Bleed Teal

It wasn't pretty, but...

2009-04-11T22:00:00.001-07:00

Can't wait until Wednesday. We should have previews of all Western Conference playoff series soon after matchups are set tomorrow evening. If the St. Louis Blues defeat the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow, the Sharks will face the Ducks. A Blues loss, even in overtime, would mean a St. Louis/San Jose first-round matchup. Get stoked.

Bleed Teal's 2010 USA Olympic Team Picks

2009-02-21T22:22:00.000-08:00

Everyone and their grandmother it seems has an opinion on what the 2010 USA Olympic Men's Team should look like, and now it's Bleed Teal's turn to provide ours. With much of the American old guard that won the '96 World Cup and medaled at Salt Lake in '02 closing in on retirement, the likes of Keith Tkachuk, Mike Modano, Bill Guerin and Chris Chelios give way to Zach Parise, Paul Stastny, Dustin Brown and Ryan Suter on what looks to be a surprisingly solid squad for the Americans as the countdown begins to the 2010 Vancouver Games.

LW Zach Parise - C Paul Stastny - RW Jamie Langenbrunner
The quintessential scoring line: a through-the-roof collective hockey IQ, a decent amount of grit and a truckload of skill. The two speedy Devils wingers flanking the Avs' star center seems to be the consensus top line for USA, and with good reason.

LW Dustin Brown - C Phil Kessel - RW Patrick Kane
While Kessel has largely been slotted on the wing during his tenure with the Bruins, he's a natural centerman and would likely thrive as the pivot on this highly-skilled unit. Kane brings the superior vision and passing ability, Kessel lends his sniping prowess and Brown completes the trio with his unique power forward combination of imposing physicality and impressive scoring ability.

LW David Booth - C Joe Pavelski - RW Jason Pominville
Although Ryan Kesler has been the popular pick for third-line USA center, I'll defer to Mike Chen here and gladly hop on the Joe Pavelski bandwagon. The Sharks center has had a fantastic second-half to the season and brings almost unparalleled hockey sense, a great wrist shot and strong two-way play to the table. Booth and Pominville are both speedsters as well as streaky scorers who can contribute on the penalty kill.

LW Ryan Kesler - C Scott Gomez - C Chris Drury
Calling this unit a "spare parts" line is probably a bit unfair, especially since they're all pretty damn good spare parts. But with the underwhelming seasons Gomez and Drury are having in the Big Apple, their inclusions on the team, which would have been marquee just one season ago, feel like afterthoughts. Still, with Kesler providing defensive conscience, this has the potential to be one of the most dangerous fourth lines in the tournament.

LD Ryan Suter - RD Brian Rafalski
Rafalski is in all likelihood the top American defenseman, while Suter is decidedly the poster boy for the next generation of Team USA blueliners, making for a very solid top pairing.

LD Paul Martin - RD Keith Ballard
You won't get too much offense out of this pairing, but the speed of both blueliners ensures for a versatile unit that will likely be given the assignment of shutting down opposing top lines.

LD Matt Carle - RD Brooks Orpik
Carle is having an impressive season with the Flyers and deserves to be on the team if for no other reason than that USA is in desperate need of a puck-moving blueliner outside of Rafalski. Orpik perfectly complements Carle's offensive punch by bringing his trademark take-no-prisoners physical game to the table.

G Tim Thomas
Arguably the top Vezina Trophy candidate at the moment, Thomas has backstopped an unlikely Bruins team to the NHL's top record and deserves to be Team USA's No. 1 guy.

G Ryan Miller
Of course, Miller will undoubtedly have a say in the matter of deciding the team's starting goalie, as the Sabres netminder is enjoying an excellent comeback year after having been rewarded with a lucrative five-year deal in the offseason.

G Rick DiPietro
Third goalies are usually irrelevant anyway, but a healthy DiPietro remains one of the top goalies in the game.

Team USA is a lot deeper than most pundits would like to think and, although medaling seems to be a difficult proposition with the likes of Russia, Canada and Sweden bringing what look to be top-flight teams to Vancouver, the Americans have the talent and the work ethic to pull of a Lake Placid-caliber upset.

We're not dead. Yet.

2009-02-20T16:35:00.000-08:00

So I disappeared for a longer amount of time than Joe Thornton does in the playoffs, likely losing the few sorry individuals who comprise my "reader base" (if you can call it that) in the process. But with a new layout and a grotesque banner hastily constructed in MS Paint, Bleed Teal is back! Of course, since our last post was in November regarding Claude Lemieux's stint in China and the post preceding that one recaps the season opener, we've got some catching up to do. So here's the SparkNotes version of the 2008-09 San Jose Sharks season thus far:

--Sharks post 9-2 October record playing a decidedly Todd McLellan-influenced brand of fast-skating, offensive hockey. Sharks fans breathe collective sigh of relief after a tumultuous offseason that involved the firing of Coach Ron Wilson and the turnover of half the blueline.

--Speaking of that blueline, Dan Boyle and Rob Blake enjoy phenomenal starts to their respective San Jose careers, with Boyle in particular proving to be the key component of McLellan's speed-based transition-reliant system.

--Patrick Marleau proves last season was an aberration with a terrific start to the campaign, and sustains his pace while serving as left wing on one of the hottest lines in the league with Joe Thornton and breakout sophomore Devin Setoguchi.

--Christmas comes early for Sharks naysayers (a.k.a. the Canadian media) as San Jose suffers a 6-0 drubbing in Detroit Dec. 18. A previous 4-2 win over the Wings provides little consolation and the Sharks gradually begin to (gasp) lose games.

--Sharks finally lose at home in regulation, ending a ridiculous streak spanning 11 months without a loss in 60 minutes at the Tank.

--Two days after said regulation loss, Sharks come out to play against the Wings, winning 6-5 in one of the most exciting games ever played on HP Pavilion ice. Hockey world collectively shits itself at prospect of Sharks-Wings Western Conference Finals series.

--Sharks endure first rough stretch of season, suffering 6 losses in 7 games, albeit 5 in overtime and the shootout. Despite struggles, secondary unit of Milan Michalek, Joe Pavelski and Ryane Clowe establishes itself as one of the best second lines in the league.

And that's about where we stand today. The Sharks are three points up on Detroit for first place in the West, and the long wait for the playoffs to begin continues, a wait made significantly more bearable now that Bleed Teal is back in action. Or something like that. Anyway, this certainly won't be another one-and-done copout as we've got (Note to self: stop using "we" -- you're the only one writing this) a decidedly premature projection of Team USA's 2010 Olympic team coming up tomorrow. (Gee, it's not like anyone's done that recently, right?)

Sharks sign Lemieux out of retirement

2008-11-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a whole month since this space was updated, but Bleed Teal makes something of a triumphant return today with groundbreaking news: The Sharks have signed the heretofore retired Lemieux to a contract. Um, that would be Claude Lemieux. Er, and make that the China Sharks, San Jose's Asian affiliate, with the signing. But hey, even still, it's a tad more interesting than the NHL Sharks' current on-ice product. The team's domination resembles a well-oiled machine to the extent that one can be forgiven for mistaking players for robots. With the power play, a weak point earlier in the season, unleashed over the course of San Jose's contests with Calgary and Chicago last week, the Sharks look unstoppable. And, believe me, I'm knocking vigorously on wood as I type that as I'm sure we all remember a team that achieved similar early-season success last season only to stumble in legendary fashion.

A Bright BeginningSharks 4, Ducks 1

2008-10-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

Despite some comforting constants -- an in-arena electrical malfunction, decrepit ice conditions -- Thursday's home opener was evidence enough that the San Jose Sharks are an entirely different team under Todd McLellan compared to the club's previous incarnation during the Ron Wilson regime. Implementing an aggressive shot-blocking defensive strategy instead of encouraging players to make like flamingos on the penalty kill, having the power play take more shots than Sarah Palin on a caribou-hunting expedition rather than hoping for a miracle pass from a stagnant Joe Thornton dwelling on the right-wing half wall, imploring the team to respond to a late Anaheim goal with a tally of their own as opposed to sitting on their hands watching the clock run out -- it's crystal clear from just a 60-minute sample of McLellan hockey that the former Detroit assistant has already left an indelible mark on this hockey club. This isn't necessarily to criticize Wilson (who's currently being treated as the Messiah in Toronto after leading the Leafs to a 3-2 opening night victory over the Wings), but no one can deny change needed to occur and, so far, that change looks to be for the better. Some quick observations from Thursday's contest:

--The groin "strain" that kept Joe Thornton out of the third period of the Sharks' 3-2 loss during an exhibition game in Vancouver on Oct. 2 as well as the exhibition finale against the Kings in Salt Lake City Oct. 5 appeared to still be nagging the Sharks center in the opener. Despite racking up an assist on Cheechoo's second goal, Big Joe was not his usual dominant presence, leaving Patrick Marleau and Devin Setoguchi to pick up much of the slack for the top line (although they did so admirably).

--Speaking of Setoguchi, his allegedly extensive off-season workout regime seems to have exponentially improved his game. Criticized during his draft year for the lack of an NHL-caliber first step, Gooch appears to have exorcised any lingering skating demons, demonstrated during several junctures of the game, including a 2nd-period breakaway from the red line in and an impressive 1st-period streak down the right wing.

--The expectation was that Rob Blake would find a happy medium this season between his past two forgettable campaigns in Los Angeles and the elite resume he compiled during his days with Colorado, but if Thursday night's performance was any indication, the second Norris Trophy winner to ever don a teal sweater should enjoy a year much more in line with the latter. Seven shots by a Sharks defenseman is unheard of and while it's very much a product of the aforementioned McLellan Doctrine, it takes considerable skill to get those shots through and that skill was on full display by No. 4 against the Ducks and he was rewarded with two assists.

--The Sharks' other prize off-season blueline acquisition Dan Boyle was expectedly still getting his feet under him after an injury-plagued season last year in Tampa. Boyle enjoyed a similar debut to that of Brian Campbell when he came over from Buffalo last season -- picking up an assist, showing good offensive awareness, but not really doing anything that elicited a "wow." It did seem as though Boyle paid somehting of a sarcastic homage to Soupy when he attempted a spin-o-rama in the neutral zone early in the game. It failed miserably, but I'll give him full marks for effort.

With Dallas, Detroit and Anaheim all falling in their season openers, the Sharks have a chance to jump ahead to a stranglehold on the Western Conference lead with a relatively light schedule for the next week featuring back-to-back games against Los Angeles, the first of which takes place tonight at the Tank, and a tilt with the Blue Jackets Tuesday night. Despite the apparent easiness of these games, I agree with McLellan that they present a formidable test of whether or not the team will be complacent to rest on their laurels or the club's leadership will take charge and convince the players to put the same effort into the upcoming three contests as they did for Thursday's opener against the Ducks. So far, so good for the Sharks in the Todd McLellan era.

2008-09 NHL SeasonFearless Predictions

2008-10-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

For starters, I predict that will happen again.

Yes, I'm well aware the season has already started, but anyone who had the misfortune to waste a pair of perfectly good weekend mornings watching the European premiere could tell you those contests felt more like exhibition games anyway. And, besides, if the MSM is allowed to wait until the North American inception of the campaign to unveil their predictions, I should be allowed to as well. So, without further ado, I unleash upon thee, my extensive reader base, predictions for the 2008-09 NHL Season:

Western Conference

1. Detroit -- Enough print has been spent discussing the allegedly indomitable Red Wings, so it's probably best to wait until the season begins to see whether the Cup champs can defend their title. My guess is they'll capture the President's Trophy once again in a division that, despite Chicago's resurgence, remains weak, but a second consecutive chalice is not in their future. Breakout player: Johan Franzen.

2. San Jose -- Once again, it will be a question of whether the Sharks can get over the postseason hump, as their blueline additions to an already formidable lineup should make the regular season relatively easy. Breakout player: Joe Pavelski.

3. Edmonton -- The re-tooled Oilers, relying heavily on an uber-talented crop of young stars including Sam Gagner, Robert Nilsson, Andrew Cogliano and Tom Gilbert, should be an offensive powerhouse with decent enough goaltending to distinguish themselves from the pack in a surprisingly mediocre Northwest. Breakout player: Sam Gagner.

4. Dallas -- Zubov's injury stings, but with arguably the deepest defense corps in the West, the Stars should be able to absorb the blow and remain in contention for the division title all season long. Breakout player: Stephane Robidas.

5. Anaheim -- Take the Ducks' '07 championship squad, replace Andy McDonald with Brendan Morrison and Dustin Penner with Brian Sutherby, and you've got this year's incarnation of the club. Suffice to say, the rest of the conference should be very afraid. Breakout player: Kent Huskins.

6. Chicago -- While the addition of Campbell will hamstring the team financially a few years down the road when they're attempting to re-sign young stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the move was clearly completed for short-term gains and short-term gains there will be in the Windy City. Still, the gaping hole at second-line center in the wake of the Robert Lang trade should probably be filled by someone other than Dave Bolland. Breakout player: Dustin Byfuglien.

7. Minnesota -- The replacement of Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra with Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan isn't what hurts the club, it's the improvement of several formerly lesser teams that sink the Wild this low in the standings. Still, expect Marian Gaborik to have a monster year in this, his contract season. Breakout player: Mikko Koivu.

8. Phoenix -- While many are dismissing the Desert Dogs this season, their offensive corps is absolutely laden with elite young talent. The likes of Peter Mueller, Martin Hanzal and rookies Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov in conjunction with huge offseason acquisition Olli Jokinen and long-time captain Shane Doan should ensure the Coyotes are never hard-pressed to score goals this year. While their defense remains suspect, Ilja Bryzgalov should again be a star in net. Breakout player: Zbynek Michalek.

9. Calgary -- It's the ultimate paradox. Despite boasting potential Hart Trophy candidates at every position in Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf and Miikka Kiprusoff, the Flames' appalling lack of depth -- a problem that won't be solved with the addition of Todd Bertuzzi and Mark Giordano -- and Coach Mike Keenan's apparent alienation of the aforementioned Kiprusoff will likely keep the Flames out of the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Breakout player: Matthew Lombardi.

10. Colorado -- When your season rests squarely on the shoulders of a 26-year-old wildly inconsistent Slovak netminder, you know you're in trouble. The defections of Andrew Brunette, surprisingly prolific during his time with the Avs, and Kurt Sauer, quietly among the top defensive defensemen in the league last year, along with Peter Forsberg's retirement, are of no help to the offense or defense of this club either. Breakout player: Wojtek Wolski.

11. Vancouver -- The Canucks are weird. With arguably the best goaltender in the league and one of the deepest bluelines in the West, one would think the 'Nucks would be in contention for the division title, but an abysmal offense which won't be helped greatly by the additions of the out-of-shape Steve Bernier and the over-the-hill Pavol Demitra irreconcilably hamstrings this club. Breakout player: Alex Edler.

12. Columbus -- Acquiring Michael Nylander, reportedly placed on the trading block by over-the-cap Washington sometime last week, would really change my perspective on this team but, alas, clubs just don't make the playoffs with third-line wingers centering their top unit. Breakout player: Kris Russell.

13. St. Louis -- The Blues won't be as bad as everyone expects them to be, but the loss of Erik Johnson to a freak injury certainly spells the end of any playoff hopes. Still, the team will be able to break in all sorts of young talent like Patrick Berglund, TJ Oshie and Lars Eller, which will do wonders for the future of the club. Breakout player: David Perron.

14. Nashville -- The loss of Alex Radulov is obviously a huge hit to the team's already weak offense, but in conjunction with the inexplicable trade of Marek Zidlicky to Minnesota, the club's power play may have been dealt a death blow. The off-ice financial collapse of the team provides plenty distractions as well. Breakout player: Ryan Suter.

15. Los Angeles -- Matt Greene should not be on the top pairing of an NHL team. That tells you just about all you need to know about this year's Los Angeles Kings. Breakout player: Jack Johnson.

Eastern Conference

1. Philadelphia -- A recent injury to Ryan Parent further debilitates an already thin blueline, but with the obscene amount of scorers in the Flyers' arsenal, it's unlikely the club will have to play much defense to win many games this season and, should worst come to worst, they'll still have Biron to bail them out. Breakout player: Braydon Coburn.

2. Montreal -- Mats Sundin would make them Cup favorites, but even without the Big Swede and despite the defection of prolific power-play pointman Mark Streit, the Habs have what it takes to win in the East: loads of goal-scorers and a good enough goalie to hold the fort. Breakout player(s): The Kostitsyns.

3. Washington -- Even if Michael Nylander is shed to create cap space, the Caps have arguably the most lethal offense in the Eastern Conference on top-end strength alone. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin are only going to be better this year (though one wonders how much better Ovechkin can possibly be) and Jose Theodore is certainly a palatable replacement for the departed Cristobal Huet. What remains to be seen is whether a greener-than-grass defense corps will be this club's Achilles' heel. Breakout player: Eric Fehr.

4. New Jersey -- It's the Devils, Loophole Lou is still in charge and Martin Brodeur is still tending goal. Move along, nothing to see here. Breakout player: Paul Martin.

5. Pittsburgh -- Injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney have the potential to be devastating blows to a team already missing two-thirds of its top line from a season ago. It's blasphemous to believe a team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin can outright miss the playoffs, but stumble they will. Breakout player: Kris Letang.

6. Boston -- With one of the more potent one-two punches at center in the NHL, a solid defense featuring behemoth Zdeno Chara and a respectable goaltending platoon of Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez, it's puzzling as to why many mainstream outlets have pegged the Bruins to finish out of the playoffs. Breakout player: Milan Lucic.

7. NY Rangers -- With the kind of roster overhaul the Rangers went through during the offseason, the team will undergo some bumps and bruises, but the Blueshirts still have the makings of a playoff team, particularly if Nikolai Zherdev can build on a surprisingly solid campaign. Breakout player: Marc Staal.

8. Tampa Bay -- Steve Stamkos is the real deal, but Jussi Jokinen, Vladmir Mihalik and March Recchi most certainly are not. Even still, in an overwhelmingly mediocre Eastern Conference, the Bolts have enough scoring to break away from the pack, provided Mike Smith has more performances like Saturday against the Rangers. Breakout player: Andrej Meszaros.

9. Buffalo -- The Sabres still have the makings of a postseason-worthy club and the contract extension tendered to Ryan Miller shows the front office has learned from their mistakes, but the Sabres remain frustratingly average in every category and the departure of Brian Campbell at last year's trade deadline leaves them without a viable No. 1 defenseman. Breakout player: Drew Stafford.

10. Ottawa -- After 11 consecutive years in the postseason, the Senators appear to be done. It's hard to doubt a team whose top line is comprised of three of the top-15 forwards in the NHL, but with a defense that immobile and a goaltending situation that decrepit, Jason Spezza's annual golf invitational is likely to be held a bit early this year. Breakout player: Nick Foligno.

11. Carolina -- When "injury-plagued" is the adjective most commonly associated with your team, you know you have problems. The injury bug has already struck the 'Canes this season as star winger Justin Williams appears to be spending the opening months of the season on IR. The addition of Joni Pitkanen is nice, but goaltender Cam Ward has done nothing since the '06 playoffs to prove that postseason run was nothing more than an aberration. Breakout player: Tuomo Ruutu.

12. Florida -- Trading Olli Jokinen was the right move, but it leaves the Panthers with an abysmal offense that will rely heavily upon youngsters Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton. Still, a defensive top four of Jay Bouwmeester, Keith Ballard, Bryan McCabe and Nick Boynton is nothing to scoff at, and with Tomas Vokoun's goaltending, the Cats have a better chance than you'd think. Breakout player: David Booth.

13. Atlanta -- With the advent of Mathieu Schneider, the Thrashers may actually have the best defensive top-four in the Southeast Division, but, alas, that statement is comparable to being the tallest pygmy. Kari Lehtonen has proven absolutely nothing to suggest he's capable of carrying a team and with the supporting cast around him, you can forgive Ilya Kovalchuk if he jumps ship once his contract is up. Breakout player: Tobias Enstrom.

14. NY Islanders -- Rick DiPietro is literally the only thing going for this team. An offense of Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie and nine journeymen/rookies won't win you a beer league championship and the addition of Mark Streit does nothing to help a defense that bled 2.93 goals per game last season. Breakout player: Kyle Okposo.

15. Toronto -- I'm not one for hyperbole, but one can be excused for wondering whether the Leafs' offensive depth chart belongs to an AHL team. A nosedive for the chance to draft superstar-in-the-making John Tavares is the only course of action for the 'Buds. Breakout player: Anton Stralman.

Find McLaren A Home

2008-09-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

It isn't exactly common practice to intentionally and deliberately hold an ostensibly injury-free player out of all training camp scrimmages without having clear-cut plans to trade said player, especially when the team in question is just over the league-mandated salary cap. So one can only deduce that Kyle McLaren has either developed some sort of rare and ironic allergy to ice or the hip-checking Sharks defenseman is on the trading block. Disallowed from participating in any of the team's three scrimmages thus far at Sharks Ice in addition to tonight's Teal and White Game, it has become fairly evident that McLaren will not be donning teal or white come opening day. Er, at least not in conjunction. So as we bid adieu to one of the last links on the current roster to the Dean Lombardi regime, it's only fitting that we handicap Big Mac's likely destinations.

Los Angeles Kings

Speaking of Lombardi, we all know the Sharks GM loves his ex-players. First it was Alyn McCauley, then Scott Thornton, then Brad Stuart, then Tom Preissing and soon enough the Kings' clubhouse served as a virtual garbage bin for Sharks retreads. The Kings also remain under the salary cap floor (albeit with key RFA Patrick O'Sullivan still unsigned), but you wonder whether Deano would be keen to help a division rival escape their cap troubles. At the end of the day, however, Lombardi has to do what's best for the Kings and with a defense corps greener than a rabid environmentalist's utopia (I know, my metaphors are amazing) it stands to reason that the team would like to shore up their blueline with a veteran addition.

Atlanta Thrashers

Although the Thrash have been mentioned as potentially active participants in the Mathieu Schneider Sweepstakes (can a player so unwanted that he clears waivers in late September really engender a "sweepstakes"?), the team already has two palatable power-play quarterbacks in Tobias Enstrom and Ron Hainsey. And it's almost guaranteed Ilya Kovalchuk returns to his customary position on the left point of the team's man-advantage unit. So while Atlanta is in need of defensemen (rushing Zach Bogosian to the NHL at age 18 would have severely detrimental consequences down the road), desirable skill sets among those blueliners would include more hitting and sandpaper than passing and shooting. Kyle McLaren certainly fits the bill, but with knee injuries having slowed him the past few seasons, one wonders if K-Mac could hold up in the high-flying Southeast Division.

St. Louis Blues

Of all the ways to sustain a season-ending injury, "golf cart accident" might just rank up there with skate blade wrist-slitting as among the strangest. Obligatory and unoriginal jokes linking the Blues to frequent golfing aside, the loss of presumed No. 1 defenseman Erik Johnson is huge and likely spells the end of what minimal playoff hopes the franchise harbored for the upcoming season. While the aforementioned Schneider would probably be a better fit as a Johnson replacement due to his special teams skills, the unreliability of Jay McKee's groin suggests that St. Louis could use a minute-munching, physical, penalty-killing veteran d-man in their lineup. Unfortunately, such a player is not on the market, but the Blues can settle for the next best thing in McLaren. And, besides, what team is better acquainted with K-Mac's hip-checking skills?

My point exactly.

Regardless of his last rather forgettable, injury-riddled campaign, McLaren's newfound status as the franchise's first cap casualty is regrettable as K-Mac has represented the team well and been nothing short of a class act since arriving in San Jose from Boston (when he infamously went from being Ray Bourque's partner to...Mike Rathje's partner). Thanks and good luck, K-Mac, we'll miss you.

Mitchell Out 8 Weeks With Leg Injury

2008-09-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Some disheartening news from the training camp front earlier today as David Pollak reports that two-way center Torrey Mitchell will be out for the next eight weeks after injuring his leg in a collision with the goal post. This after Rudy Kelly named Mitchell his "Langdon Alger" (as a commenter of that post astutely noted, perhaps Rudy should assign that distinction to a J-S Giguere or Chris Pronger). While Mitchell's myriad talents will be sorely missed, particularly on the penalty kill, this can be seen as a glaring window of opportunity for the likes of Steve Zalewski, Riley Armstrong and even Logan Couture -- bubble prospects who had little chance of making the team prior to TM's injury. While it says here the most likely scenario is Jeff Friesen making the team and Marcel Goc subsequently being shifted to occupy Mitchell's third-line center role, training camp just got a lot more interesting with a roster spot now legitimately up for grabs. Still, for the good of the team, hopefully Mitchell's recovery is as quick as his skating.

****

Perhaps this is a rather petty complaint, but is there a logical reason why no Sharks preseason game is televised by CSN-BA and only two (!) games are even broadcast on local radio? This isn't exactly a startling development as, to the best of my memory, no Sharks presesason game in franchise history has ever been televised by the local Fox Sports affiliate, but with most other teams, including several south of the 49th, broadcasting at least a handful of their preseason contests on television, it would only follow that the Sharks step into the 21st century sooner or later and do the same. Regardless, jockeying for roster position takes the next step Wednesday when the Sharks open their 6-game preseason schedule against the Anaheim Ducks. We should have a full-fledged season preview/predictions up here at Bleed Teal within the next week or so.

Sharks Camp Opens

2008-09-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy Sharkspage

After four long months of debating personnel movement, mulling over potential lineups and prognosticating endlessly, a palpable feeling of optimism, joy and delight is emanating throughout. As the leaves change color, the sky begins to gray and ominous clouds materialize, the uninitiated begin to dread the upcoming seasonal shift. Fall, they call it. Autumn, others say. But puckheads across the globe know what is really imminent: hockey season. With Sharks training camp opening earlier today at Sharks Ice in San Jose, we're a mere 19 days away from San Jose's season opener against the Ducks (who, coincidentally, signed Teemu Selanne this morning to a pro tryout. Mirtle wonders if he'll make the team). Which, of course, means 19 more days of debating personnel movement, mulling over potential lineups and prognosticating endlessly. At least now we have tangible, physical evidence to base such postulation upon. Exhibit A: The venerable David Pollak presents Todd McLellan's decidedly rudimentary assemblage of the team's top four lines. For those too lazy to click on the link, here they are:

Marleau--Thornton--Clowe
Michalek--Pavelski--Cheechoo
Goc--Mitchell--Grier
Plihal--Roenick--Setoguchi

Um, yeah. Not exactly what I expected, either. As Pollak notes, RW often resorted to the "eggs in a basket" plan -- placing Marleau and Thornton on the same line -- to no avail. But who knows? Perhaps it'll work seamlessly under McLellan's purportedly offense-geared system (optimism, remember?). Anyway, it's good to have hockey back and it'll probably feel even better when the preseason begins this Wednesday. I'm likely attending tomorrow's scrimmage at Sharks Ice so I'll try and report on what I observe there.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

2008-09-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

The beast hath returned.

Sharks extend Vlasic

2008-08-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Sharks announced earlier today that burgeoning young defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, still under his rookie contract through the 2008-09 season, has been signed to a four-year extension that will keep him in teal through the 2012-13 campaign. Financial terms of the deal are as of yet undisclosed.

Already a key cog on the Sharks' blueline, Vlasic is undoubtedly a critical component of the team's future and, with the contracts being doled out to young defensemen the past two summers, should receive somewhere in the ballpark of $3.1 million a year. Assuming those figures, the Sharks now have a respectable top three of Dan Boyle, Christian Ehrhoff and Vlasic on the back end locked up long-term at the reasonable annual rate of $13.1 million. The extension of Vlasic now, as opposed to next summer when the 21-year-old officially hits the restricted free agent market, is also a wise move, reducing the number of contracts Doug Wilson will have to deal with in the 2009 offseason when the likes of Torrey Mitchell, Ryane Clowe, Rob Blake, Mike Grier and Douglas Murray attain various levels of free agency.

EDIT It's quite possible that I am prescient. Or I peruse abysmally inaccurate hockey rumor blogs often enough to gauge information from one of them that miraculously sticks to the wall. Regardless, my estimate of $3.1 million was accurate as TSN reports that the 4-year deal is worth a grand sum of $12.4 million.

Report: Jeff Friesen still alive, invited to camp

2008-08-20T20:41:00.001-07:00

The dog days of summer roll on with humidity peaking and hockey news scant. So, naturally, any semblance of puck-related happenings deserve to be mercilessly extrapolated and have their admittedly slim significance shamelessly overblown. Thus, it's with great pleasure that I direct you to an entry by Sharks prospect observer extraordinaire Max Giese on his blog Unfiltered Sports in which he claims a source close to the organization has confirmed that ex-Shark Jeff Friesen has received a training camp invite from San Jose. The source is unnamed, which is generally a red flag, but, hey, it's August, journalistic integrity has never been a hallmark here at Bleed Teal and as Against Me! once said, unsubstantiated rumors are good enough for me to base my life upon. After a prolific junior career with the Regina Pats of the WHL in which Friesen utilized his breakaway speed to rack up obcsene point totals, the left wing was selected 11th overall by the Sharks in the '94 draft and was widely viewed as a beacon of hope for the future. Things never really panned out and Friesen was finally shipped to the Ducks in the infamous Teemu Selanne deal in 2001.

But enough about the past. As far as present ramifications go, there really isn't a whole lot. First of all, even if the Sharks like what they see from the perennial Game 7 hero, the team is still in the neighborhood of $200,000 over the salary cap, which begs the question WHAT IS KYLE MCLAREN STILL DOING ON THE ROSTER, DW?!?! Ahem. Excuse me. Anyway, assuming K-Mac is shed, the Sharks would have the cap room to sign Friesen to serve as this season's career-resuscitation challenge. These experiments are largely hit or miss -- or, more appropriately, Roenick or Ozolinsh -- but at 32, it's certainly not outrageous to believe the former 30-goal scorer still has something left in the tank. Operating under the McLaren-out, Friesen-in assumption, the Sharks' depth chart looks something like this:

LW: Marleau, Michalek, Clowe, Friesen, Shelley
C: Thornton, Pavelski, Mitchell, Roenick, Goc
RW: Cheechoo, Setoguchi, Grier, fire hydrant (?)
D: Boyle, Blake, Ehrhoff, Vlasic, Murray, Lukowich, Joslin
G: Nabokov, Boucher, Greiss

Apart from the gaping hole at fourth-line right wing, which will likely be filled by moving Roenick over to the right side (although apparently pugnacious prospect Riley Armstrong, brother of Thrashers forward/Marian Hossa trade bait Colby, has the potential to make some waves at camp), the Sharks' roster looks rather set, indicating that a Friesen signing could very well be in the cards, at the very least as a replacement (read: upgrade) for Tomas Plihal. In other Sharks news, we are old.

McLellan's day with the Cup

2008-08-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

Reason #7158 why the Stanley Cup is vastly superior to any other trophy in the wide world of professional sports: Each of its victors is awarded an entire day in full possession of the silver chalice. While this tidbit may not rank as high on the list of evidence stressing the Cup's irrefutable superiority to all other constituents of the sports trophy landscape as the fact that the team captain, not some moribund owner fresh off their fourth botox who couldn't give a rat's ass about their team's performance as long as it generates revenue, is the first to touch the Cup, it's still yet another unique tradition firmly entrenched in puck lore. Today was Todd McLellan's day with the Cup and the Red Wings assistant turned newly anointed Sharks bench boss elected to spend it in his hometown of Saskatoon, where it appears he received a parking ticket from an officer who had the veracity to subsequently request a photo with Lord Stanley (those crazy Canadian cops!) and had lunch at the Sheraton Cavalier with the mayor of Saskatoon.

Yes, if you haven't noticed, news indeed is that slow around the hockey world. But fear not, fellow puckheads: the preseason is a mere 34 days away! In news of a tad more consequence (albeit not much more), The Hockey News remind me why I canceled my subscription to their fine publication by posting their standings predictions. I'll have my own predictions a little closer to the season when questions regarding Mats Sundin, Joe Sakic and Martin Havlat's groin are (presumably) answered, but THN's projection of the Wild as Northwest Division champions is just one of many absurdities perpetuated by the magazine. Also, our good friends at The Battle of California inform us that the Golden State might as well be the Rickertale State as far as Versus (God's gift to upper-tier cable sports programming) is concerned. Finally, I realize I'm a little late to the boat on this one (that's an expression, right?), but as evident in this gameplay clip, it appears that our very own Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda are lending their broadcasting talent to 2K Sports' NHL 2K9 video game (the redheaded stepsister of hockey videogaming).

Sharks re-sign Ryane Clowe

2008-08-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

According to the Sharks' page at NHLPA.com, Ryane Clowe has been re-signed with a salary of $1.6 million being reported for next season. Although no official statement has been made by the team, the Player's Association website has been notorious for breaking deals all offseason long. All that remains to be seen is the length of Clowe's term, which is unspecified by the PA. I'll save my unparalleled insight (which, undoubtedly, is what keeps you, my expansive reader base, from offing yourselves) for when the signing becomes official and we are aware of the contract length. However, if Clowe's cap hit over the term of the deal is in fact the $1.6 million he will be tendered next season, the Sharks will be ever-so-slightly under the cap although you know they'd still like to shed themselves of McLaren's contract in order to have the option of making a splash at the deadline.

UPDATE I lied. According to NHLSCAP.com, the Clowe contract -- assuming it averages a $1.6 million cap hit, a largely unsubstantiated postulation at this point -- actually puts the Sharks exactly $225, 834 over the league's $56.7 million cap, making the divesting of McLaren a necessity rather than a convenience.

UPDATE part deux It's official. And it is a one-year deal, meaning the cap hit is indeed $1.6 million and the above cap space-related information still stands. Coming off a season drastically shortened by injury, a one-year deal makes sense for Clowe, who will have a longer period to prove himself and perhaps score a wealthier contract next offseason when he will once again have RFA status.

Duck Season Begins Early

2008-07-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Who's going to pulverize unsuspecting Ducks rookies now, DW? WHO??

First things first, the Sharks traded some guys for some other guys. They also signed this other guy, got rid of these guys, re-signed some guys and have yet to re-sign this guy. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's discuss more pressing matters, such as a legitimate reason to whip out those "Puck Fronger" t-shirts and Selanne catcalls (assuming the Finnish Flash doesn't retire) a bit early this year. The NHL released its schedule for the 2008-09 season today and revealed, among other things, that the Dan Boyle-Todd McLellan era will begin in San Jose against a familiar foe: the Sharks' much-loathed rivals to the south, the Anaheim Ducks. Of course, that's just one of many games at the Tank this year that promise to be memorable. Here's my list of the top 10 games at the Tank this year, ordered backwards in order to inject some much-needed suspense into your mundane lives.

10) 10/25/08, 4:30 PM, v. Tampa Bay Lightning: Hockey's version of the circus rolls into town, bringing ex-Shark Matt Carle with it. Dead last in the NHL last season, the Bolts, under the undoubtedly sagacious tutelage of Hollywood producer and newfound owner Oren Koules, underwent extensive retooling this summer. The team signed approximately thirty billion forwards, forcing them to trade away their best defenseman to the Sharks due to cap implications. Oh, and they also filled their coaching vacancy with Barry Melrose, who hasn't been behind an NHL bench in 13 years and was almost as bad at that gig as he was at being ESPN's chief hockey analyst for the last decade. Should be entertaining to say the least.

9) 4/9/09, 7:30 PM, v. Phoenix Coyotes: Let's jump forward a few months to the Sharks' home finale. Usually, one could probably get away skipping a game this late in the season against the Desert Dogs, what with Phoenix's playoff hopes usually six feet under by this point. Not so this season. The Coyotes swindled Florida GM Jacques Martin for star center Olli Jokinen and have slowly assembled one of the best young offensive cores in the league, headlined by future stars like Peter Mueller, Kyle Turris and Martin Hanzal, all of whom are expected to play big roles this coming year.

8) 11/13/08, 7:30 PM, v. Calgary Flames: The Sharks-Calgary first-round playoff series last spring was, in a word, epic. Complete with an unbelievable Flames Game 3 comeback, a literally last-second victory by the Sharks in Game 4 and a Game 7 for the ages, the tilt will likely go down as one of the greatest series in Sharks history and was undoubtedly one of the finest of the 2008 playoffs. Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf and the Flames return to the Tank for the first time since the aforementioned Game 7 for what should be a great one. The Flames ditched skilled-but-soft left wings Kristian Huselius and Alex Tanguay over the summer, re-establishing themselves as a gritty, lunchpail-type outfit. Games between these clubs are always memorable, but with the Flames having something to prove, this matchup should be even more so.

7) 12/2/08, 7:30 PM, v. Toronto Maple Leafs: This list would simply not be complete without the much-anticipated return of Ron Wilson to an HP Pavilion bench. Of course, it will be the visitor's bench as the former Canadian-hater and ex-Sharks coach begins the first season of his tour of duty in the Center of the Hockey Universe™. He'll be bringing Vesa Toskala, Mark Bell (well, I suppose that depends on the parole board), and the rest of the greatest AHL team ever assembled with him for a game the Sharks shouldn't have as much trouble winning as they did the last time the Leafs were in town.

6) 3/3/08, 7:30 PM, v. Dallas Stars: Hmm, the Sharks will host the Stars on March 3rd, you know, 3/3...33...coincidence? I think not. But in all seriousness, as if Sharks fans didn't have enough reasons to hate the Stars, Dallas goes out and signs the biggest shit-disturber in the NHL (who apparently and inexplicably doubles as an effeminate aspiring fashion designer), Sean Avery. Facing the last team to eliminate you from the postseason always serves as something of a measuring stick and games against Dallas are always hotly contested, especially this close to the end of the season.

5) 11/22/08, 7:30 PM, v. Washington Capitals: Alexander the Great returns to the Tank for the first time since 2005 (thank goodness the old scheduling format has been trashed) and brings with him fellow young stars Mike Green, Alex Semin and Nick Backstrom along with old fogeys Michael Nylander and Sergei Fedorov in what promises to be an exciting exhibition of offensive talent. The Caps largely stood pat this offseason, downgrading a tad in goal from one ex-Hab in Cristobal Huet to another in Jose Theodore, but look to be a formidable force in the East, particularly with the pitiful state the rest of the Southeast is mired in and the continued blossoming of the Caps' boundless young talent.

4) 10/28/08, 7:30 PM, v. Pittsburgh Penguins: The Sharks are the only NHL team Sidney Crosby has never recorded a point against. Sid the Kid will have two chances to get that goose egg off the scoreboard, both this game and later in the year when the Sharks travel to Steeltown. Marian Hossa may have bolted, but make no mistake: the Pens are still one of the best in the East and are oozing with star power from Crosby to Evgeni Malkin to Jordan Staal to Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens' last visit to the Tank proved to be one of the best games of the 2006-07 season and even a Crosby-less matchup in Pittsburgh last year was nothing short of entertaining (and was also Pittsburgh's last loss at home until the Stanley Cup Finals), so I'm expecting big things from this one.

3) 10/30/08, 7:30 PM, v. Detroit Red Wings: You thought the Penguins were a tough out? Well, venture back to West Santa Clara Street two nights later, and you can have a look at the team that made short work of Pittsburgh in the Finals, then proceeded to steal the Penguins' best winger, Marian Hossa, via free agency. An already jaw-dropping power play is now comprised of Hossa, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Brian Rafalski and, of course, the ageless Nicklas Lidstrom. I mentioned that the Stars would serve as a measuring stick of sorts, but let's not kid ourselves: the unequivocal bar against which the Sharks will be judged this season is Detroit. They look to be the class of the NHL and are surely favorites to repeat and the revamped Sharks, now led by ex-Wings assistant coach Todd McLellan, will look to make a late-October statement.

2) 10/9/08, 7:30 PM, v. Anaheim Ducks: Ah yes, the home opener. Not only will the Sharks be looking to roast some Duck on the first night of the season, they'll try and steer clear of the disasters that have plagued the last two home openers. Back in '06 against the Blues, Jonathan Cheechoo bore a gaping hole through the boards after sliding skate-first into them, causing a lengthy delay. Last season against the Bruins, the Sharks' man-advantage unit wasn't the only power outage, as the Tank was devoid of electricity before the festivities even began, delaying the start time significantly. The Sharks had better hope the power doesn't go out prior to the start of this game as the team plans to raise its 2007-08 Pacific Division Championship Banner. Yes, I'm sure the members of the Ducks will all weep softly into their Stanley Cup. This game is likely to serve as the second-half of Versus' annual season-opening double header, which is fair warning that you should do everything you can to find tickets unless you enjoy listening to Joe Beninati detailing the intricacies of the upcoming Hockey Central intermission report while Joe Pavelski finishes off a breakaway.

1) 11/16/08, 4:00 PM, v. Chicago Blackhawks: Ed Belfour. Teemu Selanne. And now Brian Campbell. A traitorous trifecta, if you will. All three are ex-Sharks who bolted town as soon as they were afforded a sniff of free agency, the man they call "Soupy" being the latest. Yes, Campbell only wore teal for 33 games, but the man loudly broadcasted his desire to play closer to his family's Ontario home...then signs in Chicago. Needless to say, he shouldn't be expecting a warm welcome. Of course, Campbell alone isn't enough to get a Sunday afternoon tilt against the Hawks to the top of this list. Loaded with young talent like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, the Hawks' offseason additions in Campbell and Cristobal Huet seem to signal that the disgraced Original Six team has recovered from their extended stay at the Irrelevant Inn and are looking to return to the postseason, a very achievable goal.

So there you have it. My estimation of the top ten most entertaining games at the Tank this season. Non-Sharks schedule highlights include the NHL Premiere with the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers squaring off twice in Prague and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators playing back-to-backs in Stockholm to kick off the year, the now-annual Winter Classic, this season at Wrigley Field in Chicago, pitting the Blackhawks against the Red Wings, and the All-Star Game in Montreal, celebrating the Habs' 100th year of existence.

Free Agency Matchmaker

2008-06-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

As we approach the last significant date on the hockey calendar before training camps open in mid-September, excitement and anticipation aren't exactly palpable. With July 1st and the start of free agency just around the corner, teams and their fanbases should be preparing for hockey's version of Christmas -- making their lists, checking them twice and hoping Santa leaves a Marian Hossa under the tree instead of a Marcel Hossa (aka lump of coal) in their stockings. Unfortunately, this year's free agent class pales in comparison to the one on display a year ago, a consortium of players that included Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Ryan Smyth and Brian Rafalski. Much of that is due to teams aggressively re-signing their impending unrestricted free agents. The likes of Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle could have hit the market Tuesday, but all five All-Stars were re-signed by their teams as much as a year in advance. Still, the list isn't entirely barren, so I've provided my largely subjective ranking of the top 20 free agents available and the teams to which I believe they're headed. I don't profess to have any sort of insider information (who am I, Eklund?), just a sense of where players have been linked in the past and which teams have the cap space and need to solicit their services. Unless I fail miserably, I'll check back on this in a week or two to see how I did.

1) Marian Hossa - Prediction: Boston. Hossa has been linked to the Bruins since the trade deadline and with good reason. He reportedly has a good friendship with countryman and Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. Hossa also enjoyed one of the more productive seasons of his NHL career flanking Boston center Marc Savard back when Hossa and Savard were Atlanta Thrashers. The Bruins are a team with a solid albeit youthful core up front and cap space to spend and will most certainly be willing to bid top dollar for the most enticing forward on the market.

2) Brian Campbell - Prediction: NY Rangers. Campbell has made it clear that he will return to the Eastern Conference, preferrably close to his hometown of Stathroy, ON, to attend to "family matters." That would suggest a signing with Ottawa, but Sens GM Bryan Murray has stated that the team has only $5 million in cap space to work with, ruling them out of the Soupy Sweepstakes. Among Eastern contenders with a potential interest in the ex-Sabre's services, that leaves the Rangers, who have the added benefit of employing Chris Drury, reportedly a close friend of Campbell. Throw in the Rangers' need for a puck-moving blueliner and their bountiful cap space courtesy of the imminent departures of Jagr, Straka, Shanahan and co. and you've got a match made in heaven.

3) Mats Sundin - Prediction: Montreal. Okay, so this one's a bit easier since reports have indicated that the Leafs have given Montreal permission to negotiate with the big center, but regardless, Sundin would be a terrific fit with the Canadiens. The Habs could have used a big, rangy center like Mats when they were being ousted by the punishing Flyers and the longtime Toronto captain's goal-scoring prowess meshes nicely with Montreal's other marquee offseason acquisition, Alex Tanguay. If Sundin does decide to return to the NHL next year, it will be in the bleu, blanc et rouge.

4) Brian Rolston - Prediction: Minnesota. Simply put, Rolston has more value to his current team, the Wild, than to any other NHL club. Make no mistake, Rolston is criminally underrated and undoubtedly the third-best forward potentially available once the floodgates upon at noon Tuesday, but his immaculate two-way play, his unique ability to excel in any situation and his ability to produce offense in Jacques Lemaire's stifling defensive system make it imperative for Minnesota to re-sign the American forward.

5) Wade Redden - Prediction: Columbus. The native of Red Deer, Alberta has been linked to Edmonton on numerous occassions, but with the Oilers already having puck-moving blueliners Joni Pitkanen and Sheldon Souray on their roster, it's doubtful they look to ink Redden. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, essentially have to make the playoffs to satisfy a dwindling fanbase with whom the honeymoon regarding hockey in Columbus is most certainly over. Redden is intriguing in that he's only two seasons removed from being a consensus top-5 defenseman, but his stock has been severely impacted by two sub-par campaigns in a row. Regardless, the Jackets are desperate for high-end talent and will be willing to shell out for the ex-Senator.

6) Cristobal Huet - Prediction: Washington. The Capitals were an entirely different team post-trade deadline and much of that is courtesy of Huet's exceptional play. The ex-Hab proved invaluable down the stretch for the Caps, hoisting them to a division title and helping push Philadelphia to overtime of Game 7 before the clock struck midnight on Washington's fairytale season. It is imperative that the Caps re-sign Huet, as a season with Brent Johnson as a starting netminder will likely make superstar Alex Ovechkin's 13-year contract seem like a life sentence.

7) Michal Rozsival - Prediction: San Jose. Rozsival has been linked to San Jose by virtue of having played under newly named head coach Todd McLellan in his days with Swift Current of the WHL. The Sharks will likely also be in the market for a high-end defenseman given the likelihood of Campbell's departure. Whether they decide to sign a free agent or fill that hole internally remains to be seen, but should Doug Wilson choose to dabble in free agency, Rozsival's two-way defensive prowess would prove enticing.

8) John-Michael Liles - Prediction: Ottawa. The Senators will be a team to watch next year. They have the high-end talent in place to seemingly make a run at a playoff spot, but their goaltending situation may preclude any postseason dreams from materializing. Regardless, Murray has $5 million to spend and with the departure of Redden, the team needs a power-play quarterback. While the aforementioned Campbell is too rich for the Sens' blood, Liles, coming off a sub-par season, will likely command no more than $3.5 million a year and would be a welcome addition to Ottawa's surprisingly thin defense corps.

9) Brooks Orpik - Prediction: Pittsburgh. Orpik has expressed his desire to remain in steeltown and with a general lack of defensive defensemen to complement puck-moving blueliners Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Whitney and Kris Letang, Penguins GM Ray Shero would be advised to bite the bullet on Orpik's contract. The Penguins will be the most fascinating team to observe this off-season as Shero attempts to keep together a talent-laden roster. Of course, as the adage goes, you can't win on talent alone, and it's gritty, lunchpail types like Orpik that prove to be the glue of a team, particularly in April and May.

10) Ryan Malone - Prediction: Columbus. The Blue Jackets were rumored to be close to striking a deal just a few weeks ago to acquire Malone's exclusive negotiating rights before the Penguins forward stated he would test the market no matter what. Even still, Columbus' purported offer of $5 million/year over a long-term deal would likely outbid the competition by a long shot anyway. As mentioned above, the Jackets are serious about making the playoffs next season and for some reason, believe Malone can get them there.

11) Markus Naslund - Prediction: Pittsburgh. With Marian Hossa waving goodbye, the Penguins can't expect Sidney Crosby to take them back to the Finals with the likes of Maxime Talbot and Tyler Kennedy on his wings. While Naslund may not be perceived as much of an improvement over those two, the disgraced Canucks captain has explicitly stated that he would welcome the opportunity to play with Sid the Kid, making it likely that he returns to the team that drafted him.

12) Pavol Demitra - Prediction: Vancouver. Yes, Demitra has not been a potent offensive threat since 05-06 with the Kings, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. That much became clear when the Canucks picked Kyle Wellwood off the waiver wire. Demitra and the Canucks have a strong connection in that recently named Vancouver GM Mike Gillis served as Demitra's player agent before taking his current post. The Canucks are desperate for top-end talent to play with the Sedin twins and as a player who excels at right wing, Demitra could be a good fit.

13) Rob Blake - Prediction: Los Angeles. Rob Blake isn't ready to retire and with the amount of young talent the Kings are looking to break in at defense, it's doubtful Los Angeles wants to see him go. Blake served as a terrific mentor for Jack Johnson this past campaign and will probably be looked upon to do the same for No. 2 overall pick Drew Doughty this season if re-signed by LA.

14) Kristian Huselius - Prediction: Edmonton. Huselius is an enigma. Always has been, always will be. One game he'll look like Pavel Bure, the next he'll resemble Valeri Bure. To say his defensive abilities are suspect would be a gross understatement, but the guy can score and Kevin Lowe has talked at length about acquiring a "first-shot scorer" this off-season to round out the Oilers' top six. He could always tender Corey Perry an RFA offer sheet, but I'm assuming he doesn't want Brian Burke's hitmen after him, so he'll likely have to settle for the talented, but oft-invisible Swede.

15) Michael Ryder - Prediction: Tampa Bay. Despite their public intentions to go so far as to camp out in the backyards of top free agents in hopes of signing them, the recently instituted Tampa Bay ownership group of Oren Koules and Len Barrie will likely be shut out from signing the top dogs on the market. Ryder is coming off a dismal season in Montreal and as a result was reportedly the target of vandalism -- he'll likely be pleased to step out of the hockey spotlight. It's also easy to forget Ryder posted back-to-back thirty goal seasons just two years ago and he would likely look good playing on Steven Stamkos's wing.

16) Sean Avery - Prediction: Dallas. Avery would prefer to have his inevitable hi jinks documented in a major media market, but he's worn out his welcome in most of those locales anyway. Thus, the ex-Ranger will have to settle for the Lone Star State, where a strong leadership core that includes Brenden Morrow and Mike Modano will likely be able to keep him ins check to some extent. The Stars have shown interest in Avery and will need to fill the holes that will be created by impending UFAs Niklas Hagman and Antti Miettinen.

17) Cory Stillman - Prediction: Carolina. And the 2008 Doug Weight/Mark Recchi/Keith Tkachuk award goes to...Cory Stillman, for returning via free agency to the team he was dealt from at the trading deadline. The 'Canes love their forwards, and despite re-signing Sergei Samsonov and Tuomo Ruutu, they'll be looking to add a bit more firepower to their lineup if only as an insurance policy should any of Rod Brind'Amour, Justin Williams or Matt Cullen endure lengthy injuries yet again.

18) Sergei Fedorov - Prediction: Washington. Once the best player in the NHL, Fedorov's fall from grace has been swift and painful, but he does have a chance to salvage the tail-end of his Hall of Fame career. After being acquired from Columbus for a song, Fedorov looked downright invigorated in his stint with the Capitals, and would likely welcome the chance to play an entire season alongside the exciting young talent in the nation's capital.

19) Ladislav Nagy - Prediction: Minnesota. With Pavol Demitra gone, the Wild will be in desperate need to find someone to play with franchise winger (and potential UFA July 1st, 2009) Marian Gaborik. Who better than a Slovakian international teammate of Gaborik, Ladislav Nagy? Okay, so Nagy is coming off back-to-back disastrous seasons, but make no mistake -- he's still a tremendous talent and hasn't exactly been in optimal situations the past two years in Phoenix and Los Angeles. Perhaps playing alongside countryman Gaborik will reignite a spark. Regardless, at what should be a reasonably cheap cost, it's a risk the Wild can afford to take.

20) Brendan Morrison - Prediction: Atlanta. Plain and simple, the Thrashers are a mass. A brief perusal of their depth chart almost confirms that they will likely be better off spending the next season coming to a conclusion on whether John Tavares or Victor Hedman warrants the first overall draft pick in 2009 than any sort of playoff push. But they need to at least pretend that they're trying to win games, and will likely dip into the free agent market once again to find a center for poor, poor Ilya Kovalchuk. Morrison fits the bill given he does not re-sign with Vancouver.

Other notables: Gary Roberts to Calgary (Have you seen their second line?); Darcy Tucker to San Jose (Yes, he's older than dirt, but he's still an upgrade over Tomas Plihal); Mike Commodore to Los Angeles (I'll defer to Rudy Kelly on this one), Jose Theodore to Colorado (I realize Theo's playing hardball, but seriously, who the hell else is going to stop pucks in Denver? A 42-year-old Patrick Roy?); Doug Weight to St. Louis (Don't you love reunions? Actually, he'll probably retire); Jaromir Jagr to Avangard Omsk (Good riddance, Jaromir. Don't let the door hit your disproportionately large ass on the way out).

Sharks re-sign Pavelski, Boucher, Roenick

2008-06-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

The Sharks announced earlier today the re-signing of restricted free agent Joe Pavelski and unrestricted free agents Brian Boucher and Jeremy Roenick. Sharkspage is all over this with transcripts of the conference calls that occurred to announce the signings. Roenick's return has been common knowledge since the team alluded to it at the State of the Sharks meeting last month, but the retaining of another relative greybeard, Boucher, is a breath of fresh air in that it allows Thomas Greiss more time to develop in Worcester which, judging by a somewhat disastrous two-game look-see last season, he could really use.

According to TSN, Pavelski's contract totals $3.275 million over two years, about market value for a player who has been a delightful surprise since being selected 205th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Little Joe has evolved from something of a shootout god into a bonafide second-line center for the Sharks and will likely be slotted in that role come training camp, probably between Patrick Marleau and Devin Setoguchi. Reports have indicated both Boucher and Roenick have been inked to one-year deals, the former to a $650k contract and the latter to a deal worth $1.1 million. In addition to being an allegedly positive contributor in the locker room, Boucher showed flashes of brilliance in the few games he started for the Sharks after being acquired at the trade deadline. In any case, he is a far more trustworthy candidate to spell Nabokov than the aforementioned Greiss and Doug Wilson has indicated that the former Flyer, Blackhawk and Blue Jacket will start upwards of 10-15 games next season.

Not enough can be written about Roenick's positive impact on the team since being saved from the clutches of retirement by Doug Wilson a year ago. JR remains steadfast in his pursuit of the Cup and will be returning for his second go-around in teal. Good news for Sharks fans, bad news for those waiting for the oft-outspoken center to ascend the broadcast booth.

In terms of the team's remaining free agents, Wilson is on record stating qualifying offers have been tendered to RFAs Ryane Clowe, Christian Ehrhoff and Marcel Goc. Talks between Wilson and impending UFA Jody Shelley are reportedly going well, while all indications are that Tomas Plihal will not be retained and only one of Curtis Brown and Patrick Rissmiller (both UFAs July 1st) is engaged in serious contract discussions with San Jose. Meanwhile, on the Brian Campbell front, Wilson withheld comment regarding the nature of contract discussions between the Sharks and Campbell's agents, only stating that they were ongoing. David Pollak suggests New York Rangers UFA blueliner Michal Rozsival as a viable replacement should Campbell choose to bolt via free agency, noting that Rozsival has a connection to newly hired Sharks coach Todd McLellan, with Rozsival having played for McLellan while with the WHL's Swift Current Broncos. Speaking of McLellan, the Globe and Mail's Tim Wharnsby reports that former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Trent Yawney is likely to flank the Sharks' bench boss as an assistant coach, Rob Zettler and Tim Hunter having joined Ron Wilson in Toronto.

Finally, in other NHL news, the Tampa Bay Lightning are a joke.

Larionov gives McLellan seal of approval

2008-06-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

In a rather blatant attempt at expunging myself from culpability for failing to opine on the Sharks' hiring of one Todd McLellan, I'll settle for referencing San Jose's latest head coach with a somewhat fresher story. In case you missed it, Igor Larionov, once tabbed the Russian Wayne Gretzky (actually I kind of just made that up), was announced yesterday as one of four 2008 inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Joining him at the November induction ceremony will be former Edmonton Oilers star Glenn Anderson, the late Ed Chynoweth in the builder category and ex-ref Ray Scapinello.

But perhaps more intriguing than Larionov's status as the first ever former Shark to have his likeness etched in the vaunted Hall were "The Professor"'s comments regarding McLellan. From today's Merc: "I like Todd," said Larionov. "He's like a calm and steady guy, and likes hockey that's very close to me -- more offense, an entertaining style of hockey." In addition to being an offensive wizard of sorts, Larionov has always been a renowned hockey mind, so when he endorses a newly-hired coach, you not only know the franchise has done something right but also that you can expect a decidedly more offensive approach from McLellan than Ron Wilson's containment-oriented defensive stylings.

***

The NHL Draft begins Friday in Ottawa, but don't get too excited -- barring trades, the Sharks won't be venturing to the podium until the fourth round. Of course, the rumormongers are running rampant once again, deeming Patrick Marleau's banishment to hockey hell (aka Columbus, Ohio) imminent. Reports have Marleau being shipped to the Blue Jackets for everything from the 6th overall pick and Nikolai Zherdev to an advance copy of NHL 2K9 for the Nintendo Wii with Rick Nash gracing the cover.

Speaking of the Blue Jackets, Doug MacLean may have skipped town, but it appears that incompetence continues to reign supreme in the team's front office. With a justifiably restless fanbase still waiting on the franchise's first ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, someone in the organization apparently thought it was a good idea to not only offer Pittsburgh forward and impending UFA Ryan "I spent a contract year playing on Sidney Crosby's wing and have just 27 goals to show for it" Malone a long-term deal averaging as much as $5.5 million (!) a year, but trade either draft picks or a roster player for the right to do so a few days early. Luckily, Malone put an end to that by explicitly and publicly stating his intent to test the free agent waters regardless of whether or not his rights are traded.

***

Like any self-respecting Sharks fan, I possess a deeply ingrained hatred for all things Anaheim. However, with Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer likely to throw in the proverbial towel on his distinguished career with an announcement pending prior to Friday's draft, I feel it's appropriate to recognize one of the greatest defensemen it has ever been my privilege to watch. His unparalleled skating ability, his off-the-charts hockey IQ, his unmatched offensive instincts and his friendship with Good Riddance frontman Russ Rankin (had to throw that in there) have easily made him my favorite non-Shark. A shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, Niedermayer is, plain and simple, a winner. Hats off to one of the greatest.

Oh, but if he decides to pull that "I'm retiring haha no I'm not actually I'm not sure I think I'll take half the season off and thereby jeopardize my team's chances at developing the requisite chemistry for repeating as Cup champs" bullshit for a second year in a row, I might seriously have to reconsider my stance on him. As in, I'll respect him even more for screwing over the Ducks two years in a row.

Thank goodness for cheap ownership

2008-06-01T19:29:00.001-07:00

It isn't often you'll hear me praising Greg Jamison, but it looks as though the Sharks' majority owner being a cheap-ass has finally worked in favor of the fanbase. According to Bruce Garrioch (four words that usually don't lead to credible information, but bear with me), the Sharks and Joel Quenneville have cut off talks due to Coach Q's contract demands. Quenneville would be a terrible fit in SJ, not only because I've probably misspelled his name already in this post, but because of his stifling defensive coaching style and lack of post-second round success bear resemblance to one Ron Wilson. Thankfully, Jamison's miserliness will keep the ex-Avs coach out of SJ.

Sayonara Ronnie

2008-05-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

So the search begins. The search for a new coaching staff, that is, after reports that should surprise no one surfaced earlier today regarding Ron Wilson's termination. Perhaps not all the blame should be placed on the shoulders of the long-tenured (by NHL standards, anyway) head coach of the Sharks for San Jose's third consecutive postseason of disappointment and underachievement. But something had to give, and a scapegoat quickly emerged in RW. His passive, containment-style defense, mistreatment of younger players and apathetic, who-gives-a-crap attitude harbored an indifferent locker room culture that was as much to blame for the Sharks' three straight early exits as Vesa Toskala's Game 4 giveaway against the Oilers, Marleau's late-game defensive gaffe versus the Red Wings or Brian Campbell's ill-timed tripping penalty against the Stars.

Of course, firing Wilson was easy compared to the aforementioned task that lies ahead: naming his replacement. Everyone from Bob Hartley to Mike Ricci has been floated around as a possible suitor, but observing the trend of the two post-lockout Stanley Cup champions, perhaps the Sharks would be better off with an AHL bench boss than an established big name like a Joel Quenneville or Paul Maurice. Regardless, Doug Wilson is on the record stating that the hunt for a new coach will commence tomorrow, although I surmise that it has already begun. Showing Wilson the door was merely the first step in what proves as a lengthy process of transforming a good regular season time into a true Cup contender.

Post-mortem

2008-05-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, they showed heart, resiliency, guts, gumption and all those other great nouns that seemed to be inexplicably removed from the Sharks' dictionary in years past by storming back from a 3-0 series deficit to at least make things interesting. But at the end of the day, this year's version of the San Jose Sharks, the purported "team of destiny" that so many confidently picked to raise Lord Stanley's chalice was an exact replica of the past two equally disappointing incarnations, bowing out once again in Game 6 of the second round. Sure the Sharks can take some positives with the way they battled back when staring death in the eye, but moral victories aren't what this team needs. Moral victories aren't going to save Ron Wilson's job. Moral victories don't win you the Stanley Cup.

I'll file report cards for the players and provide more analysis in the days to come, but the prime objective of the offseason should be to find a fitting replacement for Ron Wilson. His laughable containment-style defense and passive offensive system combined with his insufferable apathy makes him the polar opposite of what this team needs behind the bench. No, they don't need a motivator, no matter what so-called pundits -- particularly those north of the 49th -- say. Professional athletes don't need someone to motivate them, they need someone who can properly utilize their talents and be able to adapt to various opposing gameplans instead of stubbornly implementing a completely static power play entirely reliant on a crowded Joe Thornton making unbelievable passes that never come. Doug Wilson has a host of options as far as a replacement goes -- Pat Burns comes to mind -- but what's urgent is getting Ron Wilson out of the Bay Area.

Also, despite a rather underwhelming postseason performance, Brian Campbell needs to be retained. Say what you will about his lack of physicality and occasional defensive mishaps, Campbell is the power-play quarterback and offensive blueliner that has been missing for so long on the Sharks' back end. As painful as it is to say, his poor playoff campaign is actually a positive in terms of contract negotiations as it likely knocks over five hundred thousand off his asking price.

As far as trades go, I really don't believe the Sharks can get fair value if they try to trade Patrick Marleau, so there's no reason to do so. However, Matt Carle and Kyle McLaren both need to be dealt to free up valuable cap space to sign Campbell as well as key RFAs such as Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe and Christian Ehrhoff. I imagine they will be traded at the draft either for picks or marginal roster players in return, but as long as Doug Wilson is able to shed salary, the moves will be successful. It's going to be another long summer in Sharks territory, best to get started early.

Western Conference Semifinals(1) Detroit Red Wings v. (6) Colorado Avalanche

2008-04-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Offense: I said it in my preview of the Colorado-Minnesota series, I'll say it again here: the Avs boast the deepest offense in the Western Conference. When your top six is comprised of Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny, Ryan Smyth and Andrew Brunette and augmented by promising youngsters like Wojtek Wolski and David Jones, you know you're in good shape. Add to that the offensive potential of defensemen John-Michael Liles, Ruslan Salei and Jordan Leopold and it makes for one explosive Avalanche team. The Wings aren't exactly slouches themselves up front, with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg leading the way, but the dominant duo barely made an impact against a young Nashville defense in the first round -- who's to say they'll be able to improve upon their first-round performance against a veteran corps that includes shutdown stalwarts Adam Foote and Scott Hannan? While Valterri Filpulla and Jiri Hudler provided decent secondary scoring for the Wings, what happened to Dan Cleary? The Detroit forward scored 20 goals in the regular season but hasn't found the back of the net since February 5th against Minnesota and had just one assist against the Preds in the first round. A matchup to look forward to here is the battle of the elite crease-crashers: Tomas Holmstrom for Detroit vs. Ryan Smyth for Colorado. Edge: Colorado.

Defense: Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski may make all the headlines, but young stalwart Niklas Kronwall was arguably the Wings' most important defenseman in their first-round ousting of the Nashville Predators, not only picking up points but maintaining an imposing physical presence as well. While the comparison between the two teams' bluelines seems lopsided in favor of Detroit, don't count out Colorado's underrated defense corps. Adam Foote turned back the clock and turned up an exceptional performance in the first round, shutting down Minnesota superstar Marian Gaborik. Look for him and his solid partner Kurt Sauer to be matched up against Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk throughout this series. Ruslan Salei was a bright spot for the Avalanche against the Wild as well, kick-starting what had been a god-awful Avs powerplay in the regular season. Still, it's hard to argue with a blueline that reads as a veritable roll call of future hall-of-famers. Edge: Detroit.

Goaltending: It was the one glaring, universal quesiton mark regarding the top-seeded Red Wings, but even still, few could have predicted how sour things would turn in nets for Detroit. 43-year-old Dominik Hasek was bailed out by his team despite turning up mediocre performances in Games 1 and 2 against the Predators, but even they couldn't save him in Games 3 and 4 and after yielding 8 goals through those two games, Hasek was promptly pulled by Wings coach Mike Babcock, setting the stage for Chris Osgood to take over the goaltending duties for the remainder of the series -- and presumably the remainder of the playoffs. While Osgood performed admirably in allowing just one goal through wins in Games 5 and 6 to close out Nashville, the veteran netminder proved hot and cold through the regular season and let's face it -- the Preds' offense doesn't even compare to that of the high-flying Avs. Meanwhile, Jose Theodore has been partying like it's 2002 -- the year the ex-Hab won the Hart and Vezina trophies. Theodore has still never lost a first-round series, but he's never won a second-round series either. History aside, however, the Avs netminder was stellar in the first round and while he'll have a decidedly tougher time against a far more talented squad, he has shown in this, his comeback season, that he still has the ability to steal games -- something that can't be said for the guy on the other end of the ice. Edge: Colorado.

Overall: The Red Wings had their hands full with the Predators in the first round and the aforementioned quesitons regarding goaltending abound. Despite owning the West's top seed, the Wings' mediocre offensive numbers in the first-round brought into the limelight the well-hidden fact that Detroit desperately lacks secondary scoring, thanks in no small part to the disappearing acts pulled by Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson in said series. Colorado, meanwhile, has a spectacular offense that has the ability to pick apart Chris Osgood -- as long as they aren't kept in check by Detroit's stellar defense. Complete with a hot goaltender, it's tough not to pick the Avs for the upset here in what should be a long, brutal yet classic semifinal series. Prediction: Colorado in seven.

Can Sharks survive "The Collapse"?

2008-04-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

It has become every bit as much of a Sharks postseason ritual as towel waving at the Tank, eliminating the Nashville Predators and heckling Chris Pronger. Call it "the collapse," "the choke job," whatever you want to call it -- but it has become as certain an annual occurrence as Christmas or Veteran's Day. Often, it comes in pairs.

Let's go back to Game 3 of the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals against the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks were less than five minutes away from rattling off a third consecutive 2-1 victory and gaining an insurmountable stranglehold on the series. Raffi Torres ties it late, Shawn Horcoff scores the game-winner in triple overtime. Game 4 of that same series -- Jonathan Cheechoo scores in the second period to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead and a chance to gain that same record in the series. A little less than thirty-five minutes later and the Sharks are at the wrong end of a 6-3 defeat. They would go on to lose the series in six games.

Flash forward a year to Game 2 of the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals against the Detroit Red Wings. Quick goals by Cheechoo and Joe Thornton give the Sharks a great chance of taking a 2-0 series lead headed to San Jose for Game 3. Fat chance. Goals by Henrik Zetterberg and Dan Cleary -- the latter being shorthanded on an egregious turnover by Christian Ehrhoff -- tie the game and Pavel Datsyuk scores the winner with less than two minutes remaining. The Sharks do manage to win Game 3 at HP, however, and are less than forty seconds away from taking a 3-1 series lead into Game 4. Robert Lang with the tying goal, Mathieu Schneider scores in overtime and the Sharks lose the next two games as well to drop that series in six games. Perhaps all of those gut-wrenching, teeth-chipping, eye-gouging losses paled in comparison to the travesty that occurred last night in Calgary.

Hockey is a game of mistakes. Mental errors that lead to mistakes, the opportunism to have opponents make mistakes and the ability to capitalize on opposing mistakes. Blown leads are bound to happen, but it is undeniable that such collapses, particularly in the most critical of situations, have been inextricably ingrained in the franchise's reputation. As painful as Game 3 was to watch, it's not about how you lose the games -- it's about how you respond. Surveying the Sharks' aforementioned postseason track record, there has been no response. The Sharks, especially their best player, whose ill-advised screen of Evgeni Nabokov which allowed Owen Nolan's game-winning goal serves as a microcosm of his invisibility not only during this series, but his playoff career at large, have most definitely been handed a test. This is the same test that they have taken during their last two postseason flameouts and both times they failed. We'll see tomorrow night if they've learned from their mistakes or if all was for naught. If the Sharks can somehow recuperate and manage to win this series, the Stanley Cup is truly theirs to lose. If they flunk their third test, there were no legitimate Cup aspirations to begin with.

Western Conference Quarterfinals(2) San Jose Sharks v. (7) Calgary Flames

2008-04-09T08:06:00.001-07:00

Offense: Both teams were littered with underachieving forwards this season, as neither Patrick Marleau nor Jonathan Cheechoo lived up to their billing for San Jose while Alex Tanguay and Craig Conroy turned up stinkers of a season for the Flames. The difference here is that, while Marleau and Cheechoo began lighting it up like their former selves after the trade deadline, many of the Flames, particularly Kristian Huselius, faltered during that same timespan. Edge: San Jose.

Defense: All the focus on this series with regards to the Flames has been placed upon Calgary superstar Jarome Iginla and for good reason: The Flames' captain scored a Western Conference-leading 50 goals this season. But the player the Sharks should arguably be most afraid of scored 45 fewer goals than Iginla this season: defenseman Robyn Regehr. While you can never know for certain, my gut feeling is that last season's Flames first-round loss to Detroit would have been a lot different with Regehr in the lineup. Perhaps the best shutdown defenseman in the league, Regehr is the cornerstone of the Flames' blueline and will take liberties with Joe Thornton and Milan Michalek if he isn't consistently hounded by the Sharks' forecheckers. He'll likely pair with Cory Sarich on a shutdown pair, allowing Dion Phaneuf to play with Adrian Aucoin on the second unit. But while Calgary's defense looks better on paper, the Sharks' mobile corps centered around deadline acquisition Brian Campbell and combining the right amounts of physicality (Douglas Murray, Kyle McLaren), skill (Christian Ehrhoff, Marc-Edouard Vlasic) and a mix of both (Craig Rivet) seems superior. Edge: San Jose.

Goaltending: The netminding matchup provides the greatest intrigue in this first-round series. Both All-Star stoppers and disciples of the late Warren Strelow, Evgeni Nabokov and Miikka Kiprusoff had, for the most part, starkly different seasons. While Nabokov had his best season to date, leading the league in wins, representing the Western Conference at the All-Star game and receiving serious Vezina and Hart Trophy consideration, Kiprusoff faltered in his first season under Mike Keenan, posting sub-par seasons and failing to record a single shutout until February. Regardless, Kipper has proven that he is a reliable playoff goaltender, though so has Nabokov. Goaltending, like almost all other facets of this series, will be close but the man who has had the vastly better campaign gets the nod here. Edge: Sharks.

Overall: The regular season means little with regards to the playoffs. However, while the Flames failed to win more than two straight from early February on, the Sharks went 18-0-2 down the stretch. Whether that means the Sharks and Flames will continue their respective trends through the postseason is entirely a crapshoot, but with far superior depth and a goaltender that has proven he can steal games, San Jose looks like the safe pick here, but it should be a close one. Prediction: Sharks in 6.

Note: Photo courtesy PJ Swenson.

Western Conference Quarterfinals(3) Minnesota Wild v. (6) Colorado Avalanche

2008-04-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Offense: Colorado might have he most explosive group of forwards in the Western Conference. With historical playoff beasts Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic augmented by the likes of Paul Stastny, Milan Hejduk, Ryan Smyth and Andrew Brunette, the Avs can roll three dangerous scoring lines and, with everyone healthy, run and gun with the best of them. The Wild on the other hand have been known to plug goons like Todd Fedoruk onto their scoring lines due to a dearth of dangerous forwards, but still have the lethal Marian Gaborik who has a great playoff track record to his credit. Still, it's hard to top the Avs' deep unit. Edge: Colorado.

Defense: Neither team really has an All-Star on the blueline, but the Wild's Brent Burns will certainly be one in a few years. Along with two-way defenseman Kim Johnsson, stay-at-home stalwart Nick Schultz and the physically imposing Sean Hill, Minnesota's back end clearly outclasses the Avs' mix of Scott Hannan, Adam Foote and John-Michael Liles, among others. Edge: Minnesota.

Goaltending: This category is hard to handicap. Coming off a spectacular season in which he recorded the lowest goals-against average in the NHL, Niklas Backstrom regressed a tad this year, but still finished in the top ten in wins, goals-against average and save percentage. Talk about a polar opposite: The Avs' fallen star of a netminder Jose Theodore, coming off a terrible season and an offseason littered with whispers of buyout, the former Hart Trophy winner shone once again, winning key games for Colorado down the stretch and often bailing out Colorado's unspectacular defense. The stats will show you Backstrom is a superior goalie, but the reality is this matchup is just too close to call. Although, here's a fun fact: Theodore has never lost a first-round series. Edge: It's a wash.

Overall: Once infamous for their stingy system, the Wild were largely average this season in terms of team defense, allowing upwards of an average of 2.5 goals against per game. It'll be a nail-biter of a series for sure, but that statistic doesn't bode well for Minnesota if they hope to stop this high-powered Avalanche offense. Prediction: Colorado in 7.

Western Conference Quarterfinals(4) Anaheim Ducks v. (5) Dallas Stars

2008-04-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Offense: The fact that the Ducks were two lines deep helped them immensely last postseason, as despite Teemu Selanne and Andy McDonald's faltering through the first few rounds, Ryan Getzlaf and co. were able to pick up the slack. Anaheim will have no such luxury this time around. With no legitimate second line center to set up Selanne and Corey Perry injured at least through the first round, an already tepid offensive team in the Ducks (Anaheim finished 28th in league scoring) will be hard-pressed to put the puck in the net. The Stars, on the other hand, enjoyed a bit of a role reversal through the first half of the season with the likes of Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow piling on the points. While that duo proved hot and cold down the stretch, the addition of known playoff producer Brad Richards serves to bolster a Dallas offense that simply couldn't score against Vancouver in last year's first round. Edge: Dallas.

Defense: Regardless of what anyone thinks of Marty Turco, Brenden Morrow or Mike Ribeiro, Sergei Zubov is without a doubt Dallas' best player. Unfortunately for the Stars, their No. 1 defenseman has been injured for nearly half the season and will not take the ice against Anaheim in the first round, reducing Dallas to a rather non-descript defense corps that will rely on veterans Philippe Boucher and Mattias Norstrom along with surprising rookie Matt Niskanen to get the job done. The Ducks have no such issues, however, employing one of the greatest bluelines in recent NHL history. Aside from Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Mathieu Schneider, Anaheim's blueline also boasts depth. Marc-Andre Bergeron could probably be a prominent power-play quarterback on most NHL teams, yet he's a bottom-pairing defenseman on the Ducks. Edge: Anaheim.

Goaltending: On paper, this is as lopsided of a netminding matchup as we have in the first round. Marty Turco, the infamous and unfairly branded playoff choker against J-S Giguere, the springtime superstar with a Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy and sparkling overtime record to his credit. Delving a tad deeper, it becomes apparent that Turco was far from a choker last postseason, when he was in fact far and away his team's best player, recording an unbelievable three shutouts in a seven-game loss to Vancouer. Giguere was terrific as well in guiding the Ducks to a Cup, but let's face it -- it's easy to look good with two Norris Trophy winners in front of you. Still, J-S is far more of a known quantity in the playoffs than the Stars' netminder. Edge: Anaheim

Overall: It's going to be difficult for the Stars to dethrone the Stanley Cup Champions, especially without Sergei Zubov in the lineup. Marty Turco and Mike Ribeiro are still playoff question marks and Brad Richards just hasn't fit in in Big D. The Ducks, on the other hand, have been on a season-long mission to defend their cup title. Prediction: Ducks in 5.

Western Conference Quarterfinals(1) Detroit Red Wings v. (2) Nashville Predators

2008-04-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Offense: Even when the Predators employed the likes of Paul Kariya, Peter Forsberg, Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen, the Red Wings were still arguably a stronger team up front. Now that those four are gone and Steve Sullivan has yet to skate this season, this is a pretty easy win for the Wings. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are two of the most complete forwards in the game and headline a group of forwards that will only improve as Dan Cleary recouperates from injury and Tomas Holmstrom gets back in his groove. Edge: Detroit.

Defense: The statistics don't lie. The Red Wings allowed the fewest shots against and goals against this season, largely thanks to future Hall-of-Famer and likely Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom along with fellow All-Star Brian Rafalski and a defense corps that also includes young stalwart Niklas Kronwall and ageless wonder Chris Chelios. The Preds on the other hand were largely mediocre defensively this year, allowing nearly 30 shots against per game while sporting an ugly 2.73 goals against average. A serious and extended injury to top blueliner Shea Weber along with a relentless forechecking, offense-first system will do that to a team, but due the aforementioned loss of key offensive personnel, Nashville can no longer afford defensive deficiencies. Edge: Detroit.

Goaltending: Dan Ellis just might be the best player you've never heard of. A hapless rookie goaltender signed as a free agent last summer to compete with top netminding prospect Pekka Rinne for the right to back up Chris Mason, Ellis has convincingly stolen the starting job from Mason and owned the NHL's best regular-season save percentage at 92.4%. The starting job wasn't all he stole as Ellis also fleeced games for the Predators down the stretch, posting a 233:38 shutout streak late in the season in which he stopped 147 consecutive shots, fifth-best among such strings since 1944. If there's one question mark regarding this year's Red Wings squad, it's in goal. While the stats will show you Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek own two of the top five goals-against averages in the NHL, the duo's numbers are largely inflated (or would that be deflated?) by Detroit's outstanding defense as neither netminder has been particularly impressive. If the Predators see a glimmer of hope in this series at all, you've got to think it's in the goaltending matchup. Edge: Nashville.

Overall: Ellis might steal a game and the Predators will probably outwork the Wings at least once, but let's be honest: The mere fact that Nashville qualified for the postseason after the firesale they held in the offseason is a miracle in and of itself. The Predators will likely fail to advance past the first round for the fourth consecutive year, but this time it won't be for lack of effort. Prediction: Red Wings in 6.

Reviewing preseason predictions

2008-04-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

Lately, this place has been as desolate as the Honda Center with six minutes remaining in the third period of a Pacific Division-deciding game in which the home team is down by two goals and being severely outplayed. Long-winded and ill-advised metaphors aside, however, fret not, esteemed reader, as the playoffs are around the corner meaning posting here should definitely be on the upswing. I plan to unload previews of all four Western Conference first-round matchups as well as my picks throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but first, with every meaningful regular season game over, it's time to look back on my preseason predictions.

Western Conference Predictions:

1. Detroit*
2. San Jose*
3. Vancouver*
4. Anaheim
5. Colorado
6. Calgary
7. Minnesota
8. Dallas
__________________
9. Nashville
10. Los Angeles
11. St. Louis
12. Edmonton
13. Chicago
14. Columbus
15. Phoenix

Not bad. Overall, I went 7 for 8 in picking playoff teams, but who could have predicted the Canucks would stink it up as much as they did this season? The Stars obviously overachieved quite a bit, while the Los Angeles Kings were nowhere near the tenth place team I predicted them to be. All in all, solid choices.

Eastern Conference Predictions:

1. Ottawa*
2. NY Rangers*
3. Washington*
4. Pittsburgh
5. Philadelphia
6. New Jersey
7. Buffalo
8. Carolina
__________________
9. Toronto
10. Florida
11. Atlanta
12. Montreal
13. Tampa Bay
14. Boston
15. NY Islanders

Yeah, the Senators crapped the bed, finishing seventh, but I was still 6 for 8. On the other side of things, the Habs and Bruins massively overachieved, which makes for a nice storyline as the two teams head into a first-round meeting later this week.

Sharks acquire Campbell

2008-02-26T16:03:00.000-08:00

I'm speechless. Acquiring Brian Campbell without giving up any of Patrick Marleau, Devin Setoguchi or Matt Carle is absolute magic by Doug Wilson. As Mike Chen points out at Battle of California, this might be the first time in franchise history the Sharks have a legitimate #1 defenseman in his prime. I know, I know, Campbell isn't exactly Nicklas Lidstrom in his own zone, but he instanly becomes the only Sharks defenseman who can singlehandedly rush the puck up ice, launch precision outlet passes to hopefully ignite our slumping forwards and provide a dominant power play presence. Speaking of the Sharks' woefully stagnant man advantage, it is likely to now do a complete 180 with the advent of the man they call "Soupy." Oh, and he hits. And boy does he hit.

As for the player going the other way, Steve Bernier will be somewhat missed in the interim between this transaction and the return of Ryane Clowe from injury, as Bernier is one of the only non-Clowe forwards on the roster who can sustain a consistent forecheck. But consistency in and of itself was always the problem with Bernier, who seems to have progressively regressed since his rookie season. I wish him the best in Buffalo, but his frequent scoring slumps and defensive ineptitude really had no place in San Jose. There's been some talk as to Campbell receiving an extension and even though we've yet to see him in a Sharks jersey, I think DW needs to bite the bullet. Even if he receives Dan Boyle money ($6.5 million), San Jose will remain under the cap for next season, it's solely a question of how much ownership is willing to spend.

In other Sharks moves, Rob Davison was shipped to the Islanders for a 5th round draft pick and former Philadelphia and Phoenix netminder Brian Boucher was signed to back up Evgeni Nabokov and allow Thomas Greiss to develop in Worcester.

***

Trade Deadline Breakdown

--You could argue that the Sharks were forced into the Campbell deal by the Stars' steal of a deal, flipping Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and Mike Smith to Tampa for Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist. Richards is the playoff warrior the Stars need, but at $7.8 million a year with a horrendous plus-minus and point totals that have been mediocre since 05-06? Still, this trade was all about this season and as far as that goes, Dallas now has a top line of Brenden Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Antti Miettinen followed by a unit comprised of Mike Modano, Brad Richards and Jere Lehtinen. God, I hate the Stars.

--The Penguins nabbed the proverbial big fish of the deadline, acquiring Marian Hossa. Just think about it. Crosby and Hossa. Together. This move also allows the Penguins to move Malkin to his rightful position of center when Sid returns. In a crappy Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh looks to be on the rise. The return, however, was far steeper than I imagined. Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong are both young, serviceable forwards and Angelo Esposito is one of the Penguins' top prospects. Add a first rounder and you've got a pretty good return if you're a Thrashers fan. Still, the thought of Hossa playing with Crosby must have had Pens GM Ray Shero salivating.

--You can bet the Toronto media will have a Leafs roast tomorrow. With none of Mats Sundin, Tomas Kaberle, Bryan McCabe, Jason Blake, Pavel Kubina and Darcy Tucker changing addresses, the Leafs are likely to spend several season to come in mediocreville.

--The Washington Capitals may have won the whole trade deadline with two rather under-the-radar moves. Goaltending has been their main issue this season, but they shored that up by stealing Cristobal Huet from Montreal in a deal I really don't understand from a Canadiens perspective -- yes, he's an impending UFA, but how far will the Habs get with 20-year-old Carey Price in net? -- and also picked up a Michael Nylander replacement in Sergei Fedorov, giving up just a 2nd rounder for Huet and prospect Ted Ruth for Fedorov. Seriously, GM George McPhee deserves an award or something.

These Sharks are Sunk

2008-02-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

It's a sad state of affairs when a Monday morning interconference tilt with the New York Islanders is classified as a must-win, but such is the case today as the Sharks face off against the Isles in the second contest of their eight-game road trip that may define the team going forward as they desperately attempt to keep their heads above water in a Western Conference playoff battle they were supposed to ease their way through.

Pessimism reigns supreme in Sharks Territory at the moment, and it's not just because the team has lost three straight, the last one at Madison Square Garden in particularly listless fashion. No, the Detroit Red Wings have dropped six in a row, which matches Anaheim's skid of a few weeks ago. Unlike the Sharks, however, those teams have shown they can dominate on a consistent basis while San Jose battles tooth and nail to earn two points against even the Chicagoes, Columbuses and St. Louises of the league. The far more troubling statistic is that, since the inception of the new year, San Jose has gone an apalling 1-8 against playoff bound opposition. Sure, they've gone 8-2 against non-playoff teams, but they're not likely to hook up with the Blackhawks or Kings in April (if the Sharks even get that far given the way things are going), are they?

The Sharks' weaknesses were thoroughly exposed yesterday against the Rangers. The only line able to generate any semblance of consistent forechecking pressure was Thornton's unit and, even then, few scoring chances of note were created. Defensively, San Jose was a mess, unable to make a trap-penetrating breakout pass to save their lives. They scrambled around aimlessly in their zone, unable to read the play and pick up the late man, as blatantly demonstrated by Tomas Plihal's horrendous decision to leave Ryan Callahan completely uncovered in the slot on the first Rangers goal. Speaking of Plihal, if he hasn't been shipped on a bus to Worcester by 11 AM Pacific Time this morning, I will be severely dissapointed in the Sharks' organization. The bottom line is, the more I watch this team, the more faith I lose in the chances of improving it through some stop-gap measure at the deadline. The trade dealine may be an optimal way for great teams to push themselves over the top, but at this point, the Sharks are decidedly not a great team. They barely look like a passable team.

***

--Yesterday, the Chicago Blackhawks signed 22-year-old defenseman Brent Seabrook to a 3-year, $10.5 million contract with an average annual cap hit identical to that of young Sharks d-man Matt Carle. I'm sorry, but that just doesn't compute. Seabrook is a physical, two-way blueliner oozing with potential who will undoubtedly improve over the course of this deal. Carle, meanwhile, seems to be regressing, turning up one of his worst games of the season yesterday in New York and routinely increasing the probability that his rookie season was nothing more than a fluke. Sure, a sophomore slump isn't entirely unheard of, but Carle has been downright unnoticeable all year long and his contract may render him immobile, especially when weighed against Seabrook's deal.

--Does anyone else think the Red Wings aren't all that secure in their hunt for the President's Trophy that seemed to already have been engraved with their names just weeks ago? They are currently mired in an aforementioned six-game losing streak, their latest loss coming at the hands of the team with the greatest chance of beating them out for the top team distinction, Dallas. The Wings' extended slump also shows the value of forward Dan Cleary, who has missed all but the first two games of Detroit's skid with a broken jaw and was well on his way to a career year before the injury.

The Mock Draft Done Right

2008-02-16T08:46:00.001-08:00

Despite his numerous hair band references to go along with his propensity for devoting large portions of his mailbag to naming other people's babies, John Buccigross is about as solid a hockey columnist as ESPN.com has to offer.

So it hurts to me to say that his latest offering, an article prognosticating the results of a draft held as the result of every player in the NHL becoming a free agent concurrently, is somewhat trash. The idea itself is great, but many of his selections are downright atrocious and their justification is even more inane. Dany Heatley picked before Alex Ovechkin? Mike Richards over Roberto Luongo? And why is Mike Ribeiro even a first-round pick? So I decided to re-do his draft in accordance with Bucci's stipulations regarding draft order (current standings in reverse) and the fact that all players sign five-year contracts, therefore inherently favoring younger talent.

1. Los Angeles - Sidney Crosby. Hard to disagree on this one. However, Crosby's stock has somewhat fallen now that the Pens are 6-3-2 without him in the lineup, but that's not nearly enough evidence to warrant passing on not only a generational talent but, as Buccigross mentions, a marketing boon especially in a market in need of hockey revitilization like LA.

2. Tampa Bay - Alex Ovechkin. For a franchise that has learned the value of goaltending the hard way the past two seasons, it's tempting to pick Roberto Luongo. But then again, the Bolts have always been about offense and with arguably the most explosive front line force in the NHL still on the board, AO is the way to go.

3. Chicago - Evgeni Malkin. Given the chance to shine with Crosby injured, Malkin has thoroughly seized the opportunity, accumulating 15 points in five games for the Penguins before tonight's loss to Boston. The Hawks remain a franchise in transition, attempting to win back an alienated fanbase. What better way to do that than with a 21-year-old scoring machine.

4. Toronto - Roberto Luongo. Defense wins championships, so for a team that has been starved of a Cup for forty years, the Leafs are glad to take the best goaltender available in Luongo.

5. Edmonton - Joe Thornton. The Oilers haven't had a playmaker of Thornton's caliber since Wayne Gretzky. While he needs a sniper to truly flourish, Big Joe's combination of size and skill is exactly what's severely lacking in this year's woeful edition of the Oilers.

6. NY Islanders - Nicklas Lidstrom. Norris Nick dropped to 24th in Bucci's draft due to age concerns, but the Isles have always been a gambling team and they're willing to bet Lidstrom will play at an elite level to the age of 43. At 38, Lidstrom is hands down the best defenseman in the NHL and is a serious candidate for this season's Hart Trophy.

7. St. Louis - Vincent Lecavalier. It's surprsing that the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner and a player who was leading the NHL in points for a good part of the season falls to seventh, but the Blues certainly don't mind. Discounting Gretzky's brief tenure in Missouri, Lecavalier might be the best offensive player in Blues history behind Brett Hull.

8. Florida - Jarome Iginla. Captain Calgary is precisely the player Florida was banking on Nathan Horton developing into and has the skill, shot and leadership to put fans in the seats in Sunrise.

9. Atlanta - Henrik Zetterberg. For a team that has never had anything close to a franchise center in its history, Zetterberg is an absolute dream. "Z" has blossomed into one of the finest two-way players in the game with the Red Wings this season and might be a steal at No. 9.

10. Carolina - Ilya Kovalchuk. Like their Southeast brethren in Tampa, the Canes have always been about offense, so going with the best forward on the board in Kovalchuk is a no-brainer.

11. Washington - Dany Heatley. Lose one power winger in Ovechkin, pick up another one in Heatley. He might not have the finesse and jaw-dropping ability of OV8, but the Heater is nearly as prolific a goal-scorer and brings the same physical dimension that Ovechkin does.

12. Phoenix - Dion Phaneuf. Another pick where I'll agree with Buccigross. While he doesn't deserve the $7 million a year stipulated in his recent contract extension, Phaneuf has developed into a big ticket defenseman for the Flames and the Coyotes will bank on similar play from the two-time All-Star donning the Phoenix red.

13. Buffalo - Pavel Datsyuk. Another team that has learned lessons the hard way, the Sabres have discovered rather painfully this season how critical it is to possess a No. 1 center after letting Daniel Briere and Chris Drury walk as free agents. Datsyuk is that No. 1 center and so much more. Perhaps the most complete pivot in the game, Datsyuk excels at both ends of the ice and will be a treat to watch for the Buffalo faithful.

14. Columbus - Mike Richards. Rick Nash, Bucci's selection for the BJs at 14, is still available but the Jackets are another team that knows the value of a No. 1 center. Richards is another two-way force at center ice capable of doing it all and is the kind of heart-and-soul player capable of leading Columbus to the promised land.

15. Boston - Jason Spezza. Although Marc Savard is nothing short of a deft playmaker, the Bruins would love to have a truly game-breaking passer in their lineup for the first time since the Thornton trade. Spezza is that player, and after watching him tear it up against the B's as a member of the division rival Senators, Boston would love to see him don the Bruins' blue and gold.

16. NY Rangers - Ryan Getzlaf. Getzlaf has franchise center written all over him and the Rangers would love to get him to wear the blue and white. A disgusting stickhandler with a terrific shot and tremendous puckhandling ability, Getzlaf is the kind of offensive powerhouse at center the Rangers have lacked since the time of Mark Messier.

17. Vancouver - Marian Gaborik. While the last two seasons under coach Alain Vigneault have been decidedly defense-oriented, the Canucks teams of the past have always shown offense to be their forte, from Pavel Bure to the West Coast Express. Who better to pick up than the second coming of Bure, Marian Gaborik? Injury questions caused him to fall this low in the draft, but it looks as though the Slovakian Rocket has finally overcome his nagging groin issues. Just ask the New York Rangers.

18. Nashville - Chris Pronger. The Predators love their D-men and Pronger, while 34, is a revalation at No. 18. With his defensive acumen, physical nature, offensive contributions and leadership skills, Pronger is capable of being a franchise cornerstone for the Preds.

19. Calgary - Henrik Lundqvist. The Flames know what young goaltenders can do after Kiprusoff led them to the Finals the season before the lockout, so with Henrik Lundqvist still available it looks like the King is headed to Alberta.

20. Colorado - Jonathan Toews. Toews might be the most similar player to Joe Sakic among young forwards in the League, so you know the Avs would love to pick him up. The Blackhawks were in the playoff discussion this season before Toews' injury.

21. Philadelphia - Marian Hossa. Flyers will take the best forward available. Yes, Hossa hasn't had the greatest season this year, but there's no doubt he'll bounce back and return to being the Hoss of old -- an elite, two-way force.

22. New Jersey - Paul Stastny. The Devils love their two-way centers, and Paul Stastny has firmly planted himself in the upper echelon of that category in just his second NHL season.

23. Montreal - Martin Brodeur. Yes, he's 35, but the Habs have always valued goaltending (well, except for that dark December day), and have always valued players hailing from Quebec. There's also the fact that Brodeur is a lock for the Hall-of-Fame, is the reigning Vezina Trophy champion, recently set the NHL record for wins in a season and is chasing down virtually every netminding distinction in the NHL record books, including the all-time wins record held by ex-Hab Patrick Roy.

24. Minnesota - Anze Kopitar. The Wild have never really had a big-time center, but Kopitar is likely to develop into just that. While I don't think he has 120-point potential like Buccigross seems to, the Slovenian pivot nonetheless is not only an explosive offensive playmaker but can play the defensively responsible game Minnesota expects their forwards to.

25. Anaheim - Evgeni Nabokov. The Ducks have seen where defense and goaltending can take a team and while the better defensemen are taken, Nabokov, currently enjoying a breakout season for the Sharks, is still available.

26. Pittsburgh - Patrick Kane. Crosby and Malkin are sadly gone, but there's still effervescent young talent available in Patrick Kane. He might not be Crosby- or Malkin-caliber, but Kane is likely to develop into a 90-point player for the Pens.

27. San Jose - Pascal Leclaire. The Sharks have always been proud of their insanely deep goaltending pipeline, so picking up the best young goaltender available is the obvious choice. Leclaire has benefited from Hitchcock's defensive system in Columbus, but is undoubtedly an all-world talent and should make Team Canada as a third-stringer in 2010.

28. Ottawa - Rick Nash. Yes, Daniel Alfredsson is still available, but his age doesn't make him an optimal candidate to return to the Senators. Instead, Ottawa will gladly gobble up the Ontario-born Nash.

29. Dallas - Zach Parise. Modano is too old, so the Stars will pick up an up-and-coming American star in Zach Parise. He has the heart, skill and speed of Modano and can also be relied upon to pick up the slack defensively.

30. Detroit - Eric Staal. Well, the big three are all gone, so the Wings will be content to pick up the best young player still available. Staal is the kind of power center that a team can be built around and Detroit would jump at that chance.

Deadline Musings

2008-02-12T22:10:00.000-08:00

It's usually wise to avoid all things Hockeybuzz, but the rumormongering website's Sharks correspondent Ryan Garner brings up an interesting point in the wake of yesterday's pseudo-blockbuster deal (at least by this season's low standards) which saw Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore shipped to Ottawa in exchange for Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves. Garner's sentiment, in short: that should have been the Sharks.

Frankly, it's hard to disagree. Commodore is the physically imposing, Cup experience-touting blueliner missing from the Sharks lineup, while Stillman represents the speedy top flight left winger San Jose so desperately needs to play with Marleau. But with the ex-Canes off the market, Doug Wilson must now look elsewhere for a deadline addition. The potential candidates:

Brian Campbell, Buffalo - Let's face it. This isn't 1998 and Sandis Ozolinsh is not a legitimate power play quarterback. While the Sharks' man-advantage unit will always run through Joe Thornton, the lack of a potent offensive threat on the blueline who can also double as a competent defenseman has been glaring this season. Campbell can capably fill that void and, a veteran of the Eastern Conference Finals the last two seasons, has significant playoff experience.

Dan Boyle, Tampa Bay - Most of Campbell's descriptors apply to Boyle, but the Lightning defenseman also has the added attraction of being a right-hand shot, ideal for running a power play alongside Thornton. It's impossible to tell where Tampa Bay would be today had Boyle not been the victim of a freak accident during training camp, but they likely would be out of the Eastern Conference basement. Boyle also has a Stanley Cup ring.

Rob Blake, Los Angeles - It's unlikely he could be had for cheap from a division rival, and this certainly isn't the Blake of old, but the former Cup-winner with the Avalanche has just the mix of postseason experience, grit and puckhandling ability the Sharks crave on the back end.

Martin Straka, NY Rangers - With the Rangers being in the thick of things in the East, it's unlikely they'll deal a key cog of their top line, but Straka is an impending UFA. His veteran savvy and playmaking ability would mesh well with Marleau on San Jose's second line, but once again, he'll be tough to pry from the Rangers.

So there you have it. With two weeks left, the onus will be on DW to shake things up heading into the postseason despite the team's recent surge.

Sharks acquire Jody Shelley

2008-01-29T21:24:00.001-08:00

The price was low (6th round draft pick), but the acquisition of enforcer Jody Shelley from the Columbus Blue Jackets doesn't make much sense from a Sharks perspective, other than being able to match Anaheim goon-for-goon (as though we'll be able to match them in any other category with the return of Selanne). I don't envision Shelley being able to crack the Sharks' lineup at all, let alone on a consistent basis, and the odds will be even more against him once Ryane Clowe returns.

Still, he adds the thug element that has been missing in San Jose since the departure of Scott Parker. Speaking of the Sheriff, the only reason Parker was even brought onto the Sharks was due to Shelley's attack on then-Shark Brad Stuart in 03-04, likely the most poignant Shelley-related image in the minds of Sharks fans everywhere. Still, a somewhat intriguing move by Doug Wilson, especially considering Brad May, a player of comparable stature, was added to the Ducks lineup by Brian Burke during last season's trade deadline.

Meet your 2008 NHL Anti-All-Stars!

2008-01-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

With the NHL's annual midseason ~~corporate schmoozefest~~ All-Star Game set to occur at Phillips Arena in Atlanta this Saturday, it's time to compile the rosters for this season's version of the Anti-All-Star Game. I know, I know, with such effervescent talents as Jason Arnott and Manny Legace entertaining the fans in Atlanta and dozen or so households that bother to tune into the real All-Star Game, is it really necessary to conduct a similarly meaningless exhibition in Bizarro hockey world as well? Well, no, but it's still fun to have a laugh or two at the expense of the underachievers, useless pylons and general scrubs in the National Hockey League. So without further ado, here are your starting lineups for the 2008 Gatorade NHL Anti-All-Star Game powered by Budweiser and Honda.

Western Conference Starting Lineup
LW Tuomo Ruutu, Chicago Once considered the best player outside the NHL, Ruutu has been relegated to a checking role for a Blackhawks team starved for secondary scoring.
C Patrick Marleau, San Jose You've read the scathing articles, you've heard the incessant rumors and if you follow the Sharks, you've seen the shameful waste of talent. A big playoff run is the only thing that can save this season for the Sharks' disgraced captain.
RW Jonathan Cheechoo, San Jose 56 goal total two seasons ago looks more ridiculous each passing day.
D Brad Stuart, Los Angeles The new NHL hasn't been kind to Stuart, with the Kings being his fourth organization since the lockout and he's had no luck in Hollywood either, sporting an ugly -14 to go along with an underwhelming 13 points on the season.
D Sheldon Souray, Edmonton Kevin Lowe took fiscal irresponsibility to a new level with this free agent deal and he's paying for it in the literal and figurative senses as Souray continues to prove that his monster season last year was a mirage.
G Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary A Vezina winner two seasons ago, the Kipper is beginning to regain his form despite a sub-900 save percentage.

Eastern Conference Starting Lineup
LW Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Kevin Lowe never held a gun to Vanek's head when proferring the restricted free agent a ridiculously lucrative offer sheet this summer, and Vanek has promptly crumbled under the pressure of his contract, on pace to score a paltry five points per million earned.
C Patrik Elias, New Jersey It's been a disgraceful season for the former star. After having his captaincy stripped before the season, Elias has responded with a measly 25 points and a -5 rating through 43 games.
RW Michael Ryder, Montreal Canadiens forward scored nearly 70 goals in the last two seasons combined. This year, he's got 7.
D Tom Poti, Washington Washington dished out big bucks for the former Islander over the summer in the hopes that Poti would ignite the Caps' attack from the blueline. He has yet to score a goal in a Washington jersey.
D Bryan McCabe, Toronto From scoring on his own net in overtime against Buffalo to scoring at his worst pace in five years, McCabe has in many ways been the poster child for the woeful Maple Leafs this season.
G Ray Emery, Ottawa As if an ugly 2.83 goals-against average and sub-900 save percentage weren't enough, Emery has also been a cancer off the ice.

Western Conference Reserves
LW Chris Kunitz, Anaheim; C Michal Handzus, Los Angeles; LW Wojtek Wolski, Colorado; RW Owen Nolan, Calgary; LW Markus Naslund, Vancouver; C Sergei Fedorov, Columbus; C Gilbert Brule, Columbus; C Jarret Stoll, Edmonton; LW Raffi Torres, Edmonton; D Matt Carle, San Jose; D Alexei Semenov, San Jose; D Martin Skoula, Minnesota; D Steve Staios, Edmonton; G Dwayne Roloson, Edmonton; G J-S Aubin, Los Angeles

Eastern Conference Reserves
RW Maxim Afinogenov, Buffalo; LW Chris Simon, NY Islanders; RW Jaromir Jagr, NY Rangers; C Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh; C Dainius Zubrus, New Jersey; RW Glen Murray, Boston; RW Bill Guerin, NY Islanders; C Brad Richards, Tampa Bay; D Marek Malik, NY Rangers; D Alexei Zhitnik, Atlanta; G Kari Lehtonen, Atlanta; G Cam Ward, Carolina

Prediction: The West eke out a 10-9 victory on the strength of a 6-goal effort from Bryan McCabe, who is awarded a beleaguered 1981 Honda Accord as game MVP. However, the car is promptly revoked when the NHL realizes McCabe is actually a member of the Eastern Conference Anti-All-Stars.

Midseason awards

2007-12-31T08:16:00.000-08:00

With half the 2007-08 NHL season over, it's time to hand out first-half awards. In terms of statistical distinctions, Vincent Lecavalier is the first-half Art Ross Trophy champion, Ilya Kovalchuk is our half-year Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner and Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek share the William Jennings Trophy through half the season. Now, my picks for the more interesting trophies:

Hart Trophy -- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit. This season more than ever, the Hart Trophy is a decidedly difficult pick. Players that have been some of the brighter lights this season (Vincent Lecavalier, Ilya Kovalchuk) are tearing it up for teams out of playoff position, while the likes of Sidney Crosby and Jarome Iginla are playing well, albeit for clubs struggling to claw their way to eighth place. In such a scenario, the primary option is to choose the best player on the best team, and that's Lidstrom. The ageless wonder for the dominant, first-place Red Wings proved on a recent road stretch more than ever why he's so invaluable: despite injuries to key forwards Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom, the Wings continued to run up the score against solid opposition, largely thanks to Lidstrom. With a gorgeous +29 that leads all defensemen in the NHL, Lidstrom is on pace for an impressive 75 points along with his usual share of rock-solid defense. On a mesmerizing team loaded with stars, Lidstrom, at least through the first half of the season, has been the standout. Runners-up: Dany Heatley, Ottawa; Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit.

Vezina Trophy -- Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose. It's been 38 games, 38 starts for the Russian netminder. On a grossly underachieving Sharks team, Nabokov has, many nights, been the lone bright spot, bailing the team out with key saves and being an integral cog in the Sharks' second-ranked penalty kill. And with a fairly nondescript defense corps, it's Nabokov who deserves most of the credit for San Jose's 87 goals against, second least in the NHL. After a few years of sharing his crease with Vesa Toskala, Nabokov has thrived in the Finn's absence with play reminiscent of ex-Shark netminder Miikka Kiprusoff's Vezina season with the Flames two years ago. Runners-up: Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers; Roberto Luongo, Vancouver; Pascal Leclaire, Columbus.

Norris Trophy -- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit. After picking Lidstrom for the Hart Trophy, it's hard to justify giving the Norris to anyone else. For many of the same reasons I believe Nick to be the league MVP through the first half, he has also been the most outstanding defenseman, but not without competition. Sergei Zubov is enjoying a career rejuvenation with the overachieving Stars, while Chris Phillips has quietly been a big reason why Ottawa leads the Eastern Conference. Runners-up: Sergei Zubov, Dallas; Chris Phillips, Ottawa.

Lester B. Pearson Award -- Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta. While the Pearson tends to be misinterpreted as league MVP as voted on by the players, the actual criteria is the league's most outstanding player. And noone has been more outstanding than Ilya Kovalchuk. With 32 goals in 39 games, Kovalchuk is on pace to become the league's first 60-goal scorer since Mario Lemieux pulled it off eleven years ago. Runners-up: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay; Jarome Iginla, Calgary.

Selke Trophy -- Sami Pahlsson, Anaheim. As difficult as it is to quantify a good defensive forward, Pahlsson is easily the best in the game. He was robbed of a Selke (and arguably a Conn Smythe) last year, and after getting a close-up look at his play during the Sharks' recent three-game mini-series against the Ducks in which he kept Thornton completely off the scoresheet, I'm confident, at least through the season's first half, Pahlsson deserves the Selke this year. Runners-up: Patrick Sharp, Chicago; Mike Fisher, Ottawa.

Lady Byng Trophy -- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit. With just 18 penalty minutes on the season as a defenseman along with his usual role as ambassador for the game, Lidstrom, through one-half of the season, is the frontrunner for what has unfortunately come to be known as hockey's least desirable award. Runners-up: Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa; Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit.

Calder Trophy -- Patrick Kane, Chicago. It's quite likely that the influx of rookie talent in the NHL the last few years is unparalleled by any such advent of talent in league history. This year's rookie class is just as distinguished, headline by the deadly duo of rookies leading the resurgence in Chicago. Although Toews will likely be more of an impact player in the future, Kane has torn it up this season, scoring 36 points in 37 games, tops among rookies. While Kane has been the top rookie through the first half of the season, Toews, Atlanta's Tobias Enstrom, Washington's Nicklas Backstrom and Montreal's Carey Price have all staked their claims to the Calder Trophy as well, which sould make for an intriguing race down the stretch. Runners-up: Jonathan Toews, Chicago; Tobias Enstrom, Atlanta.

Jack Adams Award -- Mike Babcock, Detroit. After losing their entire second line along with defenseman Mathieu Schneider to free agency and beginning the season with an injury to goaltender Dominik Hasek, not many in the hockey world could have predicted that the Red Wings, halfway through the season, would have a stranglehold on the top spot in the West. While Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk certainly have been big parts of that, Mike Babcock is most deserving of the Jack Adams at this point of the season for his terrific work behind the bench in Detroit. Runners-up: Andy Murray, St. Louis; Claude Julien, Boston.

Sharks Gameday: Third Time's the Charm?

2007-12-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

I'm not too keen on game-day posts, but the Sharks' third and final matchup against the Anaheim Ducks in a week is shaping up to be the biggest of all on many different levels. The Sharks held a two-hour players-only meeting yesterday, no doubt to discuss the team's failures in the late stages of Thursday's debacle against Phoenix in which the Sharks gave up a tying goal with less than a minute to play on a shot by Shane Doan eerily reminiscent of the goal scored by former Red Wing Robert Lang last Spring to tie Game 4 in San Jose and turn the tide against the Sharks.

Earlier on in the season, many of the Sharks' defeats were due to the opposition lulling San Jose into a false sense of security, then pouncing for a goal or two and quickly tightening up the defense. While this method is still being employed against San Jose, as evidenced by the last meeting between the Ducks and Sharks Tuesday night, the Sharks now find themselves losing games in which they simply did not demonstrate a will to win, a trend that began two weeks ago against the Buffalo Sabres, continued last week against Dallas and recurred Thursday against the Coyotes. Simply wanting the victory isn't going to cut it against an upper echelon team like the Ducks, but it's certainly a good start.

But what the Sharks really need to beat this Anaheim team is production. Through four games this season against their Southern California rivals, the Sharks have potted a measly five goals (with one of them a shootout winner), a far cry from last season's total of eleven goals in their first four meetings against Anaheim. Their lack of secondary scoring has been their primary problem all season long, with Patrick Marleau turning invisible and Jonathan Cheechoo dogged by injuries, but uber-checker Sami Pahlsson has negated the Sharks' only overall form of putting the puck in the net: Joe Thornton. Tuesday night, at even strength alone, Pahlsson was on the ice for 11:30 of Thornton's 13:03 total 5-on-5 icetime. It is inexcusable that, despite having last change as the home team, Thornton spends that much time on the ice and that's decidedly a coaching problem. If Wilson can shield Thornton from Pahlsson's line and the recent line changes, which include a reuniting of the famed Michalek--Marleau--Bernier line, can finally create some secondary scoring, then I think the Sharks should have a good chance to win this one. If not, I think it's time for Ron and/or Doug Wilson to shake things up in order to inject some life back into this team before it's too late.

Photo: PJ Swenson, Sharkspage

Live-bloggin': Sharks @ Anaheim, 12/16

2007-12-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

So I'll be live-blogging tonight's game between the Sharks and Ducks, a contest mostly notable for Scott Niedermayer's 2006-07 debut. Doug Weight, whose acquisition from St. Louis in exchange for Andy McDonald on Friday was instrumental in freeing up tagging space for Niedermayer's return, is also slated to make his Ducks debut. The Sharks, meanwhile, are coming off a wildly entertaining, yet eventually dissapointing loss to Dallas, leaving them two points behind the Division-leading Stars, but with two games in hand. Almost every game between San Jose and Anaheim over the last year or so have had playoff-level atmosphere and with so many additional storylines in play tonight, this should really be a good one.

4:56 FSN Bay Area has opted to run "Best Damn Sports Show" re-runs in lieu of any form of pre-game show, so I suppose I'll share some insight before the game. Doug Wilson is indisputably one of the smartest general managers in the NHL, but the contract extension he handed Matt Carle last month is one he will likely live to regret. Carle has been spending the last week or so largely in the press box and when he does get into the action, like yesterday, he has been atrocious. Now sophomore slumps are far from uncommon, but Wilson's decision to extend Carle far before he even became an RFA seems questionable nonetheless. We'll see how the rest of the season plays out for him, but I believe this deal will shape up as one of the few low-lights in Wilson's managerial career.

5:03 Randy and Drew talk about the ridiculousness of the Ducks' defense. Mike Chen had a post earlier this week comparing the Ducks' top three of Chris Pronger, Niedermayer and Mathieu Schneider to the Avs defense of yore, which boasted Ray Bourque, Rob Blake and Adam Foote and that's certainly a fair comparison, but in my opinion, Anaheim's blueline is superior, especially when factoring in Francois Beauchemin and underrated stay-at-homer Sean O'Donnell. We'll get a first-ever look at this unit tonight. I'd assume Randy Carlyle would re-unite Beauchemin with Niedermayer, and allow Pronger a more stay-at-home role if paired with Schneider, but we'll see.

5:08 Nabokov will be making his 32nd straight start. 50 more to go, Nabby!

5:09 Apparently Ron Wilson reads this blog as Carle is a healthy scratch.

5:10 Nabokov's play with the puck early has been precarious. The Sharks are lucky Nabby's turnover to Corey Perry didn't result in something more significant.

5:13 Whereas the Sharks started with tremendous intensity and reckless abandon last game, it's been dump-and-chase hockey thus far in this one.

5:14 Alert the media! George Parros has shaved the mullet! I repeat, Parros is sans mullet! The stash is apparently still there, however.

5:15 Mathieu Schneider apparently still thinks he's in Detroit, attempting to play caroms off the board every other shift.

5:21 Goc has been looking far more like a former first-rounder in the last few games, centering a line with Patrick Marleau and Steve Bernier.

5:22 The most penalized team in the NHL will be heading back to the penalty box and the Sharks get their first power play of the night.

5:23 Michalek slashes Chris Pronger and that's the end of that man advantage.

5:27 Shane Hnidy gets owned by Rob Davison.

5:29 After the Sharks get a slew of chances in close on Giguere, Weight throws it to Bobby Ryan and it's 1-0 Anaheim.

5:30 Randy Hahn isn't having one of his better games at the booth. After referring to a Sharks' 4-on-4 chance as shorthanded and calling Steve Bernier Sandis Ozolinsh, Hahn used "A Ryane Clowe goal puts the Ducks up 1-0" as a segway into a commerical break.

5:32 These wireless poll questions are getting tiring. Tonight's asks a Sharks fan-dominated audience who will win the Pacific.

5:33 Sharks get their second power-play of the night with a great chance to tie the game.

5:36 A failure to get to the front of the net (or "penetrate the box" as Remenda puts it) renders the Sharks largely listless, but it looks like they'll get another chance with Corey Perry headed to the box.

5:38 Well, this is bullshit. Perry punches McLaren on the Sharks bench and somehow Sandis Ozolinsh ends up with the penalty. Insane.

5:41 Michalek is tripped up on a breakaway and is awarded a penalty shot.

5:42 A pathetic excuse for a penalty shot attempt by Michalek is stopped by Giguere but the Sharks will get their fourth power play of the period on a subsequent play.

5:44 The bulk of the man-advantage time, however, will come in the second period as the first period ends with the Ducks holding a 1-0 lead. The Sharks didn't show much semblance of the urgency that was their MO against Dallas, but they limited the Ducks to very few scoring chances.

6:02 Second period about to get underway and the Sharks will start with about 1:51 of power play time. This would be an opportune moment for the Sharks to get on the board.

6:05 Another horrible power play that generates far more chances for Anaheim than San Jose.

6:07 Ducks showing terrific jump in the second period and have dominated San Jose. The Sharks need to start getting bodies to the net rather than the incessant dump-in strategy RW seems to be employing.

6:09 Michalek takes a high-sticking penalty and the Ducks' power play is back on the ice.

6:11 SCOOOOOOREEEEE!!! Torrey Mitchell with a beautiful highlight-reel goal. Mitchell is shaping up to be a Duck-killer with three goals in three career games against Anaheim, this one coming shorthanded. It's 1-1.

6:12 Bertuzzi gets called for holding to neutralize the remainder of the Ducks' power play.

6:15 Sharks' power play has looked even more futile than usual tonight, but it looks like they'll get a brief 5-on-3 here.

6:20 The Sharks had their chances, but came up empty on the double minor to Marchant.

6:22 For not having played for the Ducks before tonight, Doug Weight is developing tremendous chemistry with Bobby Ryan and Todd Bertuzzi.

6:33 Kyle McLaren and Corey Perry, who have been going at it all night, threaten to drop the gloves, with Travis Moen coming in for Anaheim and Evgeni Nabokov inexplicably throwing a punch or two at Perry. Suffice to say, things are starting to heat up.

6:37 Sharks end up with a power play after all that, which will carry over to the third period. Overall, a solid second period for San Jose, although they weren't able to generate many more chances than the Mitchell goal. It stays 1-1 heading into the third.

6:55 Sharks get a Craig Rivet shot to the net early on the power play but are having more setup trouble.

7:00 The Sharks have certainly shown more jump in the third period, but it's been fruitless so far.

7:06 Bernier with a near-breakaway, but the Sharks forward opts to curl back at the blueline rather inexplicably.

7:13 Scott Niedermayer will take a trip to the penalty box after hooking Milan Michalek and the Sharks' listless power play will take the ice for a sixth time.

7:16 A much better looking power play yields solid chances by Milan Michalek and Joe Pavelski.

7:19 What was arguably the best Sharks power play of the night ended without a goal, but it looks like they'll be going back on the man advantage.

7:22 Apparently it's the Ducks who will be going on the power play, but their man advantage has been equally fruitless tonight.

7:28 For the third consecutive Sharks-Ducks contest, we'll go to overtime as Nabokov overturned a flurry of Ducks chances late in regulation. The Sharks looked to have some momentum generating directly preceding that final push by Anaheim, but this is decidedly a poor outcome for the Sharks, who, with the exception of a shootout win in Dallas earlier this season, have been futile in games that go to the extra period.

7:31 Both teams with great chances early in overtime, but both goalies have stood strong thus far.

7:36 Horrible play by the Sharks late in overtime and they'll like be punished with a shootout loss. If I'm Ron Wilson, I go completely off the charts with something like Rob Davison, Torrey Mitchell and Steve Bernier. The usual fare of Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek et al has not even remotely cut it this season. We'll see what RW does.

7:40 Todd Bertuzzi will shoot first for Anaheim. A beastly backhand puts the Ducks up 1-0 in the shootout.

7:41 Torrey Mitchell fails to respond for the Sharks and the Ducks have a chance to take a stranglehold on this shootout.

7:42 Doug Weight is stoned by Evgeni Nabokov and it stays 1-0.

7:43 JoePa goes five-hole and it's 1-1.

7:43 Ryan Getzlaf hits the post and the Sharks can win on a goal by Setoguchi.

7:43 Giguere makes the save to prolong the shootout.

7:44 Corey Perry with a great goal cutting wide initially and the Ducks take a 2-1 lead.

7:44 MARLEAU! And the Sharks tie the shootout 2-2.

7:45 Bobby Ryan's shot goes a country mile wide.

7:45 Rissmiller stopped on his first career shootout attempt.

7:45 Chris Kunitz shoots the puck wide once again.

7:46 BIG JOE!!!! And the Sharks win a game that they performed rather underwhelmingly in. Definitely a huge win for the Sharks. It pulls them back into a tie with Dallas for the division lead with the chance to build a lead upon the Stars when the Ducks visit San Jose on Tuesday. It certainly wasn't an all-around great effort, but the Sharks got it done and win just their second shootout of the season.

When is less more?

2007-11-17T07:47:00.000-08:00

In case you weren't aware, scoring is down in the NHL for a second straight season.

Both the blogosphere and MSM outlets alike are abuzz with apocalyptic predictions in response to a recent press release from the league citing a decline in goal-scoring. Suggestions to rectify this ostensibly grave threat to hockey as we know it have ranged from a reversion to wooden sticks to the advent of larger nets to a seeding system rewarding offensive teams.

But precious few have espoused the idea that lower-scoring games aren't necessarily a bad thing. Sure, nobody wants to see a league littered with impersonations of the New Jersey Devils circa 1995 but, at the same time, a grind-it-out chess match can sometimes be as thrilling, if not more so, than a 6-5 shootout.

Of course, this viewpoint is largely based on rudimentary analysis combined with my own conjecture -- there is no statistical way to gauge the decidedly subjective "excitement level" of a particular hockey game. But take, for example, Game 2 of last year's Stanley Cup Finals between Ottawa and Anaheim. Easily one of the more exciting games I've seen, yet the contest's final score was 1-0. This once again brings us back to the argument that scoring chances and the overall flow to a particular game are more integral facets of a game's excitement than the amount of pucks that cross the goal line.

So while Gary Bettman may be convinced that the only way for the league to make an impact in the American television market is to increase scoring, a sentiment apparently shared by many in the hockey world in light of the myriad complaints and suggestions stemming from the aforementioned press release, it's really the level of fluidity present in the product that establishes a hockey game as exciting. For the most part, and once again this is just my observation, games continue to maintain some semblance of flow.

However, I'm far from optimistic as the growing predominance of zone defense in the league is, as Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff put it, "killing the game." Many individuals in the hockey media are beginning to describe the play this season as similar to the pre-lockout days, and that's at least somewhat true. But aggregate goals scored is not that accurate of a measuring stick to determine the decline in excitement of the game, as evident in the fact that lower-scoring contests can sometimes be as enthralling as their scoreboard-friendly counterparts.

Brett Hull to replace Armstrong as Stars GM

2007-11-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

Brett Hull, scorer of the biggest (and most controversial) goal in Dallas Stars history, along with some dude named Les Jackson, were named Interim Co-General Managers of the Stars earlier today in the wake of Doug Armstrong's dismissal as Dallas GM. Yeah, a 7-7-2 start is nothing to write home about, but I don't think anyone expected this year's Stars to be any more than a bubble team. This roster certainly doesn't hold a candle to the Dallas teams of yore, which consisted of guys like Hull, Joe Nieuwendyk, Jason Arnott and Bill Guerin.

Obviously, Armstrong and his scouting staff haven't exactly been magicians at the draft table. Since 2002 when Armstrong ascended the helm, Dallas' first-round selections have been Martin Vagner, Mark Fistric, Matt Niskanen and Ivan Vishnevskiy, a groupfrom which only Niskanen has played in the NHL. And it's true that much of the Stars' success during Armstrong's tenure can be attributed to former GM Bob Gainey. But it's still fairly puzzling that a GM who has overseen two division titles during his tenure is fired with the season underway. Yes, the team hasn't won a playoff series in over four years, but if that's the purpose of this firing, you'd think the Stars would have pulled the plug following Dallas' first-round defeat at the hands of the Canucks last April. And, yes, Armstrong was dormant during the off-season, but Stars president stated in a Summer press release that the decision not to make any big-ticket signings was intentional, so that can't be the reason.

Regardless, the Brett Hull era begins tomorrow night in Dallas and the Sharks will be there attempting to build on the momentum generated from their 5-0 drubbing of the Coyotes at home Monday night.

Four Sharks on All-Star Ballot

2007-11-06T21:53:00.000-08:00

The NHL today released a list of players on the 2007-08 NHL All-Star Fan Ballot, a process which will commence November 13th and allow fans to electronically select starting lineups for both the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star squads from both the 104-man released ballot and a pool of write-in candidates.

The Sharks were well-represented on the Ballot, with Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo and Evgeni Nabokov all eligible to be selected for the All-Star Game starting lineup, a season after Thornton, Marleau and Cheechoo played in the game, with Thornton and Cheechoo being voted onto the starting lineup.

As things stand now, I would pick Rick Nash, Henrik Zetterberg, Jarome Iginla, Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Zubov and Pascal Leclaire in the West, with Ilya Kovalchuk, Sidney Crosby, Daniel Alfredsson, Andrei Markov, Brian Campbell and Henrik Lundqvist out East.

Sharks 3, Kings 1

2007-11-03T21:54:00.001-07:00

Maddeningly inconsistent as of late, the Sharks were finally able to pull together a 60-minute effort, defeating the Los Angeles Kings in the second game of a home-and-home against LA, after dropping game one 5-2 at home. The Sharks are once again establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with on the road. Their six wins away from San Jose are tied with the Red Wings for the league lead. However, their pattern of turning in lackluster efforts at the Tank seems to have carried on from last season as well, as their lone home win is matched in futility only by the Thrashers, Canucks and Coyotes.

Still, the Sharks have reclaimed the Pacific Division lead after briefly relinquishing it to the Kings following Friday night's loss. However, with a measly three points separating the Sharks from the fifth-place Coyotes, the month of November, in which San Jose will play 11 games against divisional opponents, may be the defining portion of the season for the entire Pacific.

As for Saturday night's win, a strong shift late in the third period by the struggling Jonathan Cheechoo, in which the Sharks forward blocked an Alexander Frolov shot, then advanced the puck up ice before one-timing a pass from Joe Thornton capped a solid 3-1 victory over San Jose's rivals to the south. Jeremy Roenick was also able to stick one to his former team, netting his 499th career goal in the second period, which proved to be the game-winner. Speaking of players exacting revenge on their ex-teams, former Shark Brad Stuart scored the lone Los Angeles goal, which tied the game in the first after Joe Pavelski gave San Jose a 1-0 lead with his power-play goal.

It's official: Sharks sign Ozolinsh

2007-11-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

We all knew it was coming. Ever since Doug Wilson signed defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh (whose play can most flatteringly be described as "high-event") to a tryout contract in the preseason, it was apparent that the former Shark would inevitably make a return in teal.

It appears the inevitable has become reality, as the San Jose Sharks are reporting that Ozolinsh has signed a one-year contract with the team. Terms were not disclosed, but it's doubtful the salary is anywhere above league-minimum. This move, much like the Roenick signing, would be completely out of left field if not for the fact that we've known about the tryout contract for a while now. Douglas Murray and Rob Davison have been doing a fine job tying up the sixth defensive spot and in terms of offense from defense, the Sharks lead the league in that category a week ago.

While Matt Carle is enduring somewhat of a slump offensively, at least compared to his magnificent start last season, there really is no need (or room, for that matter) for Ozolinsh on this roster, but according to David Pollak, Ron Wilson is on record saying that the Latvian blueliner will start tonight against the Kings.

Setoguchi, Kaspar to debut against Stars

2007-10-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

With Ryane Clowe and Rob Davison on injured reserve, two former San Jose first-round picks, Devin Setoguchi (8th overall in 2005) and Lukas Kaspar (22nd overall in 2004), will make their NHL debuts Monday night, when Dallas hosts the Sharks, reports David Pollak.

Setoguchi finished third in NHL preseason goal scoring, compiling five goals and seven points in six preseason games for the Sharks, but a leg injury prevented him from starting the season on the active roster, allowing him to rehabilitate in the AHL. In six preseason games, Kaspar regsitered four assists, good for second on the team, and eleven shots on goal. In 160 career games for the Worcester franchise, Kaspar has scored 27 goals and 51 assists for 78 points. Setoguchi has been held off the scoresheet in three games for Worcester this season, but in 255 career WHL games for Saskatoon and Prince George, has scored 118 goals and 125 assists for 243 points, along with 19 goals and 14 assists in 29 playoff games.

But enough statistics. Setoguchi and Kaspar are obviously being counted on to jump start what has been a tepid offense the last two games for the Sharks, with Kaspar likely to flank Patrick Marleau and Steve Bernier on the team's second line and Setoguchi to play right wing on the third line with Patrick Rissmiller and the team's other rookie, Torrey Mitchell. While Kaspar's offensive statistics are fairly underwhelming for a first-round draft pick, he has developed into an all-rounded two-way player in the AHL and will likely be counted on to bring speed and defensive conscience to Marleau's line and, with Mike Grier continuing to nurse a groin injury, may see some time on the penalty kill. Setoguchi developed considerable chemistry playing with Mitchell in the preseason and having the speedy center as his pivot once again should help Setoguchi adjust to the NHL.

Blue Jackets 2, Sharks 1

2007-10-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

It has gotten to the point where "It's early" is no longer a palatable excuse.

The Sharks have suffered a weekend from hell with losses to Detroit and, earlier today, the Blue Jackets. The consecutive losses mark the Sharks' first losing streak of the season and serve to further underscore how dissapointing this young season has been, with San Jose having compiled a mediocre 5-5-1 record through 11 games. Perhaps most embarassing is the fact that the Sharks hit the net just 28 times in their back-to-back defeats.

To give credit where credit is due, however, the Blue Jackets definitely look like a team on the upswing with a legitimate chance to qualify for their first ever postseason berth. They have thoroughly bought in to Ken Hitchcock's conservative system and Rick Nash looks more like a superstar now than he did when he lead the league in goals during the 03-04 campaign.

Of course, that isn't to make excuses for the Sharks' lackluster play against Columbus. The supposedly high-powered offense is teetering precariously on the brink of anemic, with Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo continuing to make as much of an impact on the scoresheet as Ron Wilson. And speaking of Wilson, the Sharks coach's constant shuffling of lines, as noted in a previous entry, seems to be compounding the Sharks' problems. With Dallas and Los Angeles winning tonight, the Sharks fall to third in the Pacific Division, well out of playoff positioning and Monday's tilt against the Stars has become as close to a must-win as it gets in October. Evgeni Nabokov, who had another excellent game against the Jackets, highlighted by a larcenous stop on David Vyborny, has been the team's lone bright spot and the reason the embarassing losses to Detroit and Columbus weren't downright humilating.

It's true that we have yet to approach Halloween, but with the Sharks' season quickly coming off the tracks, it's safe to say that it can no longer be considered "early."

Red Wings 5, Sharks 1

2007-10-27T07:49:00.001-07:00

Ouch.

The Sharks were utterly dominated last night, there really is no other way to put it. Alexei Semenov's late goal salvaged the shutout, but for all intents and purposes, this loss was every bit as bad as last December's 8-0 drubbing at the hands of the Coyotes, which has now become the gold standard for Sharks futility.

It's true that, due to flight delay, the team hadn't taken the ice in four days, but even exiting from a decade-long hibernation would have been no excuse for the effort (or, more accurately, lack thereof) the Sharks put up last night. They were thoroughly obliterated by a team that just seemed to want the win more. Ron Wilson can shuffle the lines as much as he damn pleases, but I honestly don't think it's going to change a thing. Simply slapping players on different units not only fails to combat the team's primary problem, the lack of a will to win, but it may actually be counterproductive as, through ten games, no one has been able to generate any semblance of chemistry with anyone else.

I hate to jump on the anti-Marleau bandwagon, but the Sharks captain, with four points and a +0, has been invisible through ten games. Of course, as explained above, San Jose's problem is not one that is limited to a single player. In fact, it's a miracle the team has five wins and the division lead (the latter of which can likely be attributed to Anaheim's endless string of injuries and Dallas' inability to score) because no one on that roster has put up a consistent effort.

Of course, to say this is solely an emotional problem would be quite shallow. The offense was incapable last night, and have been too many nights already in this young season, of sustaining a forecheck and generated fewer than five legitimate scoring chances, meaning they really had no chance to win this game no matter who was in net for the Red Wings. The defense has been far better than any of us could have predicted, but gaffes by forwards on the backcheck (Steve Bernier a culprit last night on the Andreas Lilja goal) have made our blueline look bad as well. Overall, too many questions, too few answers for the Sharks, and as Wilson said after the game, perhaps the most difficult challenge will be to put this game behind them and prepare for this afternoon's affair with the Blue Jackets.

Sharks 2, Blackhawks 1

2007-10-10T20:00:00.001-07:00

Chicago rookie Jonathan Toews scored his first career goal on his first career shot in his first career game, but that didn't prevent the San Jose Sharks from dominating on the shot clock and turning in one of their more complete performances of the young season.

Milan Michalek potted two power play goals, the second of which he tipped past Nikolai Khabibulin with just 3:31 remaining in regulation time to give the Sharks a 2-1 win over the youthful Hawks. Definitely a far better all-around performance from the Sharks than their 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Avalanche Sunday, but the Sharks are in dire need of getting more traffic to the front of the net, which they finally accomplished on Michalek's game-winning goal.

Joe Thornton seemed to be laboring somewhat in this game, but no word of an injury whatsoever. He's gotten off to a bit of a slow start by his lofty standards, with two goals and an assist through four games but there's no doubt he'll rebound. One facet of his game that he's improved tremendously however is faceoffs at 73.9%.

Three Stars:
1. Milan Michalek: 2G
2. Jonathan Toews: 1G, +1
3. Craig Rivet: 2A, 22:56TOI

Sharks split up top line

2007-10-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well that didn't last long.

The experiment of placing Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau on an uber-stacked top line has officially been put on hold, as Ron Wilson is now utilizing the intriguing combination of Ryane Clowe, Thornton and Cheechoo on the team's No. 1 unit, with Marleau centering Milan Michalek and Steve Bernier for a familiar trio that dominated in the 2006 playoffs.

While splitting up the three is definitely part of the answer to the Sharks' problems in Denver Sunday night, the placement of Clowe alongside Thornton and Cheechoo doesn't make too much sense to me. While Clowe has tons of skill and is big and physical, it has been proven time and time again that a fast left winger works best with the Sharks' dynamic duo. That line needs a natural left wing (i.e., not Marleau) who can open up space for Thornton and Cheechoo. Michalek is obviously custom made for this role, but Wilson, for whatever reason, has yet to play the Czech forward on the big line.

Now Clowe could still be a palatable option if he uses his size to clear room for Thornton and Cheechoo to work their magic, and the trio was actually reasonably effective for a brief stretch last February following an injury to Marleau. According to the afore-linked Working the Corners blog, Joe Pavelski centered Torrey Mitchell and Mike Grier on the third line, while Jeremy Roenick was inexplicably placed at left wing on the fourth line alongside Marcel Goc and Curtis Brown, presumably making Pat Rissmiller the odd man out when the Sharks face Chicago tomorrow. Honestly, the early stage of the season is partially about trying different combinations, seeing what works and finding chemistry. And for that very reason, I would be much obliged if Wilson fulfilled my pipe dream by putting Mitchell on the second line with Marleau and Michalek, instantly giving the Sharks the fastest line in the NHL. Pretty please?

Avalanche 6, Sharks 2

2007-10-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

As Sharks commentator Randy Hahn astutely noted on the telecast, not since the Coyotes drubbed the Sharks 8-0 last December has a Sharks loss been this embarassing. San Jose was able to use that rout as motivation to turn their season around, and it paid off in a big way last year as the team posted a great record down the stretch. Hopefully they can put the same positive spin on this 6-2 loss to the Avs.

There's definitely not much I liked about the Sharks this game. Their power play was atrocious as the team simply refused to shoot the puck with the man advantage. The defense persistently turned the puck over, with Craig Rivet in particular having a lackluster game on the back end. Up front, the Clowe--Pavelski--Bernier unit was the only Sharks line with any semblance of offensive pressure, an issue Ron Wilson certainly seemed to notice when he swapped Jonathan Cheechoo with Torrey Mitchell on the top line.

Everyone knew it would be a tough road stretch to open the season for the Sharks, but for a team many have pegged to win the Stanley Cup, they sure haven't been dealing with adversity very well. They'll have a bit of a break after playing three games in three different states in two different countries in four nights, with their next contest Wednesday against the Blackhawks, which should help the team focus. Wednesday also marks the first day training camp tryout Sandis Ozolinsh will be eligible for signing. The offensive-minded defenseman traveled with the Sharks to Denver and with the recent power-play issues, it's entirely plausible that Doug Wilson inks him to a bare-bones contract similar to the one Jeremy Roenick signed in September.

Overall, a brutal game for the Sharks, but kudos to the Avs who can more than mask their mediocre goaltending and defense with contributions like this from Paul Stastny, who is quickly making a case to be considered alongside Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin as the league's next breed of stars. Hopefully, the Sharks can learn from this early-season experience that talent doesn't immediately translate into wins and play a more well-rounded game from here on out.

Three Stars:
1. Paul Stastny: 1G, 4A, +3
2. Milan Hejduk: 2G, 1A, +3
3. Ryan Smyth: 1G, 1A, +3

Week 1: NHL Power Rankings

2007-10-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

Unless I get lazy, I'll try and post power rankings of the 30 teams each Sunday. This week's rankings are obviously a bit premature, but I've ranked the teams weighing their record and strength of opposition and have presented who, in my opinion, has been the team's MVP thus far.

1. Nashville -- So what if Paul Kariya, Peter Forsberg, Tomas Vokoun, Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell are gone, Steve Sullivan and Shea Weber are injured and the very status of the Predators' formerly-completed sale is in question? The Preds haven't missed a beat, outscoring Colorado and Dallas 9-1 and going 2-0 in their first two contests. MVP: Chris Mason

2. Ottawa -- Averaging upwards of 24 minutes a game, captain Daniel Alfredsson has been downright beastly, scoring four goals in the team's first three contests, the latest a convincing 2-0 win over the Rangers on Saturday. MVP: Alfredsson

3. NY Islanders -- Many in the hockey blogosphere, including this blogger, mocked the Islanders for replacing their top line of Ryan Smyth, Jason Blake and Alexei Yashin with Ruslan Fedotenko, Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin. Well, look who's laughing now: The trio has combined for five goals and eleven assists as the Isles swept Buffalo in their season-opening home-and-home series for a 2-0 record. MVP: Comrie

4. Washington -- Very convincing wins over Carolina and Atlanta, the Caps are showing many why they will contend for a division title this season. Also, Alex Ovechkin will be the fastest player to hit 100 career goals since Eric Lindros if he scores in the next 15 games. MVP: Ovechkin

5. Tampa Bay -- For some reason, Vaclav Prospal has alternated between mediocre seasons and awesome campaigns for the last five years or so. Coming off a dissapointing year, Prospal has three goals and four points in two games as Tampa Bay has gone 2-0 with wins over New Jersey and Atlanta. MVP: Martin St. Louis

6. Edmonton -- 5-3 victory over Philadelphia almost as impressive as shootout win against Sharks. With a speedy, youthful forward corps and an underrated defense, the Oilers might surprise people this year. MVP: Ales Hemsky

7. San Jose -- Shootout loss to Oilers was ugly, but once the Sharks got their legs under them, they were able to steamroll the Canucks in Game 2. MVP: Joe Thornton

8. Minnesota -- Yeah, they've got four points, but a pair of one-goal wins against Chicago and Columbus are nothing to write home about. MVP: Brian Rolston

9. Montreal -- Choked on a third-period lead against the Leafs, then couldn't capitalize on two OT power plays before losing on a man-advantage goal against. Still, they're 2nd in their division. MVP: Saku Koivu

10. Detroit -- Did they really blow a three-goal lead against the Havlat-less Blackhawks? Their shootout win over Anaheim is also looking less impressive by the day as the Ducks stumble. MVP: Henrik Zetterberg

11. Toronto -- Pushed Senators to OT in opener, then lost by only one in Game 2 before OT win against Habs. MVP: Mats Sundin

12. Chicago -- Despite Havlat injury, defeated Wings in shootout. MVP: Nikolai Khabibulin

13. Columbus -- 4-0 win over Anaheim doesn't look as good anymore, but still impressive. Didn't look bad in 3-2 loss to Minny. MVP: Rick Nash

14. NY Rangers -- Yeah, they lost to Ottawa, but Chris Drury sure looked good against Florida and a team with this much skill can't stay down for long. MVP: Chris Drury

15. New Jersey -- Didn't look bad in loss to Tampa and blew Panthers out of the water. MVP: John Madden

16. Philadelphia -- Nice win over Calgary to start the season, but a poor showing against the Oilers. MVP: Daniel Briere

17. Vancouver -- Were terrible for the most part against San Jose, but found a way to win in Calgary. MVP: Daniel Sedin

18. Pittsburgh -- Pens looked listless against Carolina, and looked porous defensively despite a win over the Ducks. And where is Sidney Crosby? MVP: Petr Sykora

19. Colorado -- 4-0 loss to Nashville drags down the Avs, but an OK showing against Dallas to start the season. MVP: Paul Stastny

20. St. Louis -- Showed resiliency against the Kings, but loss to Coyotes really drags this team down. MVP: Erik Johnson

21. Carolina -- 4-1 win over Pittsburgh nothing to scoff at, but the Canes looked bad against Montreal and worse versus Washington. MVP: Eric Staal

22. Boston -- Yeah, they won a game, but it was against Phoenix and they looked terrible against the Stars. MVP: Marco Sturm

23. Phoenix -- This is the last time this team will be .500 this season. I guarantee it. MVP: Shane Doan

24. Anaheim -- Oh, how the mighty have fallen. 4-0 loss to Columbus -- are you kidding? MVP: Corey Perry

25. Los Angeles -- Started season with impressive win over Ducks that doesn't look so impressive now, followed by a bad loss to Anaheim which looks even worse now and finally a blown lead against St. Louis which looks bad no matter how you look at it. MVP: Anze Kopitar

26. Dallas -- One win in three games, and that was against the Bruins. MVP: Philippe Boucher

27. Calgary -- Only team in West without a win. MVP: Daymond Langkow

28. Buffalo -- They could have really used Drury and Briere in two-game sweep at hands of the Islanders. MVP: Jaroslav Spacek

29. Atlanta -- Showed little pulse in losses to Washington and Tampa. MVP: Marian Hossa

30. Florida -- A preseason darling, Panthers have been listless thus far. MVP: Nobody

Sharks 3, Canucks 1

2007-10-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

Now that's more like it.

Jeremy Roenick took a quantum leap toward No. 500, scoring twice as the Sharks exorcised any demons that lingered from the team's shootout loss to the Oilers the night before.

Stifling defensive play, exceptional goaltending from Nabokov and keenly capitalizing on their chances lead San Jose to a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks, placing the Sharks (albeit prematurely) first in the Western Conference. There's still room for improvement, however, as the team's power play -- its strong suit for much of last season -- looked poor, going 0-for-7, although Roenick's first goal was less than a second after a four-minute man advantage. San Jose could also be accused of taking the foot off the gas early in the 3rd period.

Torrey Mitchell registered his first NHL point on that Roenick tally, and has easily been one of the team's best forwards through two games, even with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau playing excellent hockey. Douglas Murray has also cemented himself as the team's 6th defenseman. After displaying his physicality during a fight with Raffi Torres in Edmonton, Murray registered a career-high two assists against the Canucks, along with his patented brand of gritty play.

Looking towards Sunday's contest against Colorado, the Sharks will probably looking for Jonathan Cheechoo, who has so far been the weak link of the team's phenomenal top line, to contribute a little more on the scoresheet. Milan Michalek's production should also improve if his linemates Mitchell and Roenick continue to make an impact.

Three Stars:
1. Jeremy Roenick: 2G, 0A, +1
2. Evgeni Nabokov: 22S, 1GA
3. Douglas Murray: 0G, 2A, +3, 20:20TOI

2007-08 NHL SeasonWestern Conference Predictions

2007-09-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

With the 2007-08 season finally upon us, it's time for predictions where I'll attempt to use my unprecedented sense of foresight to prognosticate what the regular season standings should look like next April. I ask that you don't hold me to any of these predictions, but gloating following the upcoming campaign is certainly welcome if your team proves me wrong. Without further ado, my Western Conference predictions:

1. Detroit* -- The Red Wings are arguably incrementally worse than the team that a season ago won the Western Conference regular-season title and went on to advance to the conference finals. They've lost the decidedly lazy, yet somewhat productive trio of Robert Lang, Todd Bertuzzi and Kyle Calder to free agency, a group that comprised the club's second line for the latter half of the season and through much of the playoffs. On defense, Mathieu Schneider and Danny Markov have been replaced with Brian Rafalski and Brent Sopel, which I'll call a wash. However, what's far more significant regarding my ranking of the Wings as the No. 1 team in the West is the rest of the Central Division. The Nashville Predators, Detroit's only serious competitor for the division title since the lockout, has been ravaged this off-season, leaving Detroit as far and away the class of the Central, which is populated by rebuilding teams in St. Louis, Chicago and Columbus. And despite the losses on offense, Detroit still boasts two of the best rising forwards in the NHL in Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, and has valuable youth in the likes of Valterri Filpulla and Igor Grigorenko ready to step in. It's impossible to write about Detroit without mentioning five-time Norris Trophy winner and arguably the Wings' regular-season and playoff MVP last year, Nicklas Lidstrom, who has proven he can carry a mediocre team in a competetive field on his back. This time around, he'll be asked to help carry a great team with the assistance of Zetterberg, Datsyuk and the ageless Dominik Hasek against a poor division. The Red Wings have a track record of not losing the easy games, and they'll have at least 32 of those this coming season.

2. San Jose* -- The majority of hockey pundits, following the Sharks' second straight semifinals flameout last May, cited the Sharks' defense as a prime reason why for their elimination. While San Jose certainly wouldn't mind adding a puck-mover on the backend, it was mental toughness that did them in last postseason, not an inept defense. In fact, the team ranked 5th in the NHL last year in defense and while credit is certainly due to Evgeni Nabokov, who will have the comfort of receiving the majority of the starts this year with Vesa Toskala shipped to Toronto, Ron Wilson's system, which encourages defense by committee, was a large factor as well. Of course, this team is built around its offense. Specifically, the Sharks' luxury of boasting two top-notch centers on their roster in former Hart Trophy winner Joe Thornton and two-time All-Star Patrick Marleau. If Jonathan Cheechoo can rebound from an off year, Milan Michalek can continue to blossom into a lethal two-way threat and the team's seemingly endless string of young forwards like Steve Bernier, Ryane Clowe and Joe Pavelski can continue to develop, San Jose will once again be one of the most high-flying offensive squads in the West. Combine that prolific offense with a solid, if unspectacular defense corps capable of playing Coach Wilson's system to perfection and an elite starting goaltender in Nabokov with the losses endured this off-season by defending Stanley Cup and Pacific Division champions Anaheim and you've got a recipe for the Sharks franchise's third division title.

3. Anaheim -- Let's face the facts. Scott Niedermayer, even if he didn't exactly deserve that Conn Smythe Trophy, was undoubtedly one of the best defensemen in the league last year and is a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer who will be credited with revolutionizing the defense position. Teemu Selanne, even if he wasn't the same force in the playoffs that he was all regular-season long, holds the NHL record for most goals in a rookie season and most goals in a season by a player 35 years or older, the second of which was set last year, phenomenal bookends to what should also be a Hall-of-Fame career. Even though neither player has officially declared his retirement, Niedermayer has been suspended by the Ducks, giving him time to mull it over and Selanne, an unrestricted free agent, remains unsigned. Thus, the Stanley Cup champions enter the season with a significantly different roster, especially when one factors in the loss of Dustin Penner to the Edmonton Oilers via RFA poaching. Beyond the obvious result of Selanne and Niedermayer's absences -- that they won't be there -- three Ducks are likely to be particularly affected. Chris Kunitz and Andy McDonald were unspectacular players in checking-line roles before Selanne came along, resulting in their blossoming into bona fide NHL scoring threats. While the new NHL was definitely a factor in their breakouts, you have to wonder how effective they'll be without the Finnish Flash. Defenseman Francois Beauchemin was a seventh defenseman on Columbus before being sent to Anaheim in the Sergei Fedorov trade, where he has perfected his craft as a quiet, minute-munching blueliner alongside Niedermayer. Without his right-hand man, will Beauchemin be as effective? Questions abound in Disneyland this season, without too many answers. So you're probably wondering why I picked this team to finish as high as I did. Despite the losses of Selanne and Niedermayer, several pieces from the Ducks' Cup run are still in place, the most important being superstar defenseman Chris Pronger. Goalie J-S Giguere, re-signed over the Summer, will also don the Ducks jersey this year, as will burgeoning young forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. There's still plenty of reasons why the Ducks will challenge for the Pacific Division title, but subtract two Hall-of-Famers in Niedermayer and Selanne, a rising young power forward in Penner and lose Selke finalist Sami Pahlsson to injury for 3-5 weeks and the defending Champions will have quite a task ahead of them defending their spoils.

4. Vancouver* -- Technically, you could pick any Northwest Division team save for Edmonton to win the pennant and probably avoid humiliation. The top four teams in the conference were separated by only ten points last season, and that included the Colorado Avalanche, who missed the playoffs. Frankly, the Northwest has emerged since the lockout as the league's most cutthroat division and that trend appears to continue this year, especially with the Avalanche re-loading. But Vancouver has the added advantage of having arguably the best goalie in the NHL at their disposal in Roberto Luongo. A Vezina candidate who, in this blogger's opinion, would have won the award if it weren't for the early bedtimes of East Coast-based members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, Luongo set a franchise record for wins last regular-season with 47, and posted a 2.29 goals-against average and .921 SV%. However, his stock raised dramatically in the playoffs, when the netminder set an NHL record with 76 saves in his first ever playoff game, a 5-4 win in quadruple overtime and went on to singlehandedly carry the offense-starved Canucks to a second-round appearance against Anaheim. With Luongo in net and the defensive stylings of Jack Adams-winning coach Alain Vigneault, Vancouver will never be hard-pressed to prevent goals, but the club made further improvements to the back end, re-signing key parts Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo and Lukas Kraijicek and adding veteran Aaron Miller to a stacked blueline corps that ranks among the most well-rounded in the league. However, all that defense comes at a price and in Vancouver's case, it's the offense. Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison have never been the same since the lockout, leaving the entire Canucks offense in the hands of Henrik and Daniel Sedin. The twins can work magic, but they're about the only Vancouver forwards who can, a lack of depth that was painfully exposed against Anaheim last postseason. Even still, if Luongo's magical playoffs is a sign of things to come and the defense looks as good on ice as it does on paper, this team shouldn't need more than two goals from its offense to win games, something that's definitely as obtainable for this club as a Northwest Division title.

5. Colorado -- The Avs were one of the NHL's best teams the second half of the season, with the clutch play of Joe Sakic, the remarkable point streak of Paul Stastny and the timely saves of Peter Budaj pushing them oh-so-close to a playoff berth, before the team eventually fell short. But after adding some much-needed grit over the offseason in the form of tip-in artist Ryan Smith and defensive warhorse Scott Hannan, the Avalanche are locked and loaded, determined to put the franchise's first non-playoff spring since arriving in Denver behind them. Colorado boasts what is easily one of the best top-six forward units in the Western Conference, with the ageless Sakic and Calder-nominee Stastny joined by newcomer Smyth, former Rocket Richard winner Milan Hejduk, Andrew Brunette, who come out of nowhere to score 80 points last season, and talented young forward Wojtek Wolski. The offense doesn't end there with the third line boasting the likes of Marek Svatos and Tyler Arnason. The team's rather unheralded defense corps is tremendously well-rounded as well, with power-play quarterback John-Michael Liles leading a group that includes bruising blueliners Hannan, Karlis Skrastins and Brett Clark along with the finesse of Jordan Leopold. Yes, the only chink in this club's armor is the facet that their three primary Northwest Division competitors list as their biggest strength: goaltending. While Vancouver has the luxury of Luongo, Calgary boasts Miikka Kiprusoff between the pipes and Minnesota has Jennings-winning Niklas Backstrom minding nets, the Avs will rely on the relatively unproven Budaj, with Jose Theodore a decided backup plan, thanks to terrible seasons the former Hart Trophy winner has enjoyed since the lockout. However, if Budaj, who was spectacular down the stretch for Colorado, pans out, this team has the explosive offense and balanced defense to take the Northwest.

6. Calgary -- There's no two ways about it, the Flames grossly underachieved last season. Despite having a stacked line-up that included the likes of Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Dion Phaneuf, Alex Tanguay et al, former coach Jim Playfair was unable to motivate his troops, leading to an eighth place finish with the Flames clinging on for dear life as the Avs closed in on them late in the season and an unspiring first-round playoff exit, the team's second straight since falling to Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. Instead of doing the logical thing and replacing Playfair himself, GM Darryl Sutter found Playfair what he believed to be a suitable replacement and what the rest of the hockey world believes to be a head case: Mike Keenan. With a track record of disliking Europeans, mishandling young players and humiliating skill forwards, Keenan appears to be a terrible replacement. However, Keenan's ability to motivate players is undeniable, and there really is noone better at "winning now," which is exactly what the Flames need to do. Focusing on players, Calgary enters with an almost identical forward corps as they did last season, with the addition of worn-out veteran Owen Nolan the only wrinkle. Their blueline, however, experienced significant turnover. Brad Stuart bolted to Los Angeles, Roman Hamrlik signed with Montreal, Andrei Zyuzin was traded to Chicago for Adrian Aucoin and Mark Giordano left for Russia. They were replaced by former Lightning defenseman Cory Sarich and ex-Blue Jacket Anders Eriksson. Aucoin could see his career resurrected in Calgary, but there's about an equal chance of him continuing to turn in sub-par defensive efforts. Sarich is not going to live up to the monster contract Sutter handed him, but he's a reliable veteran in his own zone. Essentially, this is a team with the potential to win the Northwest Division, particularly if Iginla improves upon an amazing 94-point season, and Tanguay, Daymond Langkow and Keenan-hater Kristian Huselius build after setting career-highs in points last season, but it remains to be seen whether the Keenan factor will work with or against the team.

7. Minnesota -- The Wild's offseason was nowhere near as eventful as their last one, which saw GM Doug Risebrough acquire the likes of Pavol Demitra, Kim Johnsson and Mark Parrish, but Minnesota still made some key acquisitions, replacing departed free agent center Todd White with Eric Belanger and, more importantly, shoring up their goaltending situation by shipping out embattled netminder Manny Fernandez and re-signing Niklas Backstrom, who came out of nowhere (technically, the Swedish Elite League) to lead the league in goals-against average and save percentage last season, followed up with brilliant goaltending in the playoffs despite a first-round loss to Anaheim. Despite the player movement, there is but one key to Minnesota's season, an ultimate factor which, if it turns out favorably, could bolster the club to the Northwest Division title: Marian Gaborik's groin. Easily one of the fastest, most exciting players in the game, Gaborik scored at a prolific rate last season, a clip that would have projected out to 51 goals -- second in the league -- had the Wild forward played 82 games, rather than 48. If the Slovak can stay healthy, he and countryman Pavol Demitra will wreak havoc upon Western Conference defenses, proving that Minnesota is a conservative defense squad no longer. However, if Gaborik's groin gives out again, Minnesota will be fighting tooth and nail to qualify for the playoffs. Still, this is a club with decent offensive and defensive depth and, more importantly, a foolproof defensive system developed by coaching mastermind Jacques Lemaire. It remains to be seen, though, how well Backstrom can perform over the course of an entire NHL season and while the defensive system is sound, the blueline corps itself is largely unspectacular, with the likes of Johnsson and Martin Skoula being asked to shoulder the load. Even still, Minnesota is a playoff team and have the potential to win the division if Gaborik can avoid the injury bug.

8. Dallas -- Gone are the glory days of Dallas hockey, at least in the regular season. But it's never been about the regular season for the Stars, whose first-round flameout streak reached three seasons last April. This time around, however, Marty Turco was far from the goat: the usually choke-prone Dallas goaltender pitched three shutouts -- and still lost! This was mostly due to a nonexistant offense, a problem that will continue to plague the Stars this season. Nobody on this team, apart from maybe defenseman Philippe Boucher, can be relied on to score goals. Mike Modano is too old to remain effective, Brenden Morrow will provide grit and leadership, but, even if his season isn't riddled with injuries, which in itself would be an accomplishment, the Stars' captain can't be relied on for more than 60-odd points, Mike Ribeiro is too soft to score more than 60 points -- the list goes on and on. So despite boasting a tremendous goaltender and a great defense headlined by superstar blueliner Sergei Zubov, Boucher and trade deadline pickup Mattias Norstrom, the Stars will once again be hard-pressed to score goals, something that should prevent them from challenging for the Pacific Division title. The Stars are probably a playoff team and, with a few deadline acquisitions, could make noise in the postseason. But they'll be clawing for a playoff berth come April and their anemic offense is a big reason why.
_____________________________________________________

9. Nashville -- The Predators underwent one of the most disastrous off-seasons of any team in NHL history. They lost their entire first line in leading scorer Paul Kariya (signed with division rival St. Louis), future Hall-of-Fame center Peter Forsberg (unsigned free agent in limbo regarding retirement) and young, gritty winger Scott Hartnell (picked up by Philadelphia), their captain and No. 1 defenseman Kimmo Timonen (also signed with the Flyers) and starting goaltender Tomas Vokoun (traded to Florida). Those losses combined with persistent rumors regarding the team's imminent move to Kansas City/Hamilton/Las Vegas would logically make the Predators a lottery team. However, the Preds organization is so deep that, while they have no chance at finishing with the third-best record in the West again, will remain competetive for a playoff spot. They still have the makings of two very good offensive units, particularly if young forward Alexander Radulov steps up and Steve Sullivan doesn't sustain too many injuries and have an above-average defense corps centered around burgeoning blueliner Shea Weber. In goal, despite the loss of Vokoun, the team still has Chris Mason, who was great during Vokoun's injury last season, but largely remains a question mark. I expect the Predators to challenge for a postseason berth, but in a conference where teams need a competetive edge, Nashville lacks one -- their once high-flying offense has been replaced to two second-tier lines, their defense is unimpressive and their goaltending is average.

10. Los Angeles -- There's a reason Dean Lombardi was one of the most coveted among unemployed GMs last Summer, when the Los Angeles Kings hired him to fill their vacant position. Despite a few questionable moves during his first off-season in SoCal (trading for Dan Cloutier being the primary one), he quickly reshaped his reputation with his steal of a deal that landed him uber-prospect Jack Johnson from Carolina. This summer, he astutely stayed away from handing out big money and bigger term to the likes of Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez -- instead opting to sign a collection of second-tier free agents, including Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy, Tom Preissing, Brad Stuart and Kyle Calder. The additions of Stuart and Pressing in particular, combined with the development of Johnson rounds out a very underrated defense corps that also includes former All-Stars Rob Blake and Lubomir Visnovsky. The forward unit is also extremely well-rounded, with young stars Anze Kopitar, Alex Frolov and Mike Cammalleri forming a dominant first line, followed by the likes of Handzus, Nagy, Calder, Dustin Brown and Patrick O'Sullivan rounding out the next six forwards. With that defense and those forwards, one would think this team is bound to end their three-year playoff-less slump this year. Alas, one would be very wrong. The Kings' goaltending situation is easily the worst in the Western Conference, if not the league. Cloutier endured a horrendous season that featured an abyssmal .860 SV% and an injury in late December that mercifully ended his season. Rather than risk losing AHL goalie-of-the-year Jason LaBarbera on entry waivers, the Kings rolled a carousel of awful goaltenders for the rest of the year, with likes of Barry Brust, Yutaka Fukufuji and Sean Burke minding Los Angeles nets for the remainder of the campaign, all with equally terrible results. Unfortunately for Kings' fans, despite all the positive progress Lombardi made with the team this off-season, the Kings will still fail to make the playoffs thanks to their terrible situation between the pipes, and will continue to miss the cut until highly-touted goaltending prospect Jonathan Bernier makes his debut in purple.

11. St. Louis -- Give John Davidson and the rest of the Blues braintrust credit. After finishing last in the league in 2005-06 and watching their strategy of signing washed-up veterans blow up in their face during the early stages of 2006-07 (who could have imagined?), the St. Louis brass were able to administer quite the turnaround with the hiring of coach Andy Murray and shrewd deadline deals that yielded promising young forward Brad Boyes and a slew of draft picks for Keith Tkachuk, Bill Guerin and Dennis Wideman. The re-acquisition of Tkachuk, the addition of marquee free-agent signee Paul Kariya and the development of 2006 No. 1 overall pick Erik Johnson should provide a considerable boost for the team from the abyssmal status it has suffered through since the lockout, but likely not enough to get them over the hump in a competetive west. Still, the mere fact that there's reason for St. Louis hockey fans to hold their heads high again and motivation for Missouri residents to attend Blues games that doesn't involve free food is a victory in and of itself.

12. Edmonton -- If the fictitious department of obscure awards were to hand out a trophy for most off-season headlines made by a team with decidedly little chance of having even a sniff of the post-season, the Oilers would likely be the recipients. First it was the Michael Nylander fiasco, then GM Kevin Lowe shot and missed with the Thomas Vanek offer sheet until finally Lowe was successful in an RFA poaching endeavor, stealing power forward Dustin Penner from the Anaheim Ducks. While Edmonton's off-season, which also involved the acquisition of offensive defensemen Joni Pitkanen from Philadelphia and Sheldon Souray from Montreal, likely made Lowe few friends around the league, it incrementally improved an Edmonton team that was little better than a minor league outfit at the end of last season. Still, the Oilers are extremely thin up front and, despite the team's failures last season, at least they had an outlet for Ales Hemsky's passes in Petr Sykora. This year, unless Penner has somehow gained two steps over the summer, the Oilers lack a legitimate sniper for Hemsky to dish the puck to, a problem further exacerbated by Fernando Pisani's recent injury. The team's goaltending tandem of Dwayne Roloson and Mathieu Garon is also fairly underwhelming, especially when compared to the netminding situations of their division rivals. So while this team is unlikely to be as pathetic as the unit that took the ice at the end of last season, the playoffs are a longshot to say the least and a finish out of the division basement would likely have to be considered a success.

13. Chicago -- "As Martin Havlat goes, the Blackhawks go" was the mantra chanted by Chicago last season, but unfortunately, the entire team couldn't fit in the hospital room the Czech forward frequented last year. While oft-injured, the Blackhawks' lone star was stellar last season, often a one-man show without much of a supporting cast to speak of. The Hawks hope they have that cast, with the free agent signings of Havlat's countryman Robert Lang and 2007 All-Star center Yannic Perreault, along with the hopeful emergence of the team's past two first-round picks, Jonathan Toews (No. 3 overall, 2006) and Patrick Kane (No. 1 overall, 2007). However, this is still a very young team with the likes of Brent Seabrook (22 years old), Tuomo Ruutu (24) and Duncan Keith (24) comprising the Hawks' core, and as with all youthful teams, the transitional phase their players must undergo will hamper short-term team progress, but should ensure a more competetive squad in the long run. So while the Blackhawks will likely be fighting neck-and-neck with Columbus for the Central Division basement this season, they should be a formidable opponent a few years from now, when the likes of Toews and Kane are NHL regulars and Seabrook, Keith and Cam Barker are standout defensemen. But this year, it's hard to envision a finish in the Western Conference's top 10.

14. Columbus -- The Blue Jackets have been a largely directionless franchise for the first seven years of their miserable existence, but after replacing incompetent General Manager Doug MacLean with former Edmonton Oilers GM Scott Howson, it would seem that better days are ahead for this Columbus team. Those days are well ahead, however, as the Jackets continue to be weighed down by the declining Sergei Fedorov's albatross of a contract, the lack of productivity from the talented, yet enigmatic, Nikolai Zherdev and a defense anchored by the obsolete Adam Foote. There's also the issue of goaltending, as the team employs one of the league's more underwhelming tandems featuring mediocre European call-up Fredrik Norrena and unproven, albeit promising, netminder Pascal Leclaire. It isn't all doom and gloom for the BJs, however, as new coach Ken Hitchcock brings with him a defensively conservative style which he was able to display late last season that should help the team eke out a few close wins. But one thing's for certain: if All-Star Rick Nash plans to have another 27-goal season, the Jackets might as well throw in the towel now and save themselves a lot of trouble. Even if Nash enjoys a more productive campaign, it's hard to imagine Columbus not finishing near the Central Division, and Western Conference, basement.

15. Phoenix -- Now, the Coyotes organization themselves have declared this season (and, presumably, quite a few in the forseeable future) a rebuilding campaign, so it's unfair to overly criticize the team for their relative inaction over the off-season. Some would argue their free agent dormancy was preferrable to previous off-seasons which saw Phoenix voraciously sign washed up veteran free agents (see Nolan, Owen and Ricci, Mike). Regardless, this is undoubtedly the worst team in the NHL. When Mike York and Steven Reinprecht are playing on your first line, you know any talk of offensive depth is comical. Speaking of a joke, the team's goaltending situation is one of the worst in the league with David Aebischer, Alex Auld and Mikael Tellqvist expected to battle it out for the top two netminding slots. The club's defense, however, is surprisingly above-mediocre, at least on paper, with youngsters Keith Ballard and Zbynek Michalek along with veterans Ed Jovanovski and Derek Morris expected to do most of the heavy lifting on the back end. Still, with porous goaltending, a poor defensive system implemented by coach Wayne Gretzky and the remaining slew of problems facing the Coyotes this season, a finish ahead of 30th overall in the league would be quite the accomplishment.

* denotes division winner

See also: Eastern Conference Preview

2007-08 NHL SeasonEastern Conference Predictions

2007-09-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

With the 2007-08 season finally upon us, it's time for predictions where I'll attempt to use my unprecedented sense of foresight to prognosticate what the regular season standings should look like next April. I ask that you don't hold me to any of these predictions, but gloating following the upcoming campaign is certainly welcome if your team proves me wrong. Without further ado, my Eastern Conference predictions:

1. Ottawa* -- It's usually agreed that the losing squad in the Stanley Cup Finals is in for a rough season the subsequent year, but the Senators' Eastern Conference rivals will be unpleasantly surprised if they take that for granted. After having a taste of the NHL's biggest stage, Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and the Sens are hungry for more. Ottawa returns essentially the same team that fell to the Anaheim Ducks in five games last Spring, with undersized (and during much of the playoffs, ineffective) forward Mike Comrie and former Sharks defenseman Tom Preissing. But with Heatley, Spezza, captain Daniel Alfredsson and goaltender Ray Emery, who truly established himself as a top-10 goalie in the league after substantially mitigating the ugliness of what could have been a far worse Finals showing for Ottawa, returning, the team will once again be among the elite in the East. However, with the Buffalo Sabres significantly regressing with their off-season losses of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, the Sens will be in a similar situation to Detroit in the West in that they're a powerful squad in a very average division, which should be enough to keep them in contention with those Red Wings for the Presidents' Trophy and should also keep them atop the East.

2. NY Rangers* -- Astute free-agent acquisitions and a solid core of veteran talent makes this incarnation of the New York Rangers arguably the best collection of Blueshirts since the 1994 Stanley Cup Champions. The signings of marquee centers Chris Drury and Scott Gomez from Eastern rivals Buffalo and New Jersey gives the Rangers two ultra-talented pivots known for stepping it up in the postseason. Add those two to a Broadway cast that already includes experience and skill in Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka, grit and sandpaper in Sean Avery and Blair Betts and a mixture of both in Brendan Shanahan and you've got one of the most potent offenses in the Eastern Conference. Of course, to emerge on top in a competetive Atlantic Division, the Rangers will need to prevent goals as well. Enter Henrik Lundqvist. Two seasons in the league, two years as a Vezina Trophy finalist for this 25-year-old netminder who will be asked to shoulder the load defensively for the Rangers, who return a very average defense corps, albeit one that supremely overachieved under Coach Tom Renney's system. The ingredients are all there for the Rangers to not only win the Atlantic, but go far in the playoffs, but with significant new faces, team chemistry may prove to be a bit of an issue for the first few weeks.

3. Pittsburgh -- As ESPN.com columnist Scott Burnside put it in a recent article, when a team's gravest concern is their relative dearth of right-hand shots, you know they've come a long way. The Penguins have finally made the quantum leap from joke to contender, and for the first time in nearly a decade, enter a season as legitimate Cup contenders. With superstar Sidney Crosby, who last season became the youngest player in league history to lead the NHL in scoring, leading the way and a youthful supporting cast of Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury and Ryan Whitney behind him, the Penguins have drawn comparisons to the Oilers dynasty of the '80s, and with good reason. A potent offensive squad content to use their youth and speed to bury opponents, Pittsburgh is decidedly the favorite to lead the league in scoring, especially if Crosby, Malkin and Staal continue to develop. However, Fleury was shaky against Ottawa in the playoffs last season and must come into his own for the Penguins to truly be considered Cup threats. Even with an average performance from Fleury, Pittsburgh will undoubtedly remain competetive for the Atlantic Division title and should once again be the most exciting team in the league.

4. Philadelphia -- While the Penguins took the better part of six years to transform from perennial bottom-feeders to contenders, their intra-state rivals seem to be on the fast track from failure to success. After finishing last in the league for the first time in franchise history, the Flyers, under the management of GM Paul Holmgren, have been carefully crafting a young roster since the trading deadline and through free agency. The advent of All-Star defenseman Kimmo Timonen, All-Star center Daniel Briere, goaltender Martin Biron, tough-as-nails defender Jason Smith and young forwards Scott Hartnell, Scottie Upshall and Joffrey Lupul has morphed what was an abyssmal squad last season into a potential Cup contender this year. While Biron remains a tad unproven in a starting role, the Flyers boast tremendous depth both up front and on defense, with Briere expected to play with fellow Quebec native, speedy sniper Simon Gagne, while the Flyers' already deep core of youngsters in Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and RJ Umberger will join forces with youthful imports Hartnell, Upshall and Lupul to provide offensive depth. On defense, the club boasts the likes of Timonen and Smith along with the inconsistent, yet physically intimidating Derian Hatcher and young blueliners Braydon Coburn, Lasse Kukkonen and Ryan Parent. Overall, the Flyers have completely reloaded and look poised to capture an Atlantic Division title, but with the Rangers and Penguins so strong, a pennant may be a little out of reach. However, with this much talent, a return to the playoffs seems to be a given.

5. Washington* -- Every preseason prognosticator is entitled at least one outlandish prediction, and here's mine. In a Southeast Division, where all teams have gaping holes and considerable flaws, the Washington Capitals, who have been firmly entrenched in mediocrity since the end of the Jagr era, look poised to dramatically return to the playoffs. Young superstar Alexander Ovechkin was a one-man show on many nights for the Caps last season, but with playmaking center Micheal Nylander now in the fold, the league's newest Russian Rocket finally has a competent pivot for the first time in his career. Washington's impressive top six up front is rounded out by thirty-goal men Alex Semin and Chris Clark and solid sniper Viktor Kozlov, comprising one of the more complete forward units in the Southeast. While the defense corps is fairly nondescript and lackluster, the addition of Tom Poti certainly helps and an entire season in Washington for Milan Jurcina should assist the team's defense situation as well.

6. New Jersey -- Just a few summers ago, the Devils boasted a defense corps that featured the likes of Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski and an offense with the high scoring trio of Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta as its centerpiece. Flash forward to 2007 and you'll find that New Jersey's No. 1 defenseman is Paul Martin and that Gomez is gone and both Elias and Gionta are coming off underachieving seasons. The addition of coach Brent Sutter is sure to mix things up offensively to a certain extent, which is good news for a team that will need bounce-back seasons from Elias and Gionta and have burgeoning youngster Zach Parise prove his brilliant playoff campaign wasn't an abberation in order to remain in competition for the division title. Of course, the most important thing for the Devils is that future Hall-of-Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur, coming off a Vezina Trophy campaign in which he broke Bernie Parent's longstanding single-season record for goaltending wins, is still manning the nets in New Jersey. Brodeur gives the Devils an edge that few other Eastern Conference teams have: netminding that can steal games. For this reason, the Devils are a playoff team that will have some say in how the Atlantic is won, but surpassing their second-round flameout from last Spring will be near impossible with a rather underwhelming cast on defense and more than a few eyebrow-raisers and question marks up front.

7. Buffalo -- The extent to which the Sabres' roster has been ravaged this offseason is, I feel, underestimated by much of the hockey media. Their leading scorer and co-captain Daniel Briere, who signed with the rival Philadelphia Flyers, will be very missed in the offensive zone and Chris Drury, the newest New York Ranger and fellow former Buffalo co-captain will be missed dearly during the playoffs. Assuming there are playoffs in Buffalo this season. Last year's President's Trophy winners and regular season dominators looked very human all through the playoffs, especially in a five-game, round three loss to Ottawa. And that was before they lost Drury, Briere and two-way forward Dainius Zubrus, all to Eastern Conference rivals. However, with Ryan Miller still in goal and an insanely deep offense that still boasts burgeoning star Thomas Vanek (albeit at a much heftier price tag, thanks to Kevin Lowe's workings), Maxim Afinogenov and Derek Roy up front, along with a decent defense corps headlined by All-Star blueliner Brian Campbell, the Sabres should still qualify for the postseason, but it will be an exponentially more difficult year for the Sabres this season. Former Jack Adams winner Lindy Ruff knows that the same up-tempo, goals at any cost style the team played last year will be nowhere near as effective in the absence of Briere and Drury, and will likely adapt the team's system accordingly. So while Buffalo seems good enough to make the postseason, the team's championship window has sadly shut and it's unlikely they'll be any more than first-round fodder.

8. Carolina -- I didn't envision it being this difficult to choose the Hurricanes, a franchise just one season removed from winning a Stanley Cup, as a playoff team. There are so many mediocre teams clogged smack dab in the middle of the Eastern Conference that picking the one least entrenched in mediocrity is largely a crapshoot. The Hurricanes became the first team in NHL history to miss the playoffs following a championship season last year, missing the mark by a measly four points. In addition to the Cup hangover that victimizes many teams, the 'Canes were without the services of top offensive defenseman Frantisek Kaberle and top-six forward Cory Stillman for almost the entire season, both players injured for considerable durations. Furthermore, star center Eric Staal and goaltender Cam Ward underachieved following brilliant playoff campaigns in '06. It's unlikely that many factors will work against the Hurricanes again, so if Carolina can stay moderately healthy and get production from Staal and more consistent goaltending from Ward, they can once again be a fierce offensive team that will never have a dearth of options up front. Still, question marks surround the team's defense and while Ward was nothing short of spectacular during the team's Cup run, the former Conn Smythe winner has never had a good regular season during his brief NHL career. While the 'Canes certainly aren't going to blow anyone away like they did two seasons ago, they have what it takes to claw to a playoff berth and be devoured in the first round by an Eastern powerhouse.

_____________________________________________________

9. Toronto -- The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs by one point last season. It's funny, then, that there seems to be a million reasons why they couldn't muster up that one extra point and qualify for the postseason for the first time since the lockout. Everything from Hal Gill's incompetence to merciless injuries are offered as excuses for Toronto's failure, but the rather underwhelming play of goalie Andrew Raycroft is seldom pinpointed, which is quite shocking. A sub-900 save percentage and a slew of soft goals should have had the Toronto media circus gathering their pitchforks and torches, but instead little blame was deferred at the former Bruin, and even with the acquisition of Vesa Toskala from the Sharks, Raycroft continues to be mentioned as part of a platoon deal. As long as Leafs coach Paul Maurice can successfully eliminate Raycroft from the equation, Toskala excels despite newfound media pressures he could have never dreamed of in San Jose, marquee free agent acquisition Jason Blake gells with center Mats Sundin, who was flanked at times last season by the likes of Boyd Devereaux and Bates Battaglia, the injury bug can stay away from the Toronto locker room (whoops, too late...Wellwood's already injured), Gill and Bryan McCabe can improve defensively and young forwards Alex Steen and Mats Stajan can develop into top-six types, the Leafs should make the playoffs. Yeah, it's unlikely the majority of those will occur, which probably keeps the Leafs one point behind the postseason cutoff mark once again.

10. Florida -- The Panthers are an interesting team as no facet of their game is exceptional, but with a solid forward corps, a well-rounded blueline and newly-acquired All-Star netminder Tomas Vokoun stopping pucks, they should make somewhat of an impact in the East's playoff picture. Olli Jokinen is the real deal up front, proving his 90-point season of two seasons ago was not an aberration with an encore performance last year. Nathan Horton is the league's next star power forward and, at 22, has already shown flashes of brilliance with an impressive 31-goal season last year for a poor team. Stephen Weiss, Jozef Stumpel, Ville Peltonen and Rostislav Olesz round out a largely average top-six up front, and Florida will need serious production from all four players if they are to contend for a playoff spot. On defense, all eyes will be on Jay Bouwmeester to finally break out and have the Norris-calibre season everyone is expecting of him. However, Bouwmeester's inability to produce on the power play has barred him from crossing 40 points offensively, which is partially the reason European league veteran Cory Murphy was brought in to run the man advantage. Relative unkown Mike Van Ryn will also be counted on to bring offense from the back end, while Bryan Allen and Ruslan Salei will be expected to hold down the fort. The addition of Vokoun is obviously welcomed, but the Panthers didn't miss the playoffs last season due to inept goaltending, with the Belfour/Auld tandem enjoying some success, just as they didn't miss the playoffs during the Luongo era due to their inability to keep the puck out of the net. No, this team is unlikely to make the playoffs because, apart from a lack of depth, this team's main problem is a lack of heart that desperately needs to be rectified. Still, in a wide-open Southeast Division, the Panthers still have an outside shot at a playoff berth in the East, but team chemistry and overall grit will be big question marks going into the year.

11. Atlanta -- I'm not sure what parallel universe Thrashers GM Don Waddell and his team are living in, but in this NHL, teams need a legitimate No. 1 center to win and none of Todd White, Bobby Holik and Bryan Little qualify as such. While the team began last season with a similar lack of a top-flight pivot and started fine, the Thrashers were well off the tracks when Waddell acquired center Keith Tkachuk at the trade deadline, eventually helping Atlanta secure the franchise's first playoff spot. Unless similar antics are pulled much earlier in the season, the Thrashers look destined to finish out of the playoff picture, not only due to their lack of a center, but a deficiency on defense as well, where the club suffered the losses of Greg de Vries and Vitaly Vishnevski. Not exactly Lidstrom-types, but on what was already a mediocre defense corps, the replacement of those players with the likes of Ken Klee and Tobias Enstrom is not very encouraging. Still, with superstars Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa along with rising goaltender Kari Lehtonen, the Thrashers shouldn't be written off just yet, but it's quickly looking as if the team's brilliant start to the 2006-07 season was an aberration.

12. Montreal -- The loss of Sheldon Souray really hurts. Why would the absence of a flat-footed, mistake-prone defenseman make such an impact? Because the Habs lived and died by their power play last season, which really only lead the league because of Souray's monster season offensively. While defenseman Andrei Markov is on a different planet defensively than Souray and owns similar offensive potential, his game is less suited to running a power play, leaving the Canadiens without what was a season ago their greatest weapon. Still, the organization's tremendous depth in goal would overcome for the team's newfound man-advantage shortcomings, if it weren't for such an anemic offense that certainly won't be helped by Bryan Smolinski and European import Janne Lahti. Saku Koivu is still the man up front, but with a mediocre supporting cast headlined by the largely average Chris Higgins, the one-dimensional Michael Ryder and the enigmatic Alexei Kovalev, it's unlikely the Habs will be putting the puck in the net very often next season.

13. Tampa Bay -- Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Stanley Cup winners just three seasons ago, the Lightning have compiled two mediocre seasons that featured the team barely qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and subsequently being smoked in the first round and are finally ready to collapse. While the team will return the "Big Four" of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards and Dan Boyle (although Boyle will miss the first month of the season), their goaltending situation is by far the worst in the East and rivals Columbus for least appealing in the league. Marc Denis has experienced a Herculean fall from "good goalie on a bad team" with the Blue Jackets to press box warmer for the Bolts. Starter Johan Holmqvist is only consistent at being inconsistent and looked horrible at times during last Spring's playoffs. Thankfully for Tampa fans, the Bolts have quite the pipeline of netminders upcoming, with Karri Ramo and Riku Helenius likely to be future NHL 'tenders, but for this upcoming season, with such a terrible situation between the pipes, an extremely thin defense and a sustained offensive depth issue which will not be solved by Michel Ouellet and Jan Hlavac, it's looking like an unsuccessful season in Tampa.

14. Boston -- The Bruins are a team that could surprise everyone and make the playoffs for the first time since the lockout, but could just as easily plummet and finish last in the league. Although the addition of Manny Fernandez will somewhat shore up a goaltending situation that was bleak for much of last season, the B's will need to make quantum leaps defensively under new coach Claude Julien, which will have to start with improved play from 6'9" behemoth and Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who was downright soft at times last year. Patrice Bergeron will also need to progress into the 80-point All-Star the Bruins thought he would be when signing him to that monster RFA contract last off-season and youngsters Phil Kessel and Brandon Bochenski will have to improve as well. Marc Savard was teriffic last season, but a third consecutive 90+-point year may be asking too much of the undersized pivot. While this roster, when viewed on paper, has the makings of a potential playoff contender, especially in the wide-open East, an overall lack of team chemistry, grit and holes on the blueline will subjugate Boston fans to another season of disappointment.

15. NY Islanders -- There will be no playoff miracles on Long Island this year, certainly not with this sad excuse for a roster. While franchise goalie Rick DiPietro will remain with the Islanders after signing a 15-year contract that must seem like a life sentence last off-season, no Eastern team experienced more off-season turnover than the Isles. Their entire top line of Ryan Smyth, Alexei Yashin and Jason Blake is gone, replaced by the decidedly inferior trio of Ruslan Fedotenko, Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin. Former No. 1 defenseman Tom Poti also bolted via free agency, replaced by dinosaur Andy Sutton. Ted Nolan spun straw into gold last season with this team, but even he would have to be a certified magician for this rag-tag group to finish anywhere near the postseason.

* denotes division winner

See also: Western Conference Predictions

Battle of Backups won by Patzold

2007-09-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

At least for now, it appears that 24-year-old Kazakh goaltender Dimitri Patzold will serve as Evgeni Nabokov's backup. In a press release, the San Jose Sharks announced the demotion of Patzold's primary competitor for the backup position, Thomas Greiss, to the AHL along with forwards Graham Mink and Lukas Kaspar. Greiss had the flashier preseason numbers, with a 1.45 goals-against average compared to Patzold's rather ugly 3.50, but as noted in an earlier post, and reinforced by Doug Wilson's comment that the move "allows Thomas to play consistently in Worcester," the odds were against Greiss from the start. Since the Sharks' brass largely perceives the German netminder as San Jose's "goalie of the future," and since starting 85% of the games in Worcester would be far more conducive to Greiss' development than opening bench doors for the majority of the season, it was essentially determined that Greiss would spend most of the season in Massachusetts.

However, coach Ron Wilson stated that the occupier of the backup goaltending position will be continually evaluated as the season progresses, meaning that Greiss could potentially be stopping pucks in San Jose somewhere along the line this campaign. But with starter Evgeni Nabokov tabbed to play upwards of 65 games, one wonders if the role of backing up Nabby is significant enough for this level of controversy and convolution.

Can Sharks live up to preseason hype?

2007-09-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

For one reason or another, the Sharks have been receiving a lot of love from media prognosticators this preseason, tabbed by many to either win the West, the Stanley Cup or both. First, the Canadian Press predicted the Sharks would win the franchise's first Cup this season. Then, The Hockey News polled knowledgeable pundits, with the Sharks being the Cup favorite among those media types as well. Soon to follow was EA Sports' simulation of the NHL season, concluding with the Sharks vanquishing Pittsburgh in six games for Lord Stanley. Now even ESPN has bought a pair of teal-colored glasses, with its most popular hockey-affiliated personalities, John Buccigross and Barry Melrose, crowning the Sharks the class of the West, with Buccigross predicting them to finish first in the conference and Melrose proclaiming San Jose the best team in the league. I'll get around to my own predictions in a couple of days and, while I think the Sharks will win the Pacific Division, even I'm not drinking the Sharks' Kool-Aid to the extent that I believe they are the unequivocal Cup favorites. Challenge for Lord Stanley they will, but unless the Sharks' five-on-five play improves to the level that they no longer need to rely on an oft-sputtering power play for offensive chances and the team defense continues to be a strong unit in the absence of Scott Hannan, it's tough to say whether San Jose will drink from the Cup next June. But there's definitely reason for Sharks fans to be optimistic as the season nears, and you don't need a sizable contingent of the hockey media to tell you that.

Odds and Ends

2007-09-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

It's been relatively quiet around these parts as of late as I prepare for the upcoming season with predictions that should be up here before the season begins in North America, though preceding the commencement of the London games is looking unlikely. The Sharks are currently 3-0-2 in preseason action as the franchise's shootout woes continued last night in Calgary. In light of Torrey Mitchell's foot injury against the Flames, it's looking like Devin Setoguchi remains the lone rookie with a legitimate shot at making the roster up front, with the vacant backup goaltending position still largely up in the air. Thomas Greiss seems to be the early favorite, but Patzold wasn't bad against the Canucks on Saturday. With not much else Sharks news to report, here's some tidbits from around the league:

"Dollar" Bill Wirtz, oft-vilified owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, named recently by ESPN as the fifth-worst owner in all of pro sports, has passed away. I would assume this news is met by most Hawks fans with restrained jubilance. On one hand, it's socially unacceptable and ethically questionable to celebrate the death of a fellow human, especially one as philanthropic as Wirtz, but at the same time, this is the man whose terrible marketing decisions, most notably his policy on blacking out Chicago home games, have incinerated a once potent fanbase and have turned who knows how many potential fans away from the Hawks. Again, my condolences to the family, and by all accounts, Wirtz was a good man outside the realm of hockey, but having tarnished the image of an Original Six franchise, which is as sinful as it gets in the NHL, the Hawks can look forward to better days in Wirtz's absence.
How many hits to the head that result in significant injuries must occur for Colin Campbell and the rest of the NHL's pathetic excuse for a justice system to make a statement significant enough to pre-emptively discourage any similar incidents in the future? That unnecessarily lengthy question is likely, in some form or the other, in the minds of many hockey fans in light of last night's concussion to Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond. In preseason action, no less, Philadelphia forward Steve Downie raced the length of the ice and pummeled an unsuspecting McAmmond, resulting in the latter's concussion. Compounding the matter is that McAmmond had just returned after off-season rehabilitation following Chris Pronger's elbow to the head that the Senator sustained during last season's Stanley Cup Finals. Unconscionable act by rookie Downie that should certainly be punished by exponentially more than the standard 2-3 games Campbell and Co. seem to dish out at every misdemeanor.
Finally, on a Sharks-related note, the San Jose Mercury News have finally gotten their act together and established a Sharks blog, titled Working the Corners. So far, Sharks beat writer David Pollak has been the sole contributor, but it's fathomable that other Merc writers involved with the team, like Mark Emmons or perhaps even columnist Mark Purdy, may contribute. The advent of heavier online coverage for the team is just further evidence that print media's future lies in the confines of the intertubes, a fact that's becoming more profound by the day, as several big-name newspapers begin the transition to a solely-online publication. Regardless, congratulations to David, and hopefully he continues to provide valuable insight on the Sharks. Several beat writers around the league, including the Kings' Rich Hammond and the Avs' Adrian Dater, maintain very successful blogs, and there's no reason Pollak won't follow suit.

Sharks Gameday: The Rise of Torrey Mitchell

2007-09-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

Vancouver Canucks (2-0-1) @ San Jose Sharks (2-0-1)

I'll admit I knew precious little regarding Sharks prospect Torrey Mitchell prior to this month. Yeah, I read a few stories last March regarding his agreeing to a contract with the Sharks and subsequent stint in Worcester that had AHL coach Roy Sommers giving the forward rave reviews, but I didn't pay too much attention. I mean, how good can a guy drafted 126th overall be, right?

Pretty damn good, apparently, if the radio commentary of "Dictionary" Dan Rusanowsky and David "I have a speech empediment" Maley along with a few Mercury News stories are to be believed. It would appear that the Sharks have once again struck gold with a post-first round pick out of the NCAA, a trend that is evident in the development of Matt Carle and Joe Pavelski.

A University of Vermont alum, Mitchell is dazzling with his speed, skill and two-way effectiveness and, along with fellow prospect Devin Setoguchi, is making a legitimate case for an opening-night roster spot and is sure to get a long look now. Mitchell is scheduled to play between Patrick Marleau and Milan Michalek tonight as the Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks in preseason action at the Tank. A 3-1 decision over the Ducks last night raised San Jose's exhibition record to 2-0-1.

The Sharks announced another series of roster cuts on Thursday and PJ over at Sharkspage takes a look at the remaining training camp roster. Eliminating longshots Tomas Plihal, Craig Valette, Riley Armstrong, Graham Mink, Brennan Evans, Derek Joslin, Brad Norton, Tom Walsh and Taylor Dakers, and assuming Patrick Marleau will stick at left wing, we're left with a depth chart that somewhat resembles this:

Marleau--Thornton--Cheechoo
Michalek--Pavelski--Clowe
Brown--Roenick--Grier
Rissmiller--Goc--Bernier
Kaspar--Mitchell--Setoguchi

Vlasic--Rivet
Ehrhoff--McLaren
Carle--Murray
Semenov--Davison

Nabokov
Greiss
Patzold

I'm not a big fan of playing Marleau up at LW, but Ron Wilson has given every indication that's exactly what he plans to do. I could very well see Marcel Goc and/or Joe Pavelski traded to make room for Mitchell or Devin Setoguchi, but there's a chance either of the latter two will start on opening night anyway, granted they build on already impressive preseason showings with good games tonight against Vancouver.

Sharks score first win of preseason

2007-09-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

The Sharks defeated the Ducks in Anaheim last night by a score of 1-0, registering their first preseason victory this year.

By all accounts, goaltender Thomas Greiss, expected to battle Dimitri Patzold for the Sharks' vacant backup goaltending position, was phenomenal. Although he was only forced to make 19 saves for the shutout, several of them, at least according to Mercury News reporter Mark Emmons, were of the acrobatic variety. This certainly is good news for the young German netminder, especially on the heels of Patzold's 6-5 shootout loss to the Kings Tuesday night, when the Kazakh gave up five tallies and bit hard on a deke by the Kings' Dustin Brown in the shootout.

Now, as I mentioned previously, reading too far into preseason victories can yield disastrous results. However, the Ducks, after trimming 18 players from their training camp roster as the team gears up for their September 29th season opener against the Kings in London, save for third-stringer Jonas Hiller stopping pucks rather than J-S Giguere, iced a lineup that very much resembles the squad that will face Los Angeles in that England opener. Sure, Francois Beauchemin, one of the team's steadier defensemen, wasn't playing, but with Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne and Dustin Penner no longer with the team (regarding the first two, at least not currently) and Sami Pahlsson and Niedermayer replacement Mathieu Schneider injured, the Ducks' roster was essentially complete.

On the other hand, while the Sharks had Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo at their disposal (albeit without a competent left wing), Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek, Marc-Edouard Vlasic et al were not playing, yet the team still defeated Anaheim 1-0.

Again, reading too much into this game is clearly not the smart thing to do, but it'll be interesting to see if the Ducks fare any better Friday when the teams meet at the Tank.

Sharks Gameday: Who says preseason doesn't count?

2007-09-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

San Jose Sharks (0-0) @ Los Angeles Kings (1-1), No TV

As a disclaimer, It's unlikely I'll be able to get up a gameday post for every Sharks game this season (What do you think this is? Battle of California?), but when I have time on my hands or a particularly marquee matchup is upcoming, I'll try to post one.

I neither have much time nor does an exhibition game against the Kings constitute a marquee matchup, but seeing as this game will mark the first time our beloved Los Tiburones take to the ice in NHL competition in four-and-a-half months, it's probably worth noting.

But what's even more notable is the general stigma that pre-season is meaningless, a sham, an artificial construct to drive up revenues. While that may be true in that pre-season success doesn't necessarily translate to regular-season victories and players who tear it up in September don't always go on to have big years, where the pre-season is very relevant lies in the determining of roster spots.

One could argue that Marc-Edouard Vlasic would not have made the Sharks had it not been for an outstanding preseason. Vlasic impressed the Sharks brass enough during exhibition season to claim a roster spot, and was consistently the Sharks' most reliable defenseman for the rest of the year. Many other of my training camp queries will likely be answered as the pre-season rolls on. A Mercury News article earlier this week featured a Ron Wilson quote that implied Evgeni Nabokov would start 3-4 preseason games, with the remainder to be divvied up between Dmitri Patzold and Thomas Greiss.

So while the Stanley Cup isn't won in September, the pre-season is extremely significant to depth players jostling for roster spots and with the Sharks still uncertain on who will claim both their sixth and seventh defense slots on the depth chart as well as their backup goaltender, exhibition games this year will definitely be worth paying attention to. But above all, hockey's back, which in and of itself is a reason to celebrate.

Sharks unveil new jerseys

2007-09-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Meh. The numbers on the front will take some getting used to, and the bottom stripe causes the design to somewhat resemble the Sharks' retro dubs, but overall, it's better than I expected. The whole advent of the "Rbk Edge" design is nothing more than a cash grab, but as far as cash grabs go, this doesn't look half bad. I'll probably have additional perspective when I actually see one of these in person. Sharkspage has additional coverage, including a YouTube video of the press release itself.

Sandis Ozolinsh?

2007-09-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

I reported earlier that ex-Shark Mark Smith joined the New York Rangers training camp on a tryout basis. Ironically enough, former Ranger (who has also played for the Sharks, among other teams) Sandis Ozolinsh has been brought into Sharks camp on a tryout. The Latvian defenseman was last seen in the NHL this past season, playing 21 games for New York before riding the bench the rest of the way.

I honestly don't understand this move. Even if you disregard the rumors that Ozolinsh enrolled in the NHLPA's substance abuse program two seasons ago, the guy is a headcase. Yes, he owns the Sharks single-season record for goals and points by a defenseman, but not only is he no longer potent offensively, he is, as he has always been, a defensive liability. Now, it's certainly not given that he'll make the team and the good thing about a tryout contract is that it's noncommittal, but Ozolinsh is a known locker-room cancer and may disturb the chemistry of the Sharks' current defense corps. Then again, anything to push Alexei Semenov, Rob Davison and Doug Murray should be considered a good thing, so I can see where Doug Wilson is coming from in making this move. If anything else, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Mark Smith invited to Rangers camp

2007-09-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Former Sharks forward Mark Smith, drafted 219th overall by San Jose in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, has joined the New York Rangers training camp on a tryout basis, according to this report. Smith played 323 games in a Sharks jersey, scoring 22 goals, 66 points and racking up 398 penalty minutes. A fan favorite at HP Pavilion, Smith was renowned for his hard-nosed style of play and inspiring grit. Smith was also well known for his musical career. The frontman and lead singer of Bay Area group The Vinyl Trees, Smith is a talented musician and also owns a record label, Lunar Records. Smith's chances of making the Rangers are decent as New York's fourth line is far from set. That bottom unit will likely include some combination of Jarkko Immonen, Ryan Callahan, Colton Orr, Ryan Hollweg and Smith. Here's hoping Smitty gets the job, and wishing the ex-Shark a long and productive career, as a hockey player and a musician. Other training camp invites include Brent Sopel in Detroit, David Tanabe in St. Louis and Adam Hall in Pittsburgh.

Bell suspension official: 15 games

2007-09-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

I reported earlier that former Sharks forward Mark Bell, sentenced to six months jail time for hit-and-run charges stemming from a drunk driving incident in San Jose last September, would receive a suspension from the league and the terms of that ban were doled out earlier today by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. According to this TSN report, the suspension will last 15 games and will be without pay. The NHLPA, however, are vocally against the penalty, seeing "no basis for the excessive suspension Gary Bettman has imposed" on Bell. In my opinion, this is an appropriate length as it was an off-ice incident that Bell is facing legal repercussions for, and it does set somewhat of a precedent in a league where drinking and driving is a fairly significant off-ice issue.

As training camps around the league begin, NHL-related news is steadily picking up. With the Sharks opening up camp today, here's a trio of Sharks-related articles worth reading. First, the Canadian Press announces their preseason Stanley Cup pick, and it's San Jose, with Joe Thornton emphatically agreeing. NHL.com has begun their season previews and today was the Sharks' turn. This article in particular piqued my interest, not necessarily because of the content, but the author: former San Francisco Chronicle Sharks beat writer Ross McKeon, who seems to have resurfaced as an NHL.com correspondent, after being let go by the Chronicle. Congratulations, Ross. Finally, the Mercury News takes a look at Logan Couture's chances of making the team this year.

Training camp thoughts

2007-09-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well, that was fast. It seems like only yesterday Chris Pronger was knocking out Dean McAmmond and the Anaheim Ducks were lifting Lord Stanley. Yet training camp is upon us, with the Ducks and Kings setting up shop today and the rest of the league following suit later this week. The Sharks will open camp on Wednesday and are faced with a reasonable number of questions as they prepare for a season which they hope will bring a Stanley Cup to Northern California. Here's a look at five of those queries.

5) Is Jeremy Roenick ready to play?
True, this answer is unlikely to be derived until Christmas at the earliest, but we should get a feel for whether JR is in as good shape as he claims he is in and -- more importantly -- is as concerned with "blending in" as he says he is during camp. Doug Wilson has maintained that those who play the best will play and if Roenick has a lackluster showing at camp, it's possible he may not make the team at all.

4) Can Lukas Kaspar land a roster spot?
Members of the Sharks' braintrust were high on Kaspar when they selected him with the 22nd overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The Russian forward's transition to the North American game, however, hasn't quite been seamless. While he had an excellent season with the Ottawa 67s in 2004-05, tallying 51 points in 59 regular-season games, then adding 20 in 21 playoff games as Ottawa advanced to the Memorial Cup Final, Kaspar's scoring prowess has been absent in his first two professional seasons in the AHL. While his two-way play has progressed considerably, Kaspar only has 76 points in 154 career AHL games. At this point, he would need a particularly exceptional showing in camp to make the opening-night roster, especially with the signing of Jeremy Roenick. However, if the injury bells toll for the Sharks later this season, it's very plausible Kaspar will see his first shift in the big leagues before the end of this year.

3) Can Devin Setoguchi land a roster spot?
Setoguchi, the eighth overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, endured a trying campaign last season. Injury woes wiped out any chance of Setoguchi making the Sharks, rendering him unable to show up at camp. The Alberta native was then traded from the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL to the Prince George Cougars, where his production dipped initially. However, an extremely strong finish to the season saw Setoguchi post 36 goals and 65 points in 55 games with Prince George, a campaign that was overshadowed by Setoguchi's amazing playoffs. The forward scored 11 goals, 4 of them game-winners and 21 points in 15 postseason games, dramatically raising his stock. Setoguchi will likely compete against Joe Pavelski for the final roster opening and his chances are good. Although Setoguchi's development is significantly ahead of Kaspar's, he is in a similar situation to the Russian forward in that even if he fails to make the opening night cut, he will likely begin the season in Worcester and be the first potential call-up.

2) Which one of Davison/Murray/Semenov will make the team?
Which member of the club's three-headed monster will step up and claim the sixth defense spot? Of the three, Rob Davison has the most NHL experience, but that doesn't guarantee him a spot in the lineup. Alexei Semenov was the club's biggest (monetary-wise) unrestricted free-agent signing, as the ex-Panther and Oiler inked a 1-year deal for a whopping $650,000. Suffice to say, Doug Wilson didn't embark on much of an off-season spending spree. Regardless, all three are large, physical specimen with Davison listed at 6'3", 220 lbs., Murray at 6'3", 240 and the beastly Semenov at 6'6", 232. As in most cases, with size comes sub-par skating ability. Murray is easily one of the team's hardest hitters, but his repeated flat-footedness impinges upon his ability to deliver his trademark, open-ice bodychecks. The pugnacious Davison is a good fighter, but doesn't accomplish much else. He's primarily been a spare part in the equation for the Sharks since entering the NHL and has even been slotted in at left wing for a game or two. However, with Scott Parker gone and Ryane Clowe cast in a more offensive role, his pugilism could give Davison an advantage, although to be fair, Murray's above-average with the gloves off as well.

Semenov is decidedly the wild card here. Drafted in the second round by Edmonton back in 1999, he was named the top defenseman in the OHL in 2001, but mediocre play with the Oilers got him a one-way ticket to Florida in late 2005. A lack of ice time with the Panthers motivated him to pack up and play in Russia last season, but he's back in the NHL now and hoping to do damage with the Sharks. I honestly believe that if the Sharks can inspire this guy, they can have a real gem here. Still only 27, Semenov, who has one of the hardest slapshots in the NHL, can easily turn his career around and become a very reliable two-way defenseman. He's my pick to round out the top six on the back end, but Murray and Davison are capable defenders as well, if given limited ice time.

1) Who will back up Evgeni Nabokov?
For the first time in over a decade, the Sharks enter training camp without a crease controversy regarding who will stop the majority of the pucks for the upcoming season. No Vernon/Shields tussle, no Nabokov/Toskala/Kiprusoff issue, nothing. Instead, a new position between the pipes is in dispute: who will serve as Nabokov's backup? The Sharks brass largely perceives Thomas Greiss as the goalie of the future, but his development would likely benefit greater from 80% of the starts in Worcester than limited action with the Sharks. So with Greiss likely penciled in as the AHL starter, the Sharks' backup job is largely up for grabs. Many teams focus on goaltending in regards to scouting, but for the Sharks, netminder development is more of an obsession. San Jose currently has the likes of Greiss, Dmitri Patzold, Timo Pielmeier, Taylor Dakers and Tyson Sexsmith in the pipeline -- all of whom have the potential to be NHL-calibre goalies someday.

Pielmeier and Sexsmith, while impressive in the Sharks rookies' recent two-game sweep of Ducks' prospects, were just selected in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and are unlikely to land the backup job, leaving Patzold and Dakers. Before his death, former Sharks goalie coach Warren Strelow commented that Patzold was more than capable of handling a job as a No. 2 stopper in the NHL, leading to mass speculation that the Kazakhstan native will play behind his countryman Nabokov this season. That's probably true, but Dakers has a chance as well, and there is a slight possibility that the Sharks will in fact turn to Greiss.

Fence-sitting Duck

2007-09-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

Who holds press conferences to reiterate the status quo? Scott Niedermayer and the Anaheim Ducks, that's who. Now, Niedermayer certainly shouldn't be rushed into making a decision that will determine not only his career, but essentially the rest of his life, but holding a press conference with anticipation building as to whether or not a decision will be made, then stating basically nothing seems so ridiculous, so blatantly unnecessary that I would go so far as to say it breaks the primary statute of press conferences: Thou shalt only hold a press conference if thou has something to say that is worth printing in the press. Ironically enough, part of the reason Niedermayer will eventually attain hockey immortality in the Hall is his sound, decision-making ability on the ice. Apparently, this doesn't translate too well to off-ice decisions.

But one thing you can say about Niedermayer's drawn-out retirement affair is that he's kept us updated every step of the way. Initially, he made it clear he was preparing to retire and had essentially filed his papers on July 1st before getting cold feet. Two weeks ago, the Hall of Fame-bound defenseman stated that he might consider coming back, but he would miss training camp and arrive only after the Ducks' London series against Los Angeles. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the other future Hall of Fame Duck contemplating retirement, winger Teemu Selanne, hasn't said a word regarding his future hockey plans since stating in passing following the Ducks' Cup win that he was considering "going out on top." The Hockey News reported earlier this week, however, that Selanne's retirement is more of a sure thing. As a Sharks' fan, it's hard not to root for these guys to throw in the towel, which would make the Ducks an exponentially easier draw, but with the teal-colored shades off, these are two phenomenal, outstanding careers that are destined to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and for that reason, neither should be backed into a decision due to impatient fans. The irrelevant press conferences, however, have to cease.

In other hockey-related news, the Sharks announced today that they will begin selling tickets to regular-season games September 15th at the HP Pavilion box office as well as Ticketmaster. What the statement didn't mention, however, was whether ticket prices will be slashed in the wake of the Red Wings' announcing the inception of $9 tickets. Of course, San Jose isn't home to a declining automobile industry and all Sharks playoff games sold out (Take that, Hockeytown!...even if the Wings are the reason there weren't more postseason sellouts at the Tank last year), but it's a thought.

Sharks sign Roenick

2007-09-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

You've got to be kidding me. Back in the infancy of Bleed Teal (a whole two months ago), I reported that nine-time All-Star Jeremy Roenick was calling it quits, as per Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who received a text message from the former Blackhawk, Flyer, Coyote and King announcing his retirement. Weeks later came murmurs that Roenick spoke too soon and the inevitable rumors that he would return to Chicago to don a No. 27 jersey once more en route to reaching 500 goals (he currently sits at 495) ran rampant. Those fires were eventually quelled and most in the hockey world assumed that Roenick had, indeed, thrown in the towel. Well, apparently that isn't the case, as the San Jose Sharks, in an official press relase, stated that they have signed Roenick to a one-year deal, worth $500,000 as per TSN.

Doug Wilson has been mumbling for a good two weeks now that he was intending to bring in a player from "outisde the organization" to battle for a roster spot in training camp. Who could have imagined JR Superstar was that player? At this stage of his career, especially with his post-lockout statistics, Roenick isn't much more than a bottom six forward, but on a deep team like San Jose, that's all he needs to be. He will also become the first Shark to score 500 goals when he joins that club sometime during the season. A rough sketch of the Sharks' current depth chart:

Michalek--Thornton--Cheechoo
Clowe--Marleau--Bernier
Rissmiller--Brown--Grier
Goc--Roenick--Setoguchi
Pavelski

This signing likely signals that the Sharks will not be signing Mark Smith, although it doesn't necessarily rule it out entirely. And in celebration of the signing, I managed to unearth from the gallows of YouTube a TSN Top 10 featuring some of JR's most unforgettable antics.

Bell suspended

2007-09-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ouch. The National Hockey League lowered the boom on former Shark Mark Bell, traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Vesa Toskala on Draft Day 2007, suspending the forward indefinitely after Bell pleaded guilty in August to charges stemming from his hit-and-run/drunk driving incident dating to exactly one year ago, Labor Day 2006. According to the TSN article, how soon Bell is eligible to return to the NHL will be under the discretion of the league's substance abuse program doctors. Those close to the Maple Leafs postulate that, even if Bell is cleared to return, it's likely he'll be suiting up for the Marlies rather than the Buds. Then again, with the likes of Nikolai Antropov and Bates Battaglia patrolling the Leafs' top line last season, they need all the offensive depth they can get.

The cost of extensions

2007-09-01T17:58:00.000-07:00

In the wake of Marleau's extension, I mulled over potential cap figures using nhlscap.com and the Sharks, for the 2008-09 season, will have roughly $38.75 million committed to these 13 players (in order of cap hit): Thornton, Marleau, Nabokov, Michalek, Rivet, Cheechoo, McLaren, Grier, Couture, Setoguchi, Vlasic, McGinn, Greiss and Murray. Breaking it up, those are eight forwards, four defensemen and two goalies. Rounding out the forwards will likely be RFAs Steve Bernier, Marcel Goc, Ryane Clowe and Joe Pavelski, although the Sharks are high on both prospect Torrey Mitchell, who would make $715,000 playing for the big club and potential RFA Lukas Kaspar, either of whom would replace Pavelski. The remaining two defensemen would likely be RFAs Matt Carle and Christian Ehrhoff.

Rough, and rather conservative, estimates would likely see Bernier and Clowe receiving contracts with cap hits of around $2.5 million, unless one or the other has an exceptional year. Goc should be looking at $1 million, as should Pavelski. Carle and Ehrhoff is where it gets tricky. Would Carle be willing to sign a contract similar to what Phoenix Coyote Keith Ballard agreed on earlier this week, one that averages slightly over $2 million? Ballard posted similar rookie numbers to Carle in his inaugaral campaign, with 39 points where Carle scored 43 last year. If Carle has a similar or better season offensively this year, which he should, quarterbacking the Sharks power play, it's likely contract negotations would enter Paul Martin territory, with a $4 million average likely coming into play. I'll predict a $3.5 million/year cap hit, which may be too low or perhaps even high depending on how well Carle performs this coming season. Predicting Ehrhoff's contract is largely a crapshoot, as the German defenseman has been anything but consistent thus far in his career. He could very well ride his booming slapshot to a 15-goal, 50-point season or his lack of work ethic to a 25-point season. $1.5 million is probably a decent estimate.

So assuming Bernier, Clowe, Goc, Pavelski, Carle and Ehrhoff are signed to contracts worth those estimated numbers, that would represent an additional $12 million against the cap, increasing the Sharks' overall cap figure to $50.72. The NHL's current salary cap is $50.3 million. If the cap increases by 13%, as it did this year, it would potentially equal a $57 million upper limit, but that will largely be rendered irrelevant by the Sharks' internal budget. San Jose spent roughly $42 million on salary last season and unless the team wins a championship or changes owners, that amount is likely to stay static. For every action there's a reaction, and the response to an active offseason in terms of doling out contract extensions, the latest to Marleau, will likely be tickets out of town to more than a few 2008 RFAs.

Sharks extend Marleau

2007-08-31T14:32:00.001-07:00

Words cannot begin to describe how exuberant I am now that TSN is reporting the extension of Patty Marleau to a two-year, $12.6 million deal that will keep him in teal until at least 2010. Two years is a bit short as the Sharks captain will still be 30 and presumably productive at the end of the contract, but another extension is obviously plausible. To echo Mike Chen's sentiments, I'm probably even happier the ridiculous trade rumors that saw Marleau go to Montreal for Ryder, Halak and a pick, Edmonton for Horcoff and Staios and a bevy of other NHL cities for cooked-up "offers" will finally cease. The annual cap hit will be $2.1 million greater than Marleau's current impact on the salary cap, which may inhibit the signing of an RFA or two come a year from now, especially if the team refuses to raise its internal budget. Regardless, however, this is a great day in Sharks history and, along with the extensions of Thornton and Michalek earlier this summer, should ensure that San Jose will be a Cup contender for years to come.

Sharks announce broadcast schedule

2007-08-28T20:43:00.001-07:00

In an official press release Tuesday, the Sharks released the FSN Bay Area broadcast schedule for the 2007-08 season. 70 of the Sharks' 82 games will be televised, with two additional games scheduled to appear on Versus. 40 of the Sharks' 41 home games, all but a November 12th tilt against Phoenix, will be televised by the network, along with 32 of 41 road games. 11 of the 70 games will be broadcast on FSN+, with two more beginning on FSN+ then being joined by FSN Bay Area's flagship station following that night's Golden State Warriors game. As previously reported, Drew Remenda will be returning to the broadcast booth as FSN Bay Area's Sharks color analyst after a one-year respite with the CBC.

Ducklings to host Baby Sharks

2007-08-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

In an official press release Saturday, the Anaheim Ducks announced that the team will be hosting a two-game series on September 8th and 9th that will pitt Ducks and Sharks prospects against each other. Presumably, the tournament is in part a replacement of the formerly annual Pacific Division Shootout, an event cancelled reportedly due to the regular-season games Anaheim and Los Angeles will play in London.

The Ducks announced their roster for the tournament, which includes 2005 No. 2 overall pick Bobby Ryan, 2007 first-round pick Logan MacMillan and brother of Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller, Drew Miller, who might be one of the few players in the league considered a prospect despite having his name on the Stanley Cup. The Sharks have yet to make an official announcement regarding the tournament, let alone detailing their roster, but it's probably safe to say the lineup will include the likes of Logan Couture, Devin Setoguchi, Ty Wishart, Nick Petrecki and Thomas Greiss.

Ice Bowl confirmed

2007-08-24T16:28:00.001-07:00

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the first NHL outdoor game since the 2003 Heritage Classic saw the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens compete at an outdoor Alberta rink, has been all but confirmed. As expected, the Buffalo Sabres will play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills, on New Year's Day 2008. The game will be nationally televised on NBC, who reportedly commissioned the event as a result of failing to land a college football bowl game. This comes after the network attempted to arrange a meeting between the Rangers and Islanders at Yankee Stadium last New Year's, which was unsuccessful.

In other hockey-related news, Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated, who has been handing out grades to teams based on their off-season performance for a few weeks now, has a Pacific Division report card up. The Sharks receive a B- from Muir, which is understandable due to their relative lack of player addition, but the contract extensions to Joe Thornton, Milan Michalek and Craig Rivet (all but the Rivet deal arguably below market value, mind you) have to be taken into consideration. The Kings deservedly finish at the head of the Pacific Division class with an A-. While their horrendous goaltending situation will likely inhibit them from their first playoff berth in five years, what GM Dean Lombardi has been able to accomplish this summer without mortgaging the future (*cough*Kevin Lowe*cough*) is commendable.

Regarding Mike Morris

2007-08-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Max Giese, a co-writer for Sharkspage, has an excellent piece up on Sharks prospect Mike Morris. Drafted 27th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Morris was considered a blue-chip prospect until a 2005 car accident hampered his development. However, the former Northeastern Huskies collegiate forward recently signed an entry-level deal with San Jose and is expected to report to training camp in September. Although it's unlikely he'll make the big club out of camp, he can expect solid minutes for Worcester and perhaps a call-up or two should injuries crop up. Anyway, a terrific read, I'd reccomend anyone interested in the Sharks' seemingly inexhaustible pipeline of young forwards to check it out.

It's official: Michalek re-signs

2007-08-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

According to this Czech hockey server (and some helpful translation from Kukla), Milan Michalek, as reported earlier, has signed a 6-year, $26 million contract extension that will keep him in San Jose through the 2013-14 NHL season.

As I suggested previously, it looks like Derek Roy and Nathan Horton's identical 6-year, $24 million deals signed earlier this offsesason were used as comparables. The extra $2 million thrown in is probably to compensate any offer sheets Michalek could have received had he become an RFA July 1st, 2008.

UPDATE The Sharks beat writer for the Mercury News David Pollak is reporting that the deal has yet to have been entirely finalized, although he does mention the 6-year, $26 million extension reported on the Czech website.

UPDATE sjsharks.com is reporting the extension and have confirmed that it is a 6-year, $26 million deal. Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail weighs in.

All aboard the Forsberg train

2007-08-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hey, NHL teams! Has the salary cap, despite its significant increase, hamstrung you from making significant offseason additions? Is the local media as well as your fanbase calling for the heads of the members of your organization's front office as a direct byproduct of your offseason dormancy? Do you desire to provide fodder for the aforementioned media types to discuss as an attempt to divert them from scathing editorials extolling your incompetence? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we have just the cure for your summertime anguish. Climb aboard the Forsberg train and see what our services have to offer!

By spreading a risk-free, noncommital rumor regarding your club's pursual of the oft-injured and declining, yet high-profile and inexplicably popular talent that is unrestricted free agent center Peter Forsberg, you'll be able to appease your rabid fans and critical reporters. How exactly am I to plant such a rumor, you ask? Unless you're the Colorado Avalanche, Philadelphia Flyers or Nashville Predators, the three teams Forsberg has played for in his NHL career, and therefore already have a basis upon which to spread such a rumor, you're going to have to start from scratch.

If you're like most NHL teams, it's fairly probable that you have a Swedish player in your lineup, or at least playing for your minor league affiliate. As it is a self-evident truth that Forsberg, being a Swede, is intrinsically connected to every active Swedish hockey player (It's true!), you should be able to base your otherwise baseless rumor upon that very connection. The percentage of this scheme imploding in your face is exponentially decreased if you are successful at coaxing that player into proclaiming his desire to play with Forsberg to the very media you plan to circumvent! Because, hey, it's quite plausible that every professional athlete loves to be both overshadowed by a player that is a shell of his former self and have his team's season become a sideshow with that very player being the centerpiece!

What's that? Your Norris-winning Swedish superstar is on record saying he barely knows, let alone is in an active friendship with, Forsberg? Come on, that kind of paranoia will get you nowhere in this league! What's the chance anyone possibly remembers that? Your final step in creating the rumor, before planting it in the media, is sufficiently covering yourself should, in fact, the plan backfire. While there's a chance (greater than the chance of Mike Myers' hockey-related movie succeeding, but significantly less than the chance of Rick Tocchet not crawling back to the Phoenix bench by Christmas) Forsberg will indeed sign with your club, there's probably a better chance of him signing with another team in pursuit of his services, playing out the string with MoDo in Sweden or retiring altogether. In order to prevent any of that nasty negative press when Forsberg ends up signing with a rival or decides to throw in the towel after your near assurance of his impending arrival to town, make sure to throw in a comment regarding his health status or that his elusive and drawn out "decision-making process" may lead to him pursuing a different offer.

After sufficiently padding your story, whisper the rumor into the waiting ear of a media type. We reccomend Eklund. With his credibility in the eyes of the online hockey community rapidly declining, it's quite possible you will receive monetary compensation in return for this "insider" information. Once Eklund stirs the pot, leak the rumor to a mainstream outlet and watch your Forsberg-related rumor sizzle. Within days, your previously-furious fans and formerly-ridiculing media will adore you for your competetive pursuit of the Swedish star. If all else fails and your fanbase sees through your blatant lies, don't worry. Just take a page from fellow front-office czar Darcy Regier of the Buffalo Sabres and, despite an off-season in which your club maintained the status quo or even lost the team's most important players to the clutches of conference competitors, simply raise ticket prices. That'll give them something other than your free agent-related incompetence to repine about!

Report: Michalek extension in works

2007-08-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

According to an article on Hokej.cz, apparently a one-stop shop for all your Czech hockey-related needs, player agent Allen Walch, who has represented a multitude of Czech talent, including Martin Havlat and Patrik Elias, claims that San Jose management is finalizing a contract extension for burgeoning 22-year-old forward Milan Michalek, who would otherwise become an RFA (and susceptible to offer sheets) July 1st, 2008.

As the entire website is in Czech, it's largely incomprehensible, but apparently something along the lines of "within a few days, all will be announced" was stated by Walch. Michalek, in just his second full season in the NHL, was last year's "best buy" in terms of dollars per point as he scored 26 goals and 66 points on a line with Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo for league-minimum salary. A rather interesting anomaly regarding Michalek's production last season was that he scored 22 points in his first 20 games of the season and 25 points in his final 20 contests, yet just 19 points in the 37 games he participated in between those two segments. Had he produced throughout the entire season at the 1.175 points-per-game clip he churned out during the bookends of the campaign, Michalek would have been 14th in league scoring with 92 points, rather than the still impressive 66 he wound up with. With fantasy hockey season approaching, those numbers are likely as important to poolies as they will be in Michalek's contract negotiations.

Regardless, the best-case scenario for Sharks fans would be a contract similar to what New Jersey Devils forward Zach Parise signed as an RFA earlier this summer for 4 years at $3.125/year. Michalek/Walch's side is likely to push for a deal similar to what Florida Panthers winger Nathan Horton and Buffalo Sabres center Derek Roy received, both six-year contracts worth $4 million a season. However, a contract in that ballpark may actually be preferrable as it eats two of Michalek's UFA years. I'll be sure to update on this situation when official word regarding the terms of the contract are known.

Prison bell tolls

2007-08-14T19:14:00.001-07:00

Former Shark Mark Bell, traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Vesa Toskala on June 22nd in exchange for first and second round picks in the 2007 entry draft and a fourth-rounder in '09, was sentenced to six months jail time in a Santa Clara County prison due to a hit-and-run felony and DUI in San Jose that occurred during Labor Day weekend 2006, according to Sportsnet.

Bell was a flop in his only season in teal, perhaps due to the mental toll involved with the hit-and-run, which he pleaded guilty to. GM Doug Wilson was presumably pleased to rid himself of the three years and $6.5 million remaining on Bell's contract, but it remains to be seen whether the cap hit will be taken off Maple Leafs books altogether should the NHL suspend him for the 2007-08 season. I'm also unsure as to whether there is a stipulation in the CBA that removes the cap hit for an incarcerated player.

In other Sharks news, NHL.com has posted training camp schedules for all 30 teams and it appears that the Sharks will set up shop at Logitech Ice in San Jose on September 13th.

UPDATE According to the Toronto Star, the six-month sentence may be the least of Bell's problems as crash victim Jose Luis Villafana has filed a lawsuit seeking "unlimited" damages. Villafana's lawyer Samuel Samaniego is quoted by the Star as saying "We've sued in Superior Court for unlimited. Basically that means we're going to be going for everything." Ouch. To add insult to injury, while Bell will be serving the sentence over the next two off-seasons, it seems that, according to Mirtle, Maple Leafs fans are speculating Bell will be suiting up for the Marlies rather than the Buds.

Sharks re-sign Patzold

2007-08-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

Per the San Jose Sharks' official website, Sharks management has apparently finally gotten around to re-signing restricted free agent goaltender Dmitri Patzold to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the deal have yet to surface.

If all goes as planned, the Sharks will be the only team in the NHL with two goalies from Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan on their roster for the 2007-08 season, with Patzold temporarily slated to backup Evgeni Nabokov, likely due to support from late Sharks' goaltending coach Warren Strelow, who stated last season that Patzold was ready for an NHL No. 2 job. The 24-year-old is likely to face competition for the backup job from Thomas Greiss and perhaps even Taylor Dakers. Patzold's AHL numbers last season with Worcester aren't exactly reassuring, as he compiled a 3.35 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage to go along with a 10-8-3 record.

So long, Ek

2007-08-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

The prince of offsides, the king of choke, the sultan of soft -- whatever you want to call him, he's former Shark Nils Ekman (his first name is actually Nisse -- who knew?) and according to various internet reports, he'll be playing for Khimik Mytischi (say that three times fast...okay, so it's not that hard) of the Russian Super League next year, fueling speculation that in Soviet Russia, "Ekman don't go offsides, offsides go Ekman" or something like that.

Now that I've ridiculed the guy enough, I have to say he isn't as bad as he's made out to be by the Sharks fanbase and San Jose media (then again, few players -- save for Mark Bell -- truly are). In fact, he had above-average footspeed and showed great hands during his tenure with the Sharks and it could be argued (by delusional fools) that he was somewhat responsible for Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo clicking. While that's far from the truth, on the nights that he did show up, he was able to make positive contributions to the team.

But that's the problem. He seldom showed up. Ekman had a penchant for staying as far away from the net as possible and rarely did the dirty work in the corners, forcing either Thornton or Cheechoo to dig out the puck. He also pulled tremendous disappearing acts in both the San Jose playoff runs he was involved in. But I will give the guy credit -- he was far more effective on the Thornton--Cheechoo line that Mark Bell was, for whatever it's worth and, to my knowledge, Ekman always employed a designated driver. That can't be said about his replacement, Bell.

Ekman was jettisonned from San Jose long before Bell's DUI, however, traded along with goaltending prospect Patrick Ehelechner to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Carolina's second-round draft pick, which the Pens acquired in the Mark Recchi trade deadline deal in '06, which was then traded along with the Toronto Maple Leafs' first-round pick (acquired in the Vesa Toskala deal) on Draft Day 2007 for the St. Louis Blues' 9th overall pick, used to draft Logan Couture. Anyway, Ekman was reasonably effective during his tenure with the Penguins, even playing on Sidney Crosby's wing for a few games and scoring a natural hat trick against his other former team, Tampa Bay, but his time in black and yellow was cut short by a separated shoulder.

A UFA July 1st, there were message board rumblings that Ekman may return to Tealtown for his second tour of ~~going offsides~~ duty with the Sharks, but in the end, Russia came calling (because nobody else did) and it's there that the Swedish Mike Comrie will earn his (tax-free) salary, thankfully for Ekman, a world away from Chris Pronger. Good riddance, Ekman, and good luck (with removing the blueline).

The Vrbata-for-Adams blockbuster

2007-08-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Just when Chicago Blackhawks GM Dave Tallon seems to be showing some managerial progress, he goes out and pulls a trade like this.

Now I realize Radim Vrbata isn't exactly an elite talent and, given his track record, it isn't difficult to gauge that he easily wears out his welcome, but this is the same player who tore up the NHL early last season to the tune of three goals and eleven points in the first eight games of the 2006-07 campaign while playing on the Hawks' top line with Michal Handzus and Martin Havlat. Granted, he was essentially MIA after Handzus and Havlat's respective injuries, but this is clearly a guy with a lot of skill.

Chicago posted the second-fewest goals in the NHL and swapping a player who can put up numbers for Kevyn Adams who, while an effective checker and above-average faceoff man, will never be confused with Sidney Crosby on the scoresheet. And, besides, regardless of the quality of player, was it smart to trade a winger for a center on a team that already boasts (I use that term in the loosest way possible) Robert Lang, Jonathan Toews, Yannic Perreault and Patrick Sharp down the middle. Also, did I mention Adams was available on waivers just weeks ago?

Despite Adams' alleged multitude of intangible contributions, I think it's safe to say Tallon and co., especially if Sergei Samsonov doesn't pan out (and who really expects Samsonov to pan out?), will be regretting this trade.

Versus schedule announced

2007-08-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Steve over at Battle of New York posted a copy of the Versus broadcast schedule for the upcoming season that he managed to get his hands on. Entering the third year of its partnership with the NHL, the network will televise 54 games in addition to the NHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition in January. Some facts about the schedule:

--The Sharks will be on twice, both away games, one on October 29th at Dallas and exactly three months later on January 29th at Edmonton, on the first day of post-All-Star game play.

--Interestingly enough, there are far more broadcasts both involving Canadian teams and in Canadian cities than the two previous years of the partnership. 13 games involve Canadian teams, eight of those with the Canadian team at home.

--The broadcast schedule kicks off in London, where Versus will televise the second game of the Ducks/Kings back-to-back on September 30th at 9AM Pacific Time. No word on whether NBC will be picking up the game on the 29th.

--A game on April 1st is ambiguously titled "VERSUS Choice Game," likely a similar scenario to the "flex schedules" NBC plans to employ in which the marquee teams (or, as it is an April game, the contest with the greatest playoff implications) are televised.

--The Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche have the most games on Versus, with eight apiece, followed closely by the Buffalo Sabres at seven. Buffalo and Pittsburgh generated the highest market ratings for Versus telecasts last season, so it's no surprise they comprise a large portion of the broadcast schedule.

--The Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Ottawa Senators and Phoenix Coyotes are tied for the lowest number of telecasts, with one apiece. Can't say I'm surprised with much of this group as the three small-market Canadian teams are predictably shafted, but you would think that the Kings would get a little more airtime, although I suppose VS believes the Ducks will draw just as many viewers from the L.A. market.

The Great Exodus of '07

2007-08-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

If you were to believe everything you read on hockey blogs and websites this off-season, the sense that the sky is falling over the heads of the NHL and hockey community in general would certainly be palpable. Sentiments like "Why are the big-market teams once again dominating free agency?," "Did we really lose an entire season to develop a CBA this flawed?" and "Is Kevin Lowe mentally deficient?" are common questions pondered by many a hockey writer regarding what is, in their minds, the rapidly declining state of the game.

So if these issues are being tossed out there as signs of the hockey armageddon, the exodus of mid-level and lower-tier talent to Russia has the potential to significantly hurt the league. We've all heard of Alexei Yashin's departure by now, but several other players have either signed or are considering signing with a Russian Super League team next season. Randy Robitaille, Oleg Saprykin, Jamie McLennan, Jussi Markkanen and Dmitry Afanasenkov have already broadcasted their intent to play in Russia next year, while Danny Markov and Oleg Tverdovsky are considering their options, both of whom are reportedly close to returning to their native Russia.

While it's true that Saprykin probably wasn't going to win any Hart Trophies and there likely weren't any Vezinas in Markkanen's future, many prognosticators predicted that the CBA would take a toll on the lower-tier and some middle-level players like the Robitailles, Saprykins and Afanaseknovs of the league. While you could make the argument that these players (all of whom except Robitaille, McLennan and Markkanen are Russian) wanted to return to their homeland, it was reported that Saprykin in particular and likely all other players would make more money in tax-free Russia than playing for a North American NHL team. The situation with the goaltenders Markannen and McLennan is unique as there is a dwindling amount of spots open on NHL teams for journeymen backups.

These players certainly aren't the bread and butter of NHL teams, but are still vital cogs in third- and fourth-line roles and their losses are detrimental to the quality of the league as a whole, as their spots will likely be filled by league-minimum, low-skill level players. While the NHL surely won't be giving up its title as the greatest hockey league in the world in the forseeable future as superstar Russians like Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk will be continue to be paid far more in North America than they could ever dream of being compensated in Russia, losing players to European establishments as a result of lack of compensation due to a CBA that essentially stipulates the overpayment of higher-level players (think the Flyers couldn't have afforded to re-up Afanasenkov with the $2 million more they paid Scott Hartnell than what a player of his numbers actually deserves?), this could present (yet another) grave problem for the league sometime in the future.

UPDATE Hours after I post this, it seems Boston Bruins forward Stanislav Chistov is contemplating playing in Russia (story found via Kukla) as well, most likely for the Mettalurg Magnitogorsk who he played for during the lockout.

Regarding offer sheets

2007-08-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Good riddance, Dustin Penner.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the 25-year-old power forward who will be making "Scott Hartnell money" (never thought I'd say that) for the next five years under Krazy Kevin Lowe's regime in Edmonton thanks to Brian Burke's refusal to match an offer sheet tendered by Lowe, scored six goals in eight games against the Sharks last year, mostly thanks to a San Jose defense that simply couldn't move him away from the front of the net.

But if I am to suspend my glee at the thought that the Sharks now only need to face Penner four times a year rather than eight, I suppose it's time to look at RFA offer sheets as a whole. While the literature on sjsharks.com usually consists of stories regarding assistant coach Tim Hunter's fishing exploits and Steve Bernier's enthralling three-day vacation in New York coupled with his craving for French-Canadian dish Poutine that is hindered by his diet, Sharks radio play-by-play man Dan Rusanowsky has an insightful op-ed article up regarding this very subject.

While he looks at the situation with obligatory teal-colored shades ("It seems the San Jose Sharks are pretty well set up for success in this new universe..." even though they have seven players set to become RFAs next year, most of whom are worth a "grossly overpaid," to quote Burke, offer sheet), he points out that the "subtle result" of Burke failing to match will increase the propensity for GMs to hand out offer sheets once managers realize that the tag-on to what a player's market value actually is (a.k.a. Penner isn't worth "Scott Hartnell money" -- hell Scott Hartnell isn't worth Scott Hartnell money, but that's a topic to be broached a different time -- but is offered more in an attempt to secure his services) is simply a "premium" that Rusanowsky compares with stock options and shares tendered by "multinational businesses conducting an executive talent search."

So will there be more offer sheets in the future? Well, at least according to Dan, yes, once GMs pick up on the fact that what appears to be an inflated contract is necessary to procure a player. But I think scenarios such as the one the Ottawa Sun predicted with the Toronto Maple Leafs throwing a league-maximum, long-term contract at Jason Spezza when he becomes an RFA next year is probably metered out by the amount of draft picks they would have to cough up in compensation, especially in this day and age under a CBA that (supposedly) puts a greater emphasis on drafting. I think Rusanowsky brings up an excellent point that a "premium" is automatically added to the salaries of those tendered offer sheets and this needs to be gauged by GMs in arbitration cases. For example, if Kings forward Mike Cammalleri, who was involved in such a case yesterday, cites the Penner deal to the arbiter and discusses how he almost scored twice as many points as him should be rebuffed by Lombardi through the concept of a "premium" tag-on to Penner's true market worth.

Predators sale solves little

2007-08-01T18:11:00.001-07:00

First off, I'd like to extend my congratulations to the organizers of Nashville's "Our Team" rally which undoubtedly had an impact on the team's sale to a Nashville investors group earlier today. And enough people have covered the logistics and details of the deal as well as the investors group, which, according to Mirtle, includes former San Jose Sharks minority owner Williams "Boots" Del Biaggio, who will give up his stake in the Sharks. But building on what Adam Proteau of the Hockey News essentially stated in his blog today when he voiced his concern over how the situation involving a local group seems eerily familiar to "The Spirit of Winnipeg" investors coalition that made a pitch to buy the Jets before they were eventually moved to Phoenix.

While a binding letter of intent by former Preds owner Craig Leipold (who, as an aside, is apparently looking into purchasing the Minnesota Wild), seems to put to rest those conceptions, it makes sense to raise the question "What's next?" in regards to the team's future in Nashville. Yes, they switched owners and will remain in Nashville, but no matter how saintly 36 Venture Capital LLC may seem to the people of Nashville, they are not a charity, which leads me to believe they, like Leipold, will not, and should not have to, tolerate a team that is not financially viable in its current market.

Yes, the aforementioned "Our Team" rally was a tremendous success in selling season tickets, but who were the consumers? From the articles I read regarding the event, they ranged from blue-collar workers to 12-year-old kids forsaking plasma TVs to keep the Preds in Music City, and nowhere in between were corporate supporters. As long as Nashville lacks significant sponsors, even if it is to hit the vaunted 14,000 seat total, it's unlikely the team will be turning profits in its current state.

That's where Del Biaggio comes in. The California venture capitalist previously purchased the rights to either move an existing NHL team or acquire an expansion franchise to play in the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Assuming in the long term -- and one imagines 2-3 years in the red will raise some eyebrows among David Freeman and co. -- the team continues to struggle financially, a move to Kansas City is still very plausible and in fact probable. However, today is still a glorious turn in the young history of the Predators and, for now, ends the tiresome Summer soap opera the selling of the franchise regressed into.

Remenda Returns

2007-08-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

So what if the Sharks failed to re-sign Scott Hannan? Who cares that Doug Wilson didn't make many drastic changes to improve the team this year? What does it matter that the Stanley Cup is now a distant gleam on the horizon? The Sharks fans' world has exponentially improved with official news that popular broadcaster and former assistant coach Drew Remenda is returning to his role in the booth as Randy Hahn's color analyst on FSN broadcasts, a role he relinquished to Marty McSorley last season to pursue a job with the CBC.

The contract is reportedly three years and stipulates that Remenda host magazine-style show "Shark Byte." According to the press release, Remenda has won three Bay Area Emmy Awards (for what that's worth) and also spent three seasons prior to his TV job working the radio with Dan Rusanowsky.

Ryder signs, Cheechoo cringes

2007-07-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

While $2.5 million, which is the amount Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo will collect for the 2007-08 NHL season, is more than I or any reader of this blog (all one of you) will aspire to make in a decade or perhaps even a lifetime, let alone a year, you can't help but think Cheechoo enters a state of acute depression whenever news breaks of a decidedly lesser forward signing a contract that will compensate him more handsomely than Cheechoo.

The latest example is a one-year, $2.95 million contract signed by Michael Ryder, of all people, yesterday. The RFA was headed to arbitration but settled contract issues before the hearing. Now Ryder isn't exactly some random scrub. He did score 30 goals and 58 points last year and has scored 85 goals and 176 points in a 244-game career that includes a selection to the 2004 All-Rookie Team. But the real insult added to Cheechoo's injury is that Ryder signed a contract for below market value, presumably for the incentive of becoming a free agent July 1st, 2008 and hop on the first train out of Montreal, yet still received a higher paycheck for his 58 points than the Cheechoo Train.

Since the lockout, Jonathan Cheechoo has scored 100 goals in 180 regular-season and playoff games, second in the NHL during that span to only Ottawa's Dany Heatley. However, among forwards with NHL contracts for the 07-08 campaign, Cheechoo ranks 93rd in salary earned. That's right, 93rd. Now, this certainly isn't meant to be taken as a complaint. I'm ecstatic that the Sharks save valuable cap space by paying Cheech eons less than market value. What this does do is shed some light upon the intelligence of Doug Wilson. For all his faults, give DW some credit for locking up Cheechoo in February of '06, before he won the Rocket Richard trophy and helped Joe Thornton become league MVP.

Roy contract holds Michalek implications

2007-07-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Enter the world of Derek Roy. The guy has one decent season playing with All-Star calibre linemates in Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov and receives a 6-year, $24 million contract which will skew the RFA market for years to come. The Sharks will be a large player in that market next off-season as Marcel Goc, Christian Ehrhoff, Joe Pavelski, Steve Bernier, Ryane Clowe, Matt Carle and, most notably, Milan Michalek all become restricted free agents.

Now, setting aside the significant possibility that one or more of those players will be handed offer sheets by Krazy Kevin going apeshit again, the Roy contract will set a precedent for any and all contracts handed to the Sharks' 2008 RFAs, especially Michalek. Now, Roy scored 21 goals and 63 points in 75 games with a +37 rating, which projects out to about 69 points had he played in all 82 games. Michalek scored 26 goals and 66 points in 78 games last year while compiling a +17, which projects to a little over 69 points as well. So, their values are essentially the same.

Monetarily speaking, that will probably lead to a contract similar to Roy's, providing a cap hit of $4 million. Assuming the cap hits $53 million next year, this puts the Sharks in a precarious position as their cap number will already be inflated by the increase in Joe Thornton's contract, and this still is excluding the aforementioned group of RFAs, of which Matt Carle is likely due a significant raise. And did I mention Patrick Marleau becomes a UFA next July? Essentially, enjoy this relatively quiet off-season while you can, Sharks fans, because the next one's going to be a living hell.

Sharks sign Alexei Semenov

2007-07-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Sharks made their first dip into free agency Friday (unless you count signing Brad Norton as a dip), signing journeyman defenseman Alexei Semenov, most recently of the Florida Panthers. In 156 NHL games, the Russian has scored 5 goals, netted 16 assists and is +6 with 156 penalty minutes. I'd like to offer analysis, but I really don't know much about this guy. He's never played more than 46 games in an NHL season and was on a perpetual bus to Rochester for a large part of his tenure with the Panthers.

He should slot in as the Sharks' 7th defenseman and will likely see very little ice time (unless it's with Worcester) unless injuries crop up or Rob Davison plays like utter crap, both of which are significant possibilities. Of course, this Semenov business is overshadowing the real story here -- the Sharks actually signed someone with (remote) NHL abilities! While it may be 26 days too late for some, including this blogger, San Jose put pen to paper at long last. You can tell it's been quite an offseason when signing Alexei Semenov constitutes an event.

NBC revamps NHL studio show

2007-07-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

According to this press release, NBC plans to revamp its weekly NHL on NBC studio show, with the most interesting change the advent of longtime New York Islanders coach/GM Mike Milbury, who will be replacing the one-and-done Brett Hull as a studio analyst. Also, Alex Trebek lookalike Bill Clement (close enough) will no longer be the show's moderator, with that job going to "Inside the Glass" reporter Pierre "not picking Cherepanov is unconscionable" McGuire, known for his role with Canada's TSN network.

The show will also no longer be based out of the Rockafeller Center in downtown New York, rather the arena in which the "Game of the Week" is played. Letting go of Clement is a bad decision in my mind, but perhaps a little less political correctness will do the show some good. Milbury, whose self-proclaimed legacy is beating up a New York Rangers fan with his loafer, can bring that element if truly motivated. I'm certainly not a McGuire fan, but his knowledge of the game is respectable. Still, one can't help but think Jeremy Roenick would be the perfect personality to add here.

Oilers at it again

2007-07-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

Kevin Lowe and his ragtag crew of Edmonton Oilers management types are back to their dastardly RFA offer sheet ways, with the Anaheim Ducks their new victim. According to TSN, the Oilers tendered Ducks power forward Dustin Penner a five-year, $21.5 million sheet that screams of desperation, especially when the player in question put up just 45 points. But hey, I'm not complaining. Penner was a pain-in-the-nether orifice for the San Jose Sharks all season long last year, potting six goals and two assists in eight games against San Jose. Moving him out of the division would be a great turn of events in my mind.

Now the question is whether or not Ducks GM Brian Burke will match. The Oiler's earlier RFA offer sheet this offseason blew up in their face, when GM Darcy Regier of the Buffalo Sabres matched a 7-year, $50 million contract tendered to sniper Thomas Vanek. No GM in NHL history has failed to match an offer sheet, but I have a feeling Burke will be the first. If Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne decide not to retire, a possibility that increases with each passing day without an official statement, the Ducks will potentially be in salary cap hell, having signed UFAs Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi to lucrative deals earlier this month. My prediction? Burke doesn't match and Penner has a terrible season with the Oilers, where he collapses under the pressure of an Edmonton media expecting him to lead the franchise to glory (a la Joffrey Lupul) and Lowe finally gets fired for his incompetence. Or receives a ten-year extension. Whatever.

UPDATE If the Ducks are to match, it would reportedly put them $2 million over the cap with the retirement-contemplating Selanne and Scott Niedermayer still unsigned.