What's the summer buzz about the Sharks?

[AstroDan]

Havlat to Scott is a drop in productivity. I am laughing even harder at FF. Stuart to Tennyson may be bad as well. And the loss of Burns to the forward corps to almost exactly replace Boyle on the blueline is another drop.

I am at about 75-80% for predicting standings point changes for magnitude and direction. My misses frequently happen because of surprising youngsters and new coaches (sometimes ACs).

What's your numbers with a healthy Hertl for 80 games? Might help...

 

[SJeasy]

What's your numbers with a healthy Hertl for 80 games? Might help...

Hertl has the potential for the biggest jump; it probably should be just enough to cover for Pavs coming down to earth. Nieto covers for minor drops by JT and Marleau. Who covers for the loss of Burns to the forward corps? Couture should help on Burns, but not by much by being injury free. I don't include Couture among players expected to improve, see explanation below. I include Wingels among the prime year players, no improvement, no decline.

My model is based on expecting players to be no better nor worse year-to-year for their prime years (25-33). Minor drops (~3%) for their declining years and minor adds (~3%) for their formative years. I don't just use this model for the Sharks; I use it for all 30 teams. A difference of 6 goals=2 standings points. There are a few coaches who add goals with their strategies (eg Lavi, Ramsay, AV); there are some who subtract (eg Torts, Sullivan, Playfair, Renney).

 

[Led Zappa]

We lost 30 injury games between Couture and Burns and almost an entire season at 75 between Hertl, Couture and Burns. I hope for better this year.

That's 2 top six forwards instead of 3. A full year of both Couture and Hertl, plus improvements in their game, especially Hertl, could be a significant improvement. Add Burns as Boyle's replacement and it's not all that bad.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

We lost 30 injury games between Couture and Burns and almost an entire season at 75 between Hertl, Couture and Burns. I hope for better this year.

That's 2 top six forwards instead of 3. A full year of both Couture and Hertl, plus improvements in their game, especially Hertl, could be a significant improvement. Add Burns as Boyle's replacement and it's not all that bad.

No way...that's too reasonable. Worst organization in sports.

 

[Timo Time]

We lost 30 injury games between Couture and Burns and almost an entire season at 75 between Hertl, Couture and Burns. I hope for better this year.

That's 2 top six forwards instead of 3. A full year of both Couture and Hertl, plus improvements in their game, especially Hertl, could be a significant improvement. Add Burns as Boyle's replacement and it's not all that bad.

I smell leaking optimism. You should clean that up.

 

[hohosaregood]

If he leaks too much optimism, will he become a pessimist?

Expecting nothing, hoping for the best.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

If he leaks too much optimism, will he become a pessimist?

Expecting nothing, hoping for the best.

pretty much how I feel.

 

[SJeasy]

We lost 30 injury games between Couture and Burns and almost an entire season at 75 between Hertl, Couture and Burns. I hope for better this year.

That's 2 top six forwards instead of 3. A full year of both Couture and Hertl, plus improvements in their game, especially Hertl, could be a significant improvement. Add Burns as Boyle's replacement and it's not all that bad.

NO team goes through a season injury free. Expecting injury free is really over-reaching. I expect better years for some who were injured last year, and I don't know which player it will be that loses significant time to injury. But I do know there will be one or two at least. Heck, Torres is already on the injured list.

Couture is beyond the age where improvement is normal. Kudos if he does improve, but I am not expecting it.

 

[DEATHABSOLUTE]

DW needs to be fired. The Sharks had the ability to be legitimate cup contenders with Ron Wilson behind the bench. Couldn't do it. Brought in Todd McLellan, haven't and won't do it. DW is entirely responsible for the players being brought into the organization. Culture change needs to come from the top down in the Sharks case.

They'll be a playoff team, but they'll exit early (as usual). DW has been a huge part of the panic and I personally think that he threw Dan Boyle under the bus after last season.

 

[Timo Time]

Ron Wilson? Ron Wilson?! No.

 

[DEATHABSOLUTE]

Ron Wilson? Ron Wilson?! No.

I'm just sayin.. we had a good team with Wilson behind the bench, and he for sure needed to be let go. But, with coaching changes, and a couple more 100 PT seasons. It's not the coaching staff who's the issue..

 

[Timo Time]

I was just never a fan of Ron Wilson.

 

[DEATHABSOLUTE]

How can anyone be?

 

[Grave]

RW was a doorknob

 

[richo]

Any team with Thornton is going nowhere playoff time. Agree with all the comments on the steps taken backwards. Nothing has been done to improve this team and we're still stuck with the biggest loser in the NHL in number 19. The only reason I would attend any games this year is to incessantly heckle Thornton to leave and go raise some other team's hopes during the regular season only to dash them come playoff time again and again.

 

[SJGoalie32]

I'm just sayin.. we had a good team with Wilson behind the bench, and he for sure needed to be let go. But, with coaching changes, and a couple more 100 PT seasons. It's not the coaching staff who's the issue..

We've swapped out the coaches. We've swapped out the goaltenders. We've swapped out the bottom-6 forwards. We've swapped out most of the top-6 forwards. We've swapped out most of the defense, gone from young to old (including bringing back some of those same past defensemen for a second go around) and back to young again. We've swapped out the captains several times. Heck, we've even swapped out the broadcasters.

Yet the pattern has been relatively consistent for the past decade. Strong regular season, decent performance early in the playoffs......then almost entirely regardless of how well/poorly the defense plays in the postseason, the Power Play and the offense completely disappears and the Sharks fizzle out.

I blame Mike Rathje.

 

[McSorley33]

DW needs to be fired. The Sharks had the ability to be legitimate cup contenders with Ron Wilson behind the bench. Couldn't do it. Brought in Todd McLellan, haven't and won't do it. DW is entirely responsible for the players being brought into the organization. Culture change needs to come from the top down in the Sharks case.

They'll be a playoff team, but they'll exit early (as usual). DW has been a huge part of the panic and I personally think that he threw Dan Boyle under the bus after last season.

Bang on, 100%

 

[Pinkfloyd]

We've swapped out the coaches. We've swapped out the goaltenders. We've swapped out the bottom-6 forwards. We've swapped out most of the top-6 forwards. We've swapped out most of the defense, gone from young to old (including bringing back some of those same past defensemen for a second go around) and back to young again. We've swapped out the captains several times. Heck, we've even swapped out the broadcasters.

Yet the pattern has been relatively consistent for the past decade. Strong regular season, decent performance early in the playoffs......then almost entirely regardless of how well/poorly the defense plays in the postseason, the Power Play and the offense completely disappears and the Sharks fizzle out.

I blame Mike Rathje.

Even with the swaps, it's not as if the team has had depth up front and on the blue line both AND had quality goaltending performances. It's never clicked at the right time to where all the ingredients are there. The team has been lacking in quality blue line depth for years now. I think the team actually only had one season where they accomplished that but then panicked and blew it up.

 

[Coily]

DW needs to be fired. The Sharks had the ability to be legitimate cup contenders with Ron Wilson behind the bench. Couldn't do it. Brought in Todd McLellan, haven't and won't do it. DW is entirely responsible for the players being brought into the organization. Culture change needs to come from the top down in the Sharks case.

They'll be a playoff team, but they'll exit early (as usual). DW has been a huge part of the panic and I personally think that he threw Dan Boyle under the bus after last season.

Dan Boyle was awful last year if you actually watched him play and don't just look at his stats.

Since 2009' the Red Wings haven't gone passed the second round should their GM be fired too?
I only use them since it's the team everyone says is the "model" franchise.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Dan Boyle was awful last year if you actually watched him play and don't just look at his stats.

Since 2009' the Red Wings haven't gone passed the second round should their GM be fired too?
I only use them since it's the team everyone says is the "model" franchise.

If their boss' expectations is something that their GM is not meeting then yes. There are plenty of Wings fans that want to get rid of Holland. Obviously DW got the green light from Hasso so he still has a job. Personally, I don't think he has what it takes to put together a roster to win the Stanley Cup for various reasons. However, many people have a valid argument in saying they don't want a team that can't be competitive enough to make the playoffs. That would be a risk in replacing DW. Are there other GM's available that could do a better job than DW? It's possible but we don't really know who is available and what their qualifications are. The best bet will be someone who doesn't have much of an NHL GM track record either so those will be tough to read until they're given a chance. I would keep an eye on Rob Blake in LA and Norm Maciver in Chicago in the Assistant GM roles.

 

[BCShark]

Dan Boyle was awful last year if you actually watched him play and don't just look at his stats.
.

sounds like patty m in playoffs

 

[Pinkfloyd]

sounds like patty m in playoffs

Only in the bizarro world you live in, sir.

 

[LadyStanley]

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_26468741/purdy-what-is-going-san-jose-sharks

Purdy weighs in

I am not going to predict doom this time. But I am going to predict a spectacular Autumn of Angst. Hockey people around North America often wonder if San Jose is a place where players become too complacent. Won't be a problem this season.

 

[Coily]

If their boss' expectations is something that their GM is not meeting then yes. There are plenty of Wings fans that want to get rid of Holland. Obviously DW got the green light from Hasso so he still has a job. Personally, I don't think he has what it takes to put together a roster to win the Stanley Cup for various reasons. However, many people have a valid argument in saying they don't want a team that can't be competitive enough to make the playoffs. That would be a risk in replacing DW. Are there other GM's available that could do a better job than DW? It's possible but we don't really know who is available and what their qualifications are. The best bet will be someone who doesn't have much of an NHL GM track record either so those will be tough to read until they're given a chance. I would keep an eye on Rob Blake in LA and Norm Maciver in Chicago in the Assistant GM roles.

I'm not a cheerleader for Wilson, but the options aren't very good unless you go with said unproven people and who knows what that will bring.

Also that story from Mark Prudy is typical Wilson, says the off-season went according to plan when Torres is going to miss 3-4 months and our core is 80% the same.

 

[hohosaregood]

I'm not a cheerleader for Wilson, but the options aren't very good unless you go with said unproven people and who knows what that will bring.

Also that story from Mark Prudy is typical Wilson, says the off-season went according to plan when Torres is going to miss 3-4 months and our core is 80% the same.

Well, if DW's plan was "screw with the media and fanbase" then he gets a big fat check right next to taht one.