News Article: The future of Doug Wilson in San Jose

[Groo]

I agree. I think his track record has proven itself.

But what he admits in public and behind closed doors may be different. It's a disadvantage for others to know your business strategy

His track record? There's only one way to judge a GM and our rafters are bare
Time for a new direction/culture for the Sharks

 

[Pinkfloyd]

This place will never have much in way of accountability as long as DW runs the place.

 

[Hodge]

There's just no one out there who looks like an obvious upgrade. Which, ironically, was also Doug's justification for signing all of those bad contracts.

 

[Juxtaposer]

This place will never have much in way of accountability as long as DW runs the place.

What do you mean, “this place”, this f***ing fan forum? Newsflash, we don’t have to have accountability, we’re f***ing fans.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

Doug Wilson has kept us in races we had no business being in. For players, playoffs spots. Hes helped make this team fun to watch for over a decade plus. With all that being said, his time has run its course. Just a thought, maybe some of you may have a better idea than me, are there any women in hockey who might be potential GM candidates?? Cammi Granato? I think she's helping Seattle in a scout capacity. That would be cool.

 

[Mafoofoo]

What do you mean, “this place”, this f***ing fan forum? Newsflash, we don’t have to have accountability, we’re f***ing fans.

No, Patrick is talking about the org. Sometimes he forgets he's on HF and not the team discord server.

 

[Juxtaposer]

No, Patrick is talking about the org. Sometimes he forgets he's on HF and not the team discord server.

That makes way more sense, I should have realized.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Doug Wilson has kept us in races we had no business being in. For players, playoffs spots. Hes helped make this team fun to watch for over a decade plus. With all that being said, his time has run its course. Just a thought, maybe some of you may have a better idea than me, are there any women in hockey who might be potential GM candidates?? Cammi Granato? I think she's helping Seattle in a scout capacity. That would be cool.

Honestly, I can’t describe how happy it would make me to see a women become a GM in a North American men’s professional sports league. That was pretty much my dream when I was a teenager on this dumb hockey forum. I can’t imagine it happening in the NHL any time soon, but man, if anything could get me to cheer for any NHL team as hard as I cheered for the Sharks during their contending years, it would be that.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I’m not nearly as down on DW as y’all are. If Doug were willing to admit what needs to be done (tank, trade off big names), then I would trust him to do it. I do genuinely think he’s a good GM. I’m just not sure I trust him to be willing to admit what needs to be done.

This is the biggest reason to be concerned as a Sharks fan. It also means he is admitting that quite a few contracts we have are bad ones and have been mistakes. Once he starts moving out some of these contracts, I bet the Sharks fan will be more excited about DW.

Also, I think Couture needs to go. So does Vlasic.

 

[Herschel]

I’m not nearly as down on DW as y’all are. If Doug were willing to admit what needs to be done (tank, trade off big names), then I would trust him to do it. I do genuinely think he’s a good GM. I’m just not sure I trust him to be willing to admit what needs to be done.

Does he need to admit it? If you are looking for a letter to the fans type announcement I would assume those are approved by ownership and that business side more than the GM.

 

[Juxtaposer]

This is the biggest reason to be concerned as a Sharks fan. It also means he is admitting that quite a few contracts we have are bad ones and have been mistakes. Once he starts moving out some of these contracts, I bet the Sharks fan will be more excited about DW.

Also, I think Couture needs to go. So does Vlasic.

Yeah, that would be the reason to let DW go: if he was unwilling to admit that the window for this core is over. We aren’t privy to the inner-workings of the team’s management. All we get is DougSpeak and to analyze his actions. He could be saying one thing publically, but do something completely different.

One thing I will say for Wilson is that he made a respectable bid for Connor McDavid. These next two seasons are gonna be great seasons to tank in, I think. I don’t feel that there has been a prospect worth tanking for since Auston Matthews (although to be fair there is hindsight with Dahlin, he was hyped to a pretty ridiculous degree), but Shane Wright next year and Michkov/Bedard the year after will be.

Honestly, I almost feel bad for the teams (Detroit, Buffalo, Anaheim, Ottawa, Jersey) bottoming-out during the years where the best players you can get are Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Alexis Lafreniere, and Owen Power. Part of tanking is being lucky that there’s a franchise player available in the drafts you bottom-out in, a McDavid, Eichel, Matthews.

What I’ve noticed is that these things tend to come in cycles. There was a cycle between 2005-2009, which yielded guys like Crosby, Toews, Kane, Stamkos/Doughty/Pietrangelo/Karlsson, and Tavares/Hedman. The next was 2013-2016, which yielded Mackinnon/Barkov, Draisaitl/Ekblad, McDavid/Eichel/Barzal, and Matthews. I believe the next cycle starts with Wright (and a strong draft in general, from what I’ve seen/read), and will continue on with Bedard/Michkov in 2023.

Does he need to admit it? If you are looking for a letter to the fans type announcement I would assume those are approved by ownership and that business side more than the GM.

Admit it to himself, not to us.

 

[FunkyPhin]

There are some legit terrible GMs out there, while DW has his blemishes, I still trust that he knows what he has to do to right the ship. I'd rather stick with the devil I know, than end up with a chiarelli or Benning.

 

[Levie]

What do you mean, “this place”, this f***ing fan forum? Newsflash, we don’t have to have accountability, we’re f***ing fans.

Speak for yourself. I hold certain posters more accountable than others.

 

[Hodge]

Yeah, that would be the reason to let DW go: if he was unwilling to admit that the window for this core is over. We aren’t privy to the inner-workings of the team’s management. All we get is DougSpeak and to analyze his actions. He could be saying one thing publically, but do something completely different.

One thing I will say for Wilson is that he made a respectable bid for Connor McDavid. These next two seasons are gonna be great seasons to tank in, I think. I don’t feel that there has been a prospect worth tanking for since Auston Matthews (although to be fair there is hindsight with Dahlin, he was hyped to a pretty ridiculous degree), but Shane Wright next year and Michkov/Bedard the year after will be.

Honestly, I almost feel bad for the teams (Detroit, Buffalo, Anaheim, Ottawa, Jersey) bottoming-out during the years where the best players you can get are Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Alexis Lafreniere, and Owen Power. Part of tanking is being lucky that there’s a franchise player available in the drafts you bottom-out in, a McDavid, Eichel, Matthews.

What I’ve noticed is that these things tend to come in cycles. There was a cycle between 2005-2009, which yielded guys like Crosby, Toews, Kane, Stamkos/Doughty/Pietrangelo/Karlsson, and Tavares/Hedman. The next was 2013-2016, which yielded Mackinnon/Barkov, Draisaitl/Ekblad, McDavid/Eichel/Barzal, and Matthews. I believe the next cycle starts with Wright (and a strong draft in general, from what I’ve seen/read), and will continue on with Bedard/Michkov in 2023.



Admit it to himself, not to us.

2022 and 2023 look like excellent drafts to tank for because A) lottery is down to two spots so if you finish last in the NHL you're guaranteed to draft no lower than 3rd overall and B) it's still very early but it looks like there are at least three first line talents available in each draft (Wright/Lambert/Savoie and Bedard/Michkov/Brayden Yager). I'm not sure if we can actually finish last especially if Buffalo trades Eichel but OTOH if we trade Hertl and roll with Jones and Korenar in net anything is possible.

 

[fasterthanlight]

This is obvious, but: DW's biggest mistake is the assumption that the sharks need to be a perennial contender. There's no 100% play in the NHL, but the highest probability way to win a cup is as a boom-bust franchise: if you're going to miss the playoffs, you need to miss very very hard. While I'm sure dealing big contracts is hard, the way DW talks about "refreshing" makes me think that he wouldn't pull the trigger if the opportunity arose.

 

[Lebanezer]

Honestly, I can’t describe how happy it would make me to see a women become a GM in a North American men’s professional sports league. That was pretty much my dream when I was a teenager on this dumb hockey forum. I can’t imagine it happening in the NHL any time soon, but man, if anything could get me to cheer for any NHL team as hard as I cheered for the Sharks during their contending years, it would be that.

Kim Ng - Wikipedia

GM of the Miami Marlins.

 

[NWSharkie]

Is there a better flair than "news article" to use for THW blog posts? I'm all for a diversity of perspectives in hockey journalism, but calling this news implies that it's been credibly researched and sourced, which this doesn't appear to be.

Either way, I'm unconvinced by arguments calling for DW's firing at this point. 2019-20 was what it was, a last kick at the can with a team that was one player shy of the one that went to the WCF the year before. After that debacle, he told Jumbo to move on and went into a rebuild. The contract issues are largely overblown IMO, and wouldn't be insurmountable except for the flat cap.

Everybody seemed relatively happy with the last couple of drafts, and scouting seems to have improved since DW Jr. took over, we're on pace for a top-10 draft pick, and it looks like we'll suck for the next year or two, keeping us in that top half of the draft. The expansion draft and entry draft will give DW room to make moves to make the team better or (short-term) worse as desired. The only real complaint seems to be the lack of depth in the organization, but that's a necessary consequence of being a competitive team for a long time. Otherwise, he seems to have a plan, with the owner's blessing, and seems to be executing on it. He'll have a busy off-season in front of him, but why call for the pitchforks before we see how he navigates it?

I get the argument for the tank-to-win model, but let's also keep in mind that up until Hasso took over, this team relied on playoff revenue more than some others (e.g. Chicago or Edmonton, who had big-market revenues to keep them afloat). Imagine where Pittsburgh would've been without Mario stepping in, and things could've been pretty grim for the Sharks in SJ. I'd imagine that tanking was not an option on the table for a lot of Wilson's tenure, and an announced rebuild still might not be. I don't know if he can pull off another trade like Setoguchi/Coyle for Burns, but in my opinion, he's earned at least another couple of months to show us.

 

[hohosaregood]

The way they navigated the draft last year made me think that they know a rebuild is incoming. Not selling at the deadline made me second guess that. I'll be disappointed if they don't sell after another bottom 5 finish. I don't think there's any way you can justify two consecutive bottom 5 finishes as being anything but an incoming rebuild. If they navigate this offseason well, I can see DW being the guy overseeing the rebuild.

 

[Used As A Shield]

The way they navigated the draft last year made me think that they know a rebuild is incoming. Not selling at the deadline made me second guess that. I'll be disappointed if they don't sell after another bottom 5 finish. I don't think there's any way you can justify two consecutive bottom 5 finishes as being anything but an incoming rebuild. If they navigate this offseason well, I can see DW being the guy overseeing the rebuild.

I think its largely this, half measures, which makes no one happy.

 

[one2gamble]

The fact that this train of thought even made into the local rag is progress as well

 

[tealzamboni]

Is there a better flair than "news article" to use for THW blog posts? I'm all for a diversity of perspectives in hockey journalism, but calling this news implies that it's been credibly researched and sourced, which this doesn't appear to be.

Either way, I'm unconvinced by arguments calling for DW's firing at this point. 2019-20 was what it was, a last kick at the can with a team that was one player shy of the one that went to the WCF the year before. After that debacle, he told Jumbo to move on and went into a rebuild. The contract issues are largely overblown IMO, and wouldn't be insurmountable except for the flat cap.

Everybody seemed relatively happy with the last couple of drafts, and scouting seems to have improved since DW Jr. took over, we're on pace for a top-10 draft pick, and it looks like we'll suck for the next year or two, keeping us in that top half of the draft. The expansion draft and entry draft will give DW room to make moves to make the team better or (short-term) worse as desired. The only real complaint seems to be the lack of depth in the organization, but that's a necessary consequence of being a competitive team for a long time. Otherwise, he seems to have a plan, with the owner's blessing, and seems to be executing on it. He'll have a busy off-season in front of him, but why call for the pitchforks before we see how he navigates it?

I get the argument for the tank-to-win model, but let's also keep in mind that up until Hasso took over, this team relied on playoff revenue more than some others (e.g. Chicago or Edmonton, who had big-market revenues to keep them afloat). Imagine where Pittsburgh would've been without Mario stepping in, and things could've been pretty grim for the Sharks in SJ. I'd imagine that tanking was not an option on the table for a lot of Wilson's tenure, and an announced rebuild still might not be. I don't know if he can pull off another trade like Setoguchi/Coyle for Burns, but in my opinion, he's earned at least another couple of months to show us.

IMO the depth is also a consequence of their drafting, developing, and system scheming. If Wilson understands that his contracts' debt is coming due, then he should understand that his lack of emphasis on development and system is also coming due. Maybe he does understand that, given how Boughner's system taken on multiple personalities this season. But unless he changes direction in the coaching/personnel departments, then he's not resetting or rebuilding. He's just buying time so he can go back to his old tricks in the offseason. The glass half full view would be that he's great at dealing. The glass half empty view would be that he's continuing to ignore the flaws that never got him over the hump.

 

[magic school bus]

This is the biggest reason to be concerned as a Sharks fan. It also means he is admitting that quite a few contracts we have are bad ones and have been mistakes. Once he starts moving out some of these contracts, I bet the Sharks fan will be more excited about DW.

Also, I think Couture needs to go. So does Vlasic.

I'm the same way. He can't even admit we need to rebuild. He will not acknowledge his mistakes, so how can he be trusted to fix them?

A few weeks ago he still called this core good.

 

[one2gamble]

I'm the same way. He can't even admit we need to rebuild. He will not acknowledge his mistakes, so how can he be trusted to fix them?

A few weeks ago he still called this core good.

to be fair, you dont know what he is saying behind the scenes, only what he chooses to say publicly.

 

[magic school bus]

to be fair, you dont know what he is saying behind the scenes, only what he chooses to say publicly.

Sure, he could be speaking differently behind the scenes, but he hasn't acted on it in a way that supports that though.

 

[sharski]

DW: If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best