By Robert Hazou
For many years Doug Wilson has always said the San Jose Sharks are “rebuilding” His use of the word rebuilding should be used loosely because he has done nothing to rebuild the Sharks until now. Prior years Wilson would trade away players for picks, and do nothing to replace that player like Dan Boyle. Because the Sharks lost Boyle, Burns had to move to the blue line and we had to rush a couple of rookies into the NHL to make up for the loss of Boyle. The defense suffered badly, and the team is still paying the price. He would also sign worthless players like John Scott. I get the team does not have an aggressive player with the Torres injury, but signing Scott was not the answer. Scott's roster spot could have been used to develop young players like Tye McGin who would later be placed on waivers and get picked up by the Flyers. With about $16 million left in cap space the Sharks should look into getting a few defensemen to help with the lack of depth. After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003 it is obvious the Sharks would make major changes. Todd McLellan lost his job because of this thus starting the rebuild. Sharks then signed ex-Devils coach Peter DeBoer to replace him, and many fans are unhappy he is the new coach. I will talk about my opinions on the singing another time. Another change that is inevitable is the search for the new starter goalie. Nemo's contract is up, and although I love him he will not be resigned. Sharks are not the kind of team that give goalies a nice new contract. The backup, Alex Stalock is nowhere near the answer to the goaltender situation. Stalock is terrible, and if the Sharks want to make the playoffs they need to find a young goalie to be the starter. Dell and Grosenick still need time in the AHL before they are ready to move up, and there are not a lot of good goalies out there this off-season. Sharks have already shown interest in Talbot, Lehner, and Anderson. If the Maple Leafs let Jonathan Bernier hit free agency I can see the Sharks picking him up. Sharks however need a young goaltender so I do not get why they would go for Anderson. If they can get Talbot then the goalie situation would be okay for the time being.
Now why do I think this is the year the Sharks finally rebuild? With DeBoer now running the show he will want to make the team "his own" and add players that would have great synergy with the current roster. So far the Sharks have only made one move this off-season and that was signing a young player from Finland. Last time Sharks picked up a young European player was Melker Karlsson from Sweden. That turned out to be a very nice steal, and I hope the Melkman gets a nice contract this year to stay with the team because of the huge impact he had. We will see if the 23 year old Joonas Donskoi is the next Finnish Flash, and hope he will develop into a great player for the Sharks. What I fear is that Joe Thornton will be traded to get a fresh young player to play on the top line with hopefully Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture who will be the future leaders for the Sharks. This year draft is also important because the Sharks have the #9 pick. I am hoping they use that pick to get Ivan the Great to help out that defense. This is also the most important off- season for the Sharks because the team has a lot of room to work with which should be used on a new goalie, defense, and some solid 4th line player. If the Sharks make the right moves before the next season starts I see them going far. If they do not get ready for a couple of disappointing seasons Sharks fans. I do have a lot of confidence in the young guys on the team, (Hertl, Tierney, Nieto, Mueller, Goodrow, Tennyson, Lerg, Tarasov, etc.) and I also have high confidence in DeBoer especially after the press conference. The team desperately need captains and in my opinion it should be Cooch who gets it! Do not lose hope Sharks fans, our future looks bright!
For many years Doug Wilson has always said the San Jose Sharks are “rebuilding” His use of the word rebuilding should be used loosely because he has done nothing to rebuild the Sharks until now. Prior years Wilson would trade away players for picks, and do nothing to replace that player like Dan Boyle. Because the Sharks lost Boyle, Burns had to move to the blue line and we had to rush a couple of rookies into the NHL to make up for the loss of Boyle. The defense suffered badly, and the team is still paying the price. He would also sign worthless players like John Scott. I get the team does not have an aggressive player with the Torres injury, but signing Scott was not the answer. Scott's roster spot could have been used to develop young players like Tye McGin who would later be placed on waivers and get picked up by the Flyers. With about $16 million left in cap space the Sharks should look into getting a few defensemen to help with the lack of depth. After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003 it is obvious the Sharks would make major changes. Todd McLellan lost his job because of this thus starting the rebuild. Sharks then signed ex-Devils coach Peter DeBoer to replace him, and many fans are unhappy he is the new coach. I will talk about my opinions on the singing another time. Another change that is inevitable is the search for the new starter goalie. Nemo's contract is up, and although I love him he will not be resigned. Sharks are not the kind of team that give goalies a nice new contract. The backup, Alex Stalock is nowhere near the answer to the goaltender situation. Stalock is terrible, and if the Sharks want to make the playoffs they need to find a young goalie to be the starter. Dell and Grosenick still need time in the AHL before they are ready to move up, and there are not a lot of good goalies out there this off-season. Sharks have already shown interest in Talbot, Lehner, and Anderson. If the Maple Leafs let Jonathan Bernier hit free agency I can see the Sharks picking him up. Sharks however need a young goaltender so I do not get why they would go for Anderson. If they can get Talbot then the goalie situation would be okay for the time being.
Now why do I think this is the year the Sharks finally rebuild? With DeBoer now running the show he will want to make the team "his own" and add players that would have great synergy with the current roster. So far the Sharks have only made one move this off-season and that was signing a young player from Finland. Last time Sharks picked up a young European player was Melker Karlsson from Sweden. That turned out to be a very nice steal, and I hope the Melkman gets a nice contract this year to stay with the team because of the huge impact he had. We will see if the 23 year old Joonas Donskoi is the next Finnish Flash, and hope he will develop into a great player for the Sharks. What I fear is that Joe Thornton will be traded to get a fresh young player to play on the top line with hopefully Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture who will be the future leaders for the Sharks. This year draft is also important because the Sharks have the #9 pick. I am hoping they use that pick to get Ivan the Great to help out that defense. This is also the most important off- season for the Sharks because the team has a lot of room to work with which should be used on a new goalie, defense, and some solid 4th line player. If the Sharks make the right moves before the next season starts I see them going far. If they do not get ready for a couple of disappointing seasons Sharks fans. I do have a lot of confidence in the young guys on the team, (Hertl, Tierney, Nieto, Mueller, Goodrow, Tennyson, Lerg, Tarasov, etc.) and I also have high confidence in DeBoer especially after the press conference. The team desperately need captains and in my opinion it should be Cooch who gets it! Do not lose hope Sharks fans, our future looks bright!
No comments:
Post a Comment