GDT: Game 11: Sharks vs. Penguins 7:00pm NBCSCA

[Bizz]

Imagine shitting on the best player the Sharks have had since Joe f***ing Thornton because of the incompetency of team management and just about everything that was out of his control.

 

[Cas]

I don't want to just shit on MG, but it feels like he has been coasting on the "What more could I have done?" excuse for every move he makes. At some point, I would like to see something that makes me go, man MG really knows what he is doing. Produce players under his watch that look like long term guys.

Since he's taken over, we've had the #11 pick, #4 pick and almost certainly a top 3 pick next year. Plus, whatever assets he has been able to extract out of guys like Burns, EK and hopefully Hertl/Couture etc. In 3 years, all that should start producing something that creates optimism, otherwise, what is he even doing?

The rebuild started in February, and he was hired last June. We have no idea whether Grier is good at scouting and developing yet, because there hasn't been time.

 

[Bizz]

Mike Grier thought Matt Benning was a good defenseman and decided to give him a 4 year contract.

I dunno about his development, but I'd say his scouting is f***ing garbage.

 

[Tw1ster]

I left after the first period to go play some real hockey (beer league) after feeling not too bad about their effort and I come back to this. What in the actual f***. I have a Sharks hat on that I wear here and I feel like I’m legit asking to be bullied.

 

[Pavelski2112]

I'm legit more invested in the Sharks than I have been in years

This is awesome and I won't hear otherwise

 

[Skeksis25]

The rebuild started in February, and he was hired last June. We have no idea whether Grier is good at scouting and developing yet, because there hasn't been time.

Right and that's why I am not ready to even criticize him much yet, let alone move on from him. Just saying that he hasn't shown anything yet that makes me stand up and take notice. Makes me feel confident that we got the guy who will turn this around.

He's gotten relatively underwhelming returns for Burns, Meier and EK and I completely understand when the reasoning is, "He couldn't have done much more." His FA signings so far are all very uninspiring, but again, I get it. What impact guy is he supposed to sign right now?

I'm just saying, so far I'm getting the vibe that he is just someone doing what is expected and not much more. He certainly deserves 2-3 years to show what the prospects he has acquired and will acquire develop into. Hopefully he hits on multiple of them. Right now, I'm sitting here hoping and praying that he knows what he is doing, rather than be confident that he is. Just would like to see some sign, some spark or some move that just another guy would not be able to pull off.

 

[Groo]

The league needs to find different sources of income so that the gate revenue isn't so important. Then the ticket prices can be more reasonable. This is not just a problem for San Jose, even if the bay's demographics make it a specifically scary case. Bettman needs to figure out how to get better TV deals and run the league better so we aren't getting our asses handed to us by the NBA and even MLS.

What's specific to SJ is that Bay Area fans have always been fair weather.

Either way, if SJ loses its franchise, it's not just SJ that's in trouble but the NHL more broadly. That's my current belief.

Empty seats are the norm in the Bay Area no matter which team it was/is losing

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

On that note. Should Eklund really stew in this environment? The secondary goal is development it clearly is failing in that department. Good lord I feel like this locker room culture might adversely affect him.

 

[TheBeard]

Mike Grier thought Matt Benning was a good defenseman and decided to give him a 4 year contract.

I dunno about his development, but I'd say his scouting is f***ing garbage.

Matt Benning is unequivocally our best defenceman and it’s not even close.

 

[Shark Finn]

This team..

 

[tiburon12]

Mike Grier thought Matt Benning was a good defenseman and decided to give him a 4 year contract.

I dunno about his development, but I'd say his scouting is f***ing garbage.

Mike Grier signed Matt Benning, an OK 5/6 defenseman, to OK 5/6 defenseman money. There's no conceivable reason to gripe about his contract

 

[Lebanezer]

Mike Grier signed Matt Benning, an OK 5/6 defenseman, to OK 5/6 defenseman money. There's no conceivable reason to gripe about his contract

I agree, but the contract isn't the problem (and I know that's what you were addressing), it's asking him to be anything more than a 5/6 dmen. That's what happens when you don't acquire any players who can conceivably fill the roles of the players you traded. The current roster is filled with fringe NHL players save for maybe 5 or 6 forwards. They're going to get run out of the building almost every night.

 

[tiburon12]

I agree, but the contract isn't the problem (and I know that's what you were addressing), it's asking him to be anything more than a 5/6 dmen. That's what happens when you don't acquire any players who can conceivably fill the roles of the players you traded. The current roster is filled with fringe NHL players save for maybe 5 or 6 forwards. They're going to get run out of the building almost every night.

Agree, and to counterpoint for conversation sake, what else could the sharks do? Cap constraints aside, signing quality players is a two-way street, and since the Sharks weren't in a position like say Anaheim or Chicago to overpay for qulaity vets, they had really nothing attractive to offer a host of UFAs. And if they were to have traded what few good assets they have for stop-gap quality players, fans would be calling for Grier's head on a pike.

 

[karltonian]

Matt Benning is unequivocally our best defenceman and it’s not even close.

I mean two things can be true at once

 

[Karl Prime]

Imagine shitting on the best player the Sharks have had since Joe f***ing Thornton because of the incompetency of team management and just about everything that was out of his control.

Really, the Vlasic contract may be the worst thing Wilson ever did in his tenure. Imagine if they could have turned that 7 mil into a scoring winger or a top flight partner for Burns/Karlsson.

But yeah, there was a lot more than just the EK deal that hurt the team. The Vlasic and Jones deals and both regressing hard, the pandemic that froze the cap (does EK sign for 11.5 if they could have known it was coming?). And then the Kane debacle, which yes, freed up cap space but also lost them a scoring winger.

 

[karltonian]

Really, the Vlasic contract may be the worst thing Wilson ever did in his tenure. Imagine if they could have turned that 7 mil into a scoring winger or a top flight partner for Burns/Karlsson.

But yeah, there was a lot more than just the EK deal that hurt the team. The Vlasic and Jones deals and both regressing hard, the pandemic that froze the cap (does EK sign for 11.5 if they could have known it was coming?). And then the Kane debacle, which yes, freed up cap space but also lost them a scoring winger.

I actually still put Niemi's deal at or near the top of worst things DW did. He gave that deal WAY too early into Nemo's career. He was NOT the answer and having him back there absolutely wasted the team's peak years.

Running Kane out of town is up there, that was the equivalent of throwing away a 1st line player and a 1st round pick.

Not protecting the pick sent to the Senators is high on the list even though it is defensible, just because of how bad the outcome was.

Most of the rest, including vlasic's contract, are defensible and just did not pan out en masse.

 

[dmcccdmn]

Just checked the score today and was not disappointed. I don't remember the last time I was this excited about our future. Being bad but not bad enough to get top picks is the worst feeling. I don't want that again. Giving up 10 goals every game for the rest of the season? I can't think of a better outcome than that for this team.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[Cas]

On that note. Should Eklund really stew in this environment? The secondary goal is development it clearly is failing in that department. Good lord I feel like this locker room culture might adversely affect him.

There is nowhere better for Eklund to go. The Barracuda are also bad, 1-4-3 and being outscored by 11 (tied for second-worst in the league).

The only way to remove him from this mess is to trade him.

 

[exchequer]

There is nowhere better for Eklund to go. The Barracuda are also bad, 1-4-3 and being outscored by 11 (tied for second-worst in the league).

The only way to remove him from this mess is to trade him.

how much? 3 1st rounders? I’d do that right now.

 

[Cas]

how much? 3 1st rounders? I’d do that right now.

We'd be lucky to get a low 1st. I don't think "top prospect getting traded at 20" is much of a sell.

 

[Jargon]

Maybe we should trade Hertl and Couture for two more 1sts and really see how bad we can be with Granlund as our #1 center…

I will say the guys have completely lost all confidence. You compare their play against the Avalanche early in the year, they actually looked like a fun team. This.. I don’t know what this is.

 

[TheBeard]

Really, the Vlasic contract may be the worst thing Wilson ever did in his tenure. Imagine if they could have turned that 7 mil into a scoring winger or a top flight partner for Burns/Karlsson.

But yeah, there was a lot more than just the EK deal that hurt the team. The Vlasic and Jones deals and both regressing hard, the pandemic that froze the cap (does EK sign for 11.5 if they could have known it was coming?). And then the Kane debacle, which yes, freed up cap space but also lost them a scoring winger.

I don’t simply because no one could have seen this much of a regression so quickly. The team was still competing hard and he was still a top pairing shutdown guy.

The Hertl deal happened when it was clear the team was in major decline and had no need for a nearly-30 year old forward. That and the Karlsson deals did this team in more than Logan and Vlasic’s.

 

[YUPPY]

Just checked the score today and was not disappointed. I don't remember the last time I was this excited about our future. Being bad but not bad enough to get top picks is the worst feeling. I don't want that again. Giving up 10 goals every game for the rest of the season? I can't think of a better outcome than that for this team.

You do realize that the NHL only give Chi, Edm or Pitts the 1st pick overall as the lottery drafts are rigged right? The Sharks in all of its 32 years of existence, NEVER pick 1st overall.

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

There is nowhere better for Eklund to go. The Barracuda are also bad, 1-4-3 and being outscored by 11 (tied for second-worst in the league).

The only way to remove him from this mess is to trade him.

That's fair. Jeez I hope we didn't screw him up