Except he added that it would be - for the most part - a straight swap of Spezza and Heatley to SJ for Thornton and Marleau. He continued by saying it would be an equal trade of under achievers in hopes each duo would excel under new team banners. He said it would be a simple trade and the numbers work out perfectly. He wouldn't be surprised if it happens.

His confidence in such a trade infuriated me. I don't know about you guys but I would HATE this trade. At times I haven't been a big fan of Spezza or Heatley but I wouldn't trade them for the sake of trading them. Especially for not two players that could be considered even worse underachievers than Spezza and Heatley. I fail to see how Ottawa is any further ahead by making this move.

strachattack wrote:I was listening to Bill Waters on my ride home. He was going on about how SJ MUST trade Thornton. He said that he was discussing trade partners with Dreger and they agreed that Ottawa would provide the best partner. Except he added that it would be - for the most part - a straight swap of Spezza and Heatley to SJ for Thornton and Marleau. He continued by saying it would be an equal trade of under achievers in hopes each duo would excel under new team banners. He said it would be a simple trade and the numbers work out perfectly. He wouldn't be surprised if it happens.

His confidence in such a trade infuriated me. I don't know about you guys but I would HATE this trade. At times I haven't been a big fan of Spezza or Heatley but I wouldn't trade them for the sake of trading them. Especially for not two players that could be considered even worse underachievers than Spezza and Heatley. I fail to see how Ottawa is any further ahead by making this move.

Watters and Dreger are card carrying members of Toronto's Hockey Media Mafia...did you actually expect something intelligent and insightful from them?

:^^^^:

davetherave wrote:

strachattack wrote:I was listening to Bill Waters on my ride home. He was going on about how SJ MUST trade Thornton. He said that he was discussing trade partners with Dreger and they agreed that Ottawa would provide the best partner. Except he added that it would be - for the most part - a straight swap of Spezza and Heatley to SJ for Thornton and Marleau. He continued by saying it would be an equal trade of under achievers in hopes each duo would excel under new team banners. He said it would be a simple trade and the numbers work out perfectly. He wouldn't be surprised if it happens.

His confidence in such a trade infuriated me. I don't know about you guys but I would HATE this trade. At times I haven't been a big fan of Spezza or Heatley but I wouldn't trade them for the sake of trading them. Especially for not two players that could be considered even worse underachievers than Spezza and Heatley. I fail to see how Ottawa is any further ahead by making this move.

Watters and Dreger are card carrying members of Toronto's Hockey Media Mafia...did you actually expect something intelligent and insightful from them?

:^^^^:

Good point! I usually don't but it was his arrogance in thinking that this was a slam dunk for Ottawa to consider. Despite Spezza and Heater's failings they have proven they can produce in the playoffs. Obviously, the jury is still out on Thornton and Marleau. Bah! Waters! :gg:

I will never pick San Jose in a playoff pool again lol Never!

HowieMorenz wrote:I will never pick San Jose in a playoff pool again lol Never!

:^^^^: I said the same thing today. Until they actually win a cup I will NEVER pick them or any of their players in a pool. I've been burned too many times.

usually you can rely on them to make it to the second round though.

Most interesting offseason coming up, possibly in league history.

Montreal Canadiens -- bust
Calgary Flames -- bust
San Jose Sharks -- big bust
Toronto Maple Leafs -- rebuilding
Ottawa Senators -- fringe team
Tampa Bay Lightning -- last offseason might be an indication
Minnesota -- possible new direction
Edmonton Oilers -- bust
Dallas Stars -- bust
Colorado Avalanche -- massive rebuild

Enjoy the fireworks this offseason guys, there is going to be plenty.