I Apologize to you Doug Wilson

I owe you an apology Doug Wilson. We traded a #1 pick and Bernier for "the missing piece". Brian Campbell became the best D-man we ever had. He was going to lead us to the promised land. Then the playoffs began, I defended Campbell thinking he was injured when he just sucked and could not stand up to the rough play of the Calgary Flames. You wanted to go back to the East to be closer to your family when in reality you took the highest offer and took your spin-o-rama to Chicago. Can't blame you for taking that contract but F-you anyway. I am thinking what do we do now. We sign an "over the hill" Rob Blake..ok fine. Then 2 days later we trade Matt Carle, Ty Wishart, a #1 pick and a #4 pick for Dan Boyle. Are you out of your mind?

5 months later the Boyle trade looks like a steal. Boyle is a better D-man than Campbell at 500k cheaper. Boyle is the "point guard" for the Sharks, always knowing where everyone else is and controlling the PP. Thank you Campbell for being greedy and leaving and thanks CHI for offering such a ridiculous contract.

Random Pacific Questions: Which Team Do You Hate Most?

It's kind of weird being a Kings' fan these days because we don't really have a rival right now. I guess the Kings' biggest rival is either AEG or one another. Still, that doesn't mean I don't hate other teams in the Pacific: there's the Ducks and Corey Perry, the Stars and their triple axis of tools (Morrow, Ott, Avery), and the Coyotes and Olli Jokinen's baby head. But I was watching the Sharks-Ducks game last night and I came away thinking 2 things: one, the Sharks looked pretty good, and two, I hate them more than I hate the Ducks. As someone who has hated the Ducks most since they came into the league, this shocked me.

I... don't like you?

I've always either ignored or privately admired the Sharks for their plucky can-do attitude, but this new incarnation sickens me. There are the obvious reasons: Rob Blake and Jeremy Roenick are dicks, Jonathan Cheechoo is a huge douche bag*, Milan Michalek is a little bitch, etc. but I think it goes deeper than that for me. I think the biggest difference can be seen in the trades for Joe Thornton and Brian Campbell. When Thornton arrived in San Jose the fans showered him with praise and gave him a safe haven from the constant haranguing he was getting from idiotic Boston fans. It was nice and everyone felt great for Joe, myself included. This last season when Brian Campbell arrived, the cheers were different; sure, they were loud and gregarious, but they seemed kind of pathetic, a desperate plea for Campbell to stay with the Sharks and lead them to a Cup. It was a weird change in attitude for the once lighthearted San Jose crowd and it made me uncomfortable. San Jose fans have gone from some of the best supportive fans in the league to... Boston fans. Fans that once cheered Joe Thornton's Hart Trophy now whined when Evgeni Nabokov rightfully lost the Vezina to Martin Brodeur. Fans that once gave Joe Thornton peace from a crazy fanbase are now doing the same thing to Patrick Marleau. It's weird.

*Cheechoo reminds me of the little guy playing pick-up basketball that talks trash while his partner (the 2-year starter at Vandy before his knee blew out 5 years ago) spends the entire game covering for the little guy's mistakes.

Raise your hand if you're a douche bag.

I think the past few post-season blunders ('05-06 standing front and center) have turned both the Sharks front office and their fans kind of insane. They so desperately want a Cup that they're sacrificing what made them fun in the first place to get it. They're not creating a system and then letting it create a Cup for them, they're throwing whatever they can at the wall in a desperate attempt to salvage Joe Thornton and Evgeni Nabokov's best years. It reminds me of the Lakers in '03 when they signed Gary Payton and Karl Malone. I'm a Lakers fan and even I hated that team. I'm not saying that's wrong or even stupid, but it makes them much less likable to an outsider's eyes. So good luck this season, San Jose, and I hope you find that championship that has eluded you; just know that you had to become less likable than the Anaheim Ducks to do it.

Summer Battle of Northern California reading

Sharks coverage on BOC has dropped off a little since the end of the season, and the fact that Northern California has essentially been on fire for 3 straight weeks does not appear to be a major factor. Drawing on a flaming Wild Wing and a thick low lying layer of smoke for inspiration, here is a short recap from Sharkspage of what has gone down in the land of cheap software and expensive offensive defenseman:

• Max Giese of Sharkspage posted a very thorough 2008 Sharks Entry Draft (ptII) review article, with contributions from several NHL scouts and a few comments by other draft related sources. The first part of the Sharks 2008 Draft Review written by yours truely is available here. Included in that post is a video clip of Darren Pang expressing shock that Phoenix Coyotes first round selection Viktor Tikonov spoke English. Yes, San Jose residents can occasionally be accused of speaking English.


• Free agent defenseman Brian Campbell signs 8-year, $56.8 million contract with Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers sign Patrick Rissmiller. Judas, thy name is Brian Campbell. One problem many fans in San Jose have with what went down is the fact that his departure was a foregone conclusion. Instead of feigning that taking $7+ million with Chicago, Atlanta or Ottawa was a difficult decision, acknowledge the fact beforehand and fans have more respect for you. Campbell is tremendously gifted with speed and skating ability matched by few defenseman in the NHL. He also basically evaporated against Calgary and Dallas in the playoffs. If you are brought in to spark the Sharks transition and move the puck on ice, and you consistently hesitate and take it back behind your own net, there are going to be questions. Major questions for Chicago next season: how effectively will he be on defense, will he transform the Blackhawks power play, and how well will a young team respond to Campbell in a leadership role.


• San Jose Sharks sign defenseman Rob Blake to 1-year deal adding a power-play quarterback, report Sharks are pursuing Tampa Bay's Dan Boyle. A number of Kings fans are noting Rob Blake's declining production over the last season. In San Jose he will play a much different role, as the Sharks will have three solid defensive pairings they can use in any situation. Blake will be counted on more to bomb shots on net from the power play than to provide a #1 defensive role. I have a feeling with Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Clowe, Cheechoo and Michalek fighting for rebounds, Blake's numbers are not going to look too bad after 2008-09.


• Veteran defenseman Craig Rivet traded to Buffalo for 2009, 2010 2nd rounders. This is a trade that had to be made for salary cap considerations, but one that nobody likes north of the grapevine.


• Dan Boyle, Brad Lukowich, and Sharks general manager Doug Wilson discussed the recent trades on a conference call with local media.


• Sharks Trade Analysis: Blake, Boyle and Lukowich add missing pieces of the puzzle for Sharks power play and playoff problems. A lot of words essentially boil down to the fact that Boyle could have a bigger impact in San Jose than the brief Campbell experiment, and Rob Blake is the type of proven veteran who has been there and done beat up a lot of Anaheim Ducks.


• Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff signs 3 year, $9.3 million contract. This shores up a large chunk of the Sharks blueline for the foreseeable future, but salary cap issues could force a trade for Kyle McLaren. The future beyond Rob Blake is also a little less clear with Matt Carle, Ty Wishart and a 1st round draft selection headed to Tampa. AHL rookie Derek Joslin should be next in line, and will take more of a leadership role in Worcester this season. Hard hitting Boston College fresheman defenseman Nick Petrecki, who won a National Championship this season, remains as the Sharks top overall defensive prospect. The Sharks may need him to regulate at HP Pavilion before the end of his four year run in college.


• Sharks hire Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Todd McLellan to be the 7th head coach in San Jose franchise history. Some fans were a little irrated at the lack of questions asked by the media at the press conference, there is a hand held 6 minute video of McLellan answering questions from the AP's Greg Beacham, a local television reporter, and from Tony Khing of the Sharks included in that post. One rumor has Trent Yawney as a possible assistant coach.

That is all I have for now. War Sandis Ozolinsh for President.

Day 1: Sharks left Empty-Handed

Today was the 2nd most exciting day of the year (only to trade deadline day). I am thinking that NHL GM's were fooled into thinking that Free Agency lasted only 1 day and all shopping had to be completed today. Going into today I was already thinking that Brian Campbell was signing elsewhere. All last week we heard "family issues" and "wanting to be closer to home." Sure Chicago is closer to Ontario than San Jose but don't tell me that 8 years and 56+ million dollars didn't have anything to do with that. I actually applaud Doug Wilson for not shelling out that much money. That being said, Chicago looks like they will have a pretty good team next year. But note to Campbell, don't look for a comfortable reception when you come back to the Shark Tank next year. Signing closer to home in the eastern conference is one thing, but signing in the west for supposedly the highest offer just makes you look greedy.

Other random thoughts from Free Agency Day 1:

-Where is all this money coming from? I know the salary cap is going up once again, but some of these deals are obscene.

-Did Vancouver really offer Sundin 20 mill for 2 years?

-Sean Avery should sign with Colorado. Can you imagine a line of Darcy Tucker, Ian Laperriere and Avery? That would be the most annoying line ever.

-Dale Tallon is funny. He kept saying how he was keeping Khabibulin even after the signing of Huet. Um, yeah he really wants a cap hit of 12.375 for his 2 goalies.

-Who are Jeff Finger and Mark Streit and why are they getting big money? (Yes, I really do know who they are)

So my plan going into free agency was:

A: sign Campbell
B: sign Redden if Campbell screws us
C: trade for Zidlicky

I hope Doug Wilson has a plan G and H since all his early options are gone.

So the Sharks lost Campbell, Rissmiller and signed.........um

That being said, I still have faith in Doug Wilson but the declaration to us season ticket holders of spending money doesn't look so truthful right now.

The salary cap: $56.7 million

In other words, the cap increased by Brian Campbell's expected annual salary.

More on free agents over the weekend...(In fact, I might make this a running thread)

Honest or Polite?

There was a brief blurb in the Canadian Press from Larry Kelly, agent for Brian Campbell:

Campbell, a talented puck-mover and swift skater, will likely fetch the most on the open market if he doesn't re-sign with the San Jose Sharks before July 1. There are family reasons that may dictate Campbell moving back East but nothing is written in stone at this point.

"It's a very difficult decision because he's been treated so well in San Jose," his agent Larry Kelly said Tuesday.

"We stay in contact and we continue to communicate," Sharks GM Doug Wilson said Tuesday.

Some Sharks fans have already figured Campbell is a goner, but I'm going to take this one at face value. Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, and a few others have publicly stated their intention to go UFA. If Campbell were to do so, I'm pretty sure Doug Wilson would put out a public statement about it if Campbell's agent didn't do so himself.

If it's family reasons, well, you can't really argue that. If he's just being polite with Sharks fans but has a hidden agenda, well, he wouldn't be the first player to do that (see: Ed Belfour). Somehow, Soupy seems to be of a little better moral fiber than Mr. One Billion Dollars, so I'm guessing he's probably legitimately weighing the Sharks' Cup chances and quality front office versus wanting to stay on the east coast.

A few Game 2 observations

• Game 2 was a more watchable game, even if sloppiness provided the entertainment.

The Milan Michalek goal was a defensive breakdown followed by an overly aggressive move by Marty Turco, although you cannot expect (only hope) that your goalie can make a miraculous save in that kind of situation. That wasn't the case here, as Michalek seems to be a bigger threat in this series (obviously).

The Sharks were guilty of just as many, if not more, bad mistakes.

Mike Ribeiro scored a goal off of Evgeni Nabokov's skate, a play that made me say "San Jose better start treating him like he's Joe Thornton and completely smother him." Ribeiro had a lot of danger on his stick in this game.

• The Brad Richards goal, not to mention being involved in all 4 of the Stars third period goals, shows that his quality playoff skills translate to the Western Conference. He was an absolute difference maker.

• Brian Campbell is looking better than he did in the first round, but I cannot help but mutter "is someone really going to spend $6 million per year on this guy?" when I watch him play. This is the same thing people will be wondering when they watch Dan hockey-playing-not-film-directing Boyle. Seriously, quality offensive defensemen are almost as overpaid as NFL 1st round draft picks these days.

• I try not to bitch too much about officiating because it's always such a no-win situation, but the back-to-back Modano and Ehrhoff penalties were among the worst I've seen in a while. It's hard to call games fairly, but those calls altered the landscape of that game - and late penalties have been playing God with quite a few close, late games lately. What can be done to find a happy compromise?
  

• The one positive that came from the bad penalties was the Zubov to Modano goal, which was both beautiful and nostalgia inducing. Not bad.

• This series is flat out weird. Are the Sharks the most mind boggling team in the NHL this year or is it just me?

• OhmyGod, I forgot the Sharks employ Brian "don't call me Bobby" Boucher! I miss his brickwall helmet. Can you believe this guy owns the all-time NHL shutout streak????

• Going 2-0 on the road twice in a row in the playoffs is quite the accomplishment and you've got to think that some demons are being exorcised. If nothing else, the win allowed Razor Reaugh to say the Stars were "swimming around in their birthday suits" at the Shark tank. You gotta love Razor.

• Game 3 should be a heart attack of a game. It's going to take some testes for the Sharks to come back. So, what do you think Nabby? More of the same or Boyz 2 Men?
  

What a Waste of Time

Tonight was the epitome of the Sharks season. The story was there to be written. The Sarich hit on Marleau was to be the turning point of the season. From that point on the Sharks grow up and win the Cup...oops! Coming off their most impressive performance of the post-season, the Sharks looked like they could throw their sticks on the ice and win this in 6. There was no passion and no energy shown. Earlier in the day I was watching the Wings/Preds game 6. The Wings showed what you should do to an inferior opponent. At the end of that game I wondering to myself. "Come on boys, that is how you close someone out." Again, watching the Ducks/Stars I saw the desperation the Stars played with knowing they didn't want to go to a game 7. Instead the Sharks flew to Calgary and played like "well if we win, great, otherwise we have game 7 in our barn." The inconsistency they have shown all season was there again tonight with no passion and energy.

-Campbell is playing like he has 2 broken arms. He was fumbling passes all night long. He was not alone as the Sharks were once again playing hand gernade hockey.

-Michalek has continued his disappearing act. Tonight was the ultimate as he led a 3 on 1 break only to stick handle the puck into the corner. Even Randy and Drew were speechless after that one. It felt like their was 5 mins of dead air after that play.

I am curious to see the stats on scoring chances as we had very few. Same old story, Sharks have more talent, yet their opponents are working harder and it shows.

It will be fun (but nerve racking) on Tuesday to have our first ever home game 7. If you believe in the Big Mo, you have to think Calgary has the advantage. The pressure is on the Sharks as they are the pre-playoffs Cup favorites so the Flames should be loose. They know they can win in the Shark Tank and the Sharks have to play like they did on Thursday.

Will both the Sharks and Ducks lose in the 1st round? What will become of BOC if that would to happen? I hate to find out......

Sharks vs Ottawa Senators photos

Here are a few photos from the Sharks 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators.

Patrick Marleau is starting to roll. His overtime game winner against Ottawa stretched the Sharks winning streak to 7 games, vaulted the Sharks over Anaheim for 4th place in the Western Conference, and brought the Sharks within 3 points of Pacific-leading Dallas with 3 games in hand. The Sharks captain and oft-lamented trade rumor magnet scored 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games, registering a +4 in that span.

Sharks head coach Ron Wilson strongly noted Marleau's recent turnaround to the media after the game, and said that a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders after the trade deadline expired without him being moved. Wilson also cracked on unidentified hockey reporter (allegedly Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun), for floating a number of foolish Marleau trade rumors. Wilson said that unidentified hockey reporter (allegedly Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun) was too afraid to come to the Sharks side of the post-game press conference and face the music for being so off base.

More photos and notes from Ottawa vs San Jose here.

Sports Illustrated asked NHL players to rank hockey fans by city. Montreal was overwhelmingly named the city with the best fans garnering 35% of the votes. Minnesota was second with 13%, Calgary third with 11%. Only California team to make the top ten... also the second best U.S. based fans according to NHL players... the San Jose Sharks in a 6th placed tie with Toronto at 5%.

Make that Exhibit 1B. Take that Letgokings.com and Allducks.com. War Thefeeder.com and the Hammerhead Booster Club.

Get 'Tubed

(You should read Earl's gameday post below mine. I mean, if you want. I usually just skim over them, to be honest.)


Pick your favorite:


Kings Entry:



Dustin Brown puts Jay Mckee over the boards

Sharks Entry:



Brian Campbell Spin Move

Ducks Entry:



Ryan Getzlaf beats the shit out of Corey Perry in Practice

(Sorry, I couldn't find a good highlight from the Senators' game. Here's John Buccigross' live blog of the game, though.)

Random thoughts from HP Pavillion

(Cross-posted at my blog)

Random observations from the Shark Tank last night:

On the ice:

-Chicken or the egg question: Is Patrick Marleau playing better because he didn't get traded or did he not get traded because Doug Wilson saw his game trending up? I'm guessing the former, though Marleau's looked like he's been shot out of a cannon for the past few games. If he keeps this up, things might actually be ok.

-While the power play looked much better since the arrival of Brian Campbell, the 5-on-3 was still frustratingly static. Guys, if the passing and shooting lanes are clogged up, that's why you have to rotate rather than stand still.

-I don't care how inconsistent Matt Carle's been lately, I'd rather have him out there than Kyle McLaren pretending to be a pylon. Someone give McLaren a bionic knee before he gets back on the ice, please.

-I didn't see an official stat on this, but when did Christian Ehrhoff become Lord of the Blocked Shot?

-While this game had its sloppy moments, I think the one thing that Sharks fans really have to recognize is that 1) they recovered from their sloppy moments 2) they stayed physical the whole game 3) they got contributions from every line. Lots of positives today, but I hope the team doesn't start to believe their own press clippings -- bad stuff happens when they do that.

Off the ice:
-Kudos to the many Habs fans in attendance who were, for the most part, cheering without being terribly obnoxious (no fist fights on the concourse). It created a rowdy atmosphere that, at least from where I sat, made it a lot more fun without getting nasty. I don't know if the players fed off of this, but it was a pretty chippy game for two teams that never see each other.

-The lone exception to this that I saw was one female fan in the section next to me was sitting by herself, though she was drinking for two. Think Girls Gone Wild-meets-puck bunny in a red t-shirt -- there's nothing like running up the section's stairway with a shot in either hand. Plenty of bad post-goal white girl dance moves, too. For the entire third period, she was waving her arms and screaming nonsense at the ice, both before and after the usher asked her to calm down. She did, however, STFU after the Brian Campbell goal.

-The insane woman who sits behind me was on fire last night as she was egged on by the enthusiastic kid next to her (at least she kept edited her swearing for him). She was so bad that the guy next to me leaned over and said, "I really want to punch her in the face."

-The really, really, really long ovation for Campbell after his ridiculous spin-o-rama goal was 17,000 people saying, "Please, for the love of Jebus, sign here! We'll give you whatever you want!" On the jumbotron, Campbell looked pretty embarressed from the love-in and offered a few sheepish waves, but you could tell that he appreciated it. I hope Doug Wilson met him in the tunnel with a contract and a pen.

Trade Deadline Not-so-Live Blog

8:00AM: Driving to work and thinking to myself "I wonder if there are any trades yet." No use listening to sports talk cause they never talk about hockey.

8:30AM: Receive my first text message as I am powering up my computer. "We got Campbell, no word on what we gave up." Good news, I just hope we didn't trade Carle or Marleau.

8:35AM: Go to TSN's Trade Center coverage Live Streaming. They are talking about the Campbell trade. Still sweating out what we had to give up.

8:37AM: Bernier and a #1 pick. I must be dreaming, Doug Wilson I love you!!!!!

8:39AM: Start sending texts and IM's to everyone I know. Boy, I am not gonna get any work done today.

8:55AM: Keith Jones is talking about how the Sharks overpaid and Bernier is going to be a stud and is great in the corners. Um, has Keith Jones been watching the same player I have?

9:10AM: Brad Richards is on the move. "Don't be Dallas Please!!"

9:11AM: Dammit!!!

10:01AM: It is reported that Foote and the Blue Jackets have broken off talks. He is only willing to be traded to the Av's. What is with everyone wanting to go back to the Av's? Is Patrick Roy and Ray Bourque coming back also?

10:35AM: Receive another text message. Oh Oh did we make another trade? "Yao out for season stress fracture" At least that is good news for the Warriors.

10:51AM: The TSN guys are interviewing Campbell. Wow, he sounds like someone in his family just died. Does he realize that San Jose is like 70 degrees warmer this time of year?

11:10AM: I have been at work almost 3 hours and have not completed much. We need a depth forward with some grit. Let's get Martin Lapointe.

11:11AM: Lapointe goes to OTT for a draft pick.

11:30AM: Where did all the trades go? Nothing has happened for awhile. This sure is boring listening to TSN dissect the Huet trade.

11:50AM: 10 mins left till the deadline and Hossa is not traded yet.

11:59AM: It sucks having a noon meeting. Better take my phone with me in case there are any last minute trades.

11:59:30 AM: Hossa to the Pens? Holy Cow!

12:23PM: ANA gets Marc-Andre Bergeron. How many Dmen do the Ducks need? Damn I hate Brian Burke for being so smart.

Still cannot believe we got Campbell without giving up Carle or Marleau. After seeing what Hossa went for, we got a steal. Go Doug Wilson!

Brian Freakin' Campbell

Brian Campbell for Steve Bernier/1st rounder? Holy crap, that's a steal. I'm assuming there's a conditional pick involved should Campbell sign. For the first time in, well, ever, the Sharks have a legit #1 defenseman in his prime. Maybe the power play will finally score now AND the Sharks keep Patrick Marleau. Not too shabby, eh?

As for Dallas getting Brad Richards (it's official), fuck you Dallas.