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.

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.

What a Difference a Few Days Make

Only a few days ago Sharks fans were wondering what Doug Wilson was doing (or not doing) as every team in the league seemed to be doing something in Free Agency. I mentioned here how I was glad Wilson was being fiscally responsible as other GM's were throwing money around. Well, in the last 24 hours the Sharks have 3 new D-men and (if I am doing my math correctly) 4 Stanley Cup rings. To summarize:

-Sign Rob Blake (1 yr/5mill): overpaid for an aging D-man but it will be nice to have a D-man who will shoot from the point. (I can picture Kings fans now "but who knows where the shot is going?")

-Trade Matt Carle, Ty Wishart and picks for Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich: At first I was happy about this trade, but including Wishart is a hefty price. I was thinking Wishart was one of the closest we had to being brought up and given a chance. Wilson must have a lot of faith in youngsters Petrecki, Joslin and others. For the 2nd year in a row, Mike has gotten one of his favorite players on to the Sharks (JR, now Boyle). NO! we better not be getting Forsberg next. The random Dan Boyle superhero action figure he bought on eBay a few years ago needs to be brought out.

-Trade Craig Rivet for two 2nd rounders: I figure this is a salary dump. Lukowich bascially fills the role of Rivet at 1/2 the price. Rivet makes 3.5 per while Lukowich makes 1.65 then 1.8.

All of this movement and I don't think Wilson is done. If the rumored signing of Bret Hedican is true, that would give us 8 D-men. Here are the proposed lines as I see them.

Thornton-Cheechoo-Michalek
Pavelski-Marleau-Setoguchi
Mitchell-Grier-Clowe
Roenick-Goc-Shelley

Blake-Vlasic
Boyle-Lukowich
Ehrhoff-Murray

Hedican?-McLaren

Nabby-Boucher

Not a bad lineup. Kudos to Doug Wilson. It is up to you boys!!!!

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.

Contradictions

First off, if you haven't heard already, Jeremy Roenick is back for another season with the Sharks. If you go to the Sharks website, they've got a little video of him talking about it. I love JR, but I can't condone the hat that he's wearing. It reminds me of one of those Men On Film guys from In Living Color.

But anyways, there was little news of note from the annual State of the Sharks bitchfest according to those in attendance. I skipped this year's, as it's usually just a bunch of diplomatic bullet-dodging (though Ron Wilson used to get visibly frustrated at the stupidity of some of the questions, and his snarkiness proved to be entertaining).

A few blurbs from the Mercury News seemed to show that either A) GM Doug Wilson and President Greg Jamison weren't briefed on the company line or B) they've got completely different views on their roster.

From Doug Wilson:

Wilson reiterated what he has said in the past, that he has enough money to build a Stanley Cup winner.

"Dollars didn't prevent us from doing our job," the G.M. said.

From Greg Jamison

The first question from the crowd had to do with ticket price increases averaging between 7 and 8 percent, and Jamison said that didn't surprise him.

"There's an expectation that we will put a quality team on the ice," Jamison said, "and to be brutally honest, that's going to cost us a lot more."

So the GM says that he has the dollars to put a CUP WINNER on the ice but the President says that they need more money from fans to put a QUALITY TEAM on the ice. Um...ok, well, which is it?

The only real thing to note seems to be the fact that Doug Wilson anticipates a payroll increase of about $8 million and some form of roster change. Sounds great, but when you put together the salary bumps of Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek, Joe Thornton, and Matt Carle, along with the anticipated raises for Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe, and Christian Ehrhoff, that's your $8 million (give or take) right there. If that number's set in stone, something's gotta give, especially since Wilson's already started negotiating with Brian Campbell's agent this week (they were set to speak this past Monday). I'm guessing Wilson will be dangling Matt Carle at the draft, but I wonder who will take him after two disappointing seasons.

Player's Coach or Ex-Cop?

With the Red Wings and Penguins turning the Semis into a preseason morning skate, there is not much to talk about except for the Sharks new coach. The San Jose Mercury News has 2 separate articles saying that the "perfect" candidate is Pat Burns. Ex-Cop, Stanley Cup Winner, 3 time Jack Adams winner, Ties to Joe Thornton, it all makes sense. With the majority of the team in the prime of their career, it makes no sense for Doug Wilson to bring in a 'young" coach who will take 1-2 years to integrate his system. The only issue is that he is still under contract to NJ till July 1st. Does Doug Wilson want to wait that long to find a coach? Does Burns really want to move West? Those are things that Doug Wilson needs to find out.

The coaching search is not the only issue to resolve. Changing the coach and not the players will show that Ron Wilson was used as a scapegoat for the season. With the cap expected to rise, the Sharks will have plenty of cap space (10 million plus the rise of the cap). Most of that money will go to Brian Campbell if he decides to re-sign. Raises will be expected for restricted free agents Pavelski and Clowe. But that still leaves enough money to sign another scoring forward and some more blueline help.

Bye Bye Ron Wilson

To almost nobody's surprise Ron Wilson was relieved of his duties today. I don't necessarily blame him but this had to be done. I don't know if the players had stopped listening to him but a new voice was needed. I have faith in Doug Wilson so he is sure to have some names in mind. I just hope it is not one of the retreads...Burns, Maurice etc. I don't think giving the job to Tim Hunter or Rob Zettler is the answer.

I like Ron Wilson, he knows his hockey and brought high-tech teaching techniques to the Sharks, but there comes a time when the voice in the room needs to be changed. There are stories around that Ron was rough with the players and even called them out in front of the rest of the team. There is one story I read where he wrote Carle, Vlasic and another player's name on the board and bluntly told the rest of the team that those guys were letting everyone else down. If true, no wonder Carle and Vlasic regressed this year. I immediately don't have a successor in mind but I am sure the names will be flying and this will be a well-sought after job with the talent on this team.

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!

Present or Future? Carle or Redden?

If you believe TSN.ca (and I have no reason not to) Wade Redden was asked to waive his no-trade because the Sharks called and asked about his availability. Sources claim the offer was Matt Carle and a draft pick. Carle was just signed to a 4-year deal and has the potential to be ...well Wade Redden in about 3-4 years. Doug Wilson has not denied the interest in Redden and has not denied the trade offer. This trade would be similar to trading for Rivet last year. Trade for a veteran D-man who is scheduled to be an UFA after the season. DWilson is betting on getting Redden out of the media spotlight in Canada and once Redden sees California, he would be happy to re-sign after the season (and hopefully a long playoff run). Of course all of this is an ideal situation. The other option would be that Redden turns into Bill Guerin. Comes over in a trade, gets hurt/plays poorly and then leaves after the season to sign with another team, and Carle becomes the next Brian Leetch. It will be interesting to see how Carle plays now that he knows how close he was to being traded to another team.

How to fix Marleau/Wilson

Ok, it's just my own opinion, but I think you could point to tonight's home game against Detroit as The Most Important Game Of The Season. Yeah, there are games against Anaheim, but this represents a battle against 1) the best team in the league 2) the Sharks' own home woes 3) the team that smacked them down last season. And by now, everyone knows that Patrick Marleau and Ron Wilson are still in the middle of some passive-aggressive hissyfit.

If I'm Doug Wilson, I fix this tonight by inviting the two into my office for an afternoon meeting. In my perfect world, the following conversation takes place between three grown men. Actual spoken words in quotes, subtext in parentheses.

Doug: "Dudes..." (Dudes, what's wrong with you?)
Ron: "Dude!" (It's not my fault. It's Patty's fault.)
Patty: "Dude. Seriously." (Dude, not this again.)
Ron: "Dude..." (Dude, get over it.)
Doug: "Dudes!" (Stop it. Be grown ups. Talk to each other)

Doug gets up and goes to the door. "Dudes." (Dudes. Work it out.) Doug leaves.
Patty: "Dude?" (Hey Ron?)
Ron: "Dude." (Yeah?)
Patty: "Dude. Seriously." (Man, the way you keep throwing me under the bus sucks. I mean, I know I'm not Mike Grier, but I've got a pretty good track record of being a quality NHL player. I'm a human being too. I have emotions. Work with me here. I need some positive reinforcement.)
Ron: "Dude...dude." (You're right. I have been bitchy to the media. That's my bad.)
Patty: "Dude?" (Honest?)
Ron: "Dude." (Yup. It's my bad. But I need you to step up too.)
Patty: "Dude!" (You're right. It starts tonight against Detroit!)
Ron: "Dude!" (Damn straight. You're our captain. I need you and Joe to lead the charge.)
Patty stands up and puts his hand out. "Dude." (All right. We're committed to winning this together.)
Ron stands up and takes Patty's hand. "Dude." (Yup. Here we go.)

Doug opens the door. "Dudes? We cool?"
Ron: "We cool."
Patty: "We cool."
Doug: "Dudes." (Let's go get Detroit.)

Sharks Forced to Play Home Games

Now we will see if the Sharks have finally turned the corner or will the season of inconsistency continue. After a 10 game road winning and compiling a ridiculous 16-3-2 road record overall, the Sharks come home for 14 home games in the next 18 games. Can they continue to play the patient style that has worked so well on the road? If you listen to Ron Wilson, his reasoning for the Sharks shaky home record is that they want to entertain us the fans and if something doesn't go right, they fall apart and put pressure on themselves to do more. I don't see a big difference in style of play between the road and home, but the players themselves seem to think they relax on the road and play a simple game. This is an important stretch of games as when this stretch is over, there will be 10 days left till the trade deadline. If the Sharks continue this inconsistency, moves will be expected. There are only so many "team meetings" that can be called and Doug Wilson can only talk to the players so many times. It is up to the players now.

Random Thoughts:

-The Winter Classic was a fun event to watch. Too bad the conditions didn't help out the players. Towards the end of the game players seemed to be pushing the puck as snow flurries made stick handling difficult unless you are Sidney Crosby. Is this kid really only 20 years old?

-The Sabres need to bring back their old "retro" jerseys (hint to the Sharks also). I kept expecting Pat LaFontaine to skate out there.

-The Red Wings are playing great (even without Zetterberg) I don't see anyone catching them for the President's Trophy. Watching their Power Play looks like they have a 2 man advantage all the time.

-Ducks traded Shane Hnidy for Brandon Bochenski. Does this clear room for the return of Teemu?

I am not a capologist so I will leave that last point to Earl Sleek to tell us if that does anything to clear cap space.

Drew Remenda's Shark-Thoughts, now in Chen-Style!

(NOTE: The following post was penned by our own Mike Chen, who is battling his workplace's firewall filters and thus e-mailed me his post. Everything past here is pure Chen. --Sleek)

Drew Remenda was just on NHL Live on XM/NHL.com. A quick summary of what he said:

• Jeremy Roenick was surprised at how quiet the Sharks bench was when he first came here. He asked Tim Hunter if that was how it always was and Hunter replied with "Yes, but they play with passion." JR begged to differ and began talking with the young guys to not treat the game as a job but enjoy and relish in being a pro athlete.



• Joe Thornton is the acknowledged team leader on the ice (as the go-to guy) and off it (as the fun social dude) and no one, especially Patrick Marleau, has a problem with him being in that role.



• The Sharks win because of Evgeni Nabokov and Thornton right now. Everyone else has underachieved (duh).



• The team's play is represented by the way they've drafted -- very skilled, very quiet guys. Drew said that that's more or less the bed they made, and that it's really up to players like Mike Grier, JR, and Joe Thornton to change that. He also cited players like Curtis Brown, Marleau, Nabokov, and Kyle McLaren as the ones who have to help the quiet young guys like Marc-Edouard Vlasic become passionate players.



• The issue of Marleau's play came up and I was really surprised at how candid Drew was. He said that the rift between Marleau and Ron Wilson still hasn't healed, despite what they say to the press. Doug Wilson has acted as the intermediary, but Drew says that Doug is leaving it to Marleau and Wilson to find a workable solution. A caller suggested taking the C off Marleau, and Drew's own personal thoughts (not speaking for Doug Wilson -- let's make that clear) is that doing that is a no-win situation because (a) it devalues Marleau if it ultimately leads to a trade (and that's a big IF -- he's NOT suggesting that or advocating that at all) and (b) it loses Patty from a player/coach perspective, though if you look at Dallas, Mike Modano seems to have shaken that off (that's my own input, not Drew's).



• He doesn't anticipate a major shake-up, but if things don't appear to be trending up heading into January, that's when something may happen. However, he doesn't think it will be that way. He couldn't answer whether or not the team will show up in the playoffs, though. Apparently, the philosophy going into this is that it has to start and end with the players. I may be reading too much into this, but it sounds like that ultimately Ron Wilson has the support of his GM.

So, basically what you see is what you get is what we all suspected. And it also sounds like if the team turns it around, the signing of Jeremy Roenick may have been way more valuable off the ice than we all thought.

Doug squashes Patrick Marleau rumors

For everyone who thinks a Patrick Marleau deal is imminent, please stop the ridiculous rumor-mongering (similar to anyone who thinks Vinnie Lecavalier, Brad Richards, or Martin St. Louis are leaving Tampa). From the Ottawa Sun via Kukla:

San Jose GM Doug Wilson said he's not trying to trade C Patrick Marleau, but admits he's had conversations. "If teams are going to call, it's my job to listen," said Wilson. "I would think that's a compliment to us that people would want our players. But I'm not trying to trade Marleau."

Yeah, that leaves the door slightly ajar, but he's just saying the politically correct thing. Doug's said nothing but positive things about Marleau and calls him one of his most reliable players. He also says that Marleau's talked things over with Ron Wilson and says that he's not worried about his captain at all.

So seriously folks, stop trying to get rid of him.

Doug Wilson interview & article

A little while back, I asked Sharks fans to send me their questions for my interview with Doug Wilson. The article is now up at FoxSports.com and the raw interview transcript is available at my blog. Nothing too earth shattering, but at least Doug gives very thorough answers.

Submit your question to Doug Wilson

Sharks fans, don't forget to submit your questions for Doug Wilson in the comments on this blog post. I'll be interviewing him Wednesday afternoon, so make sure to get your questions in before then.

Ask Doug Wilson

Don't want to steal the Ducks' thunder on their Stanley Cup run but I'm working out an interview with Sharks GM Doug Wilson and want to use questions from fans. If you've got a question for Doug, check out this post and leave a comment there.

Toskala or Nabokov?

Ron and Doug Wilson seem to have the best of both worlds right now -- they've got both goalies looking sharp and they've got a number of teams out east with imploding goalie situations. I gotta think that at least preliminary "Oh crap" calls are being made to Doug's office, but assuming that both goalies are healthy, who should the Sharks try to keep?

On the surface, Nabokov's big contract makes him the easy choice to let go. However, I don't see the issue here being the cap hit for this year -- or even next year. Here's the problem:

Nabokov: 2008/2009 $5.25 million cap hit
Toskala: 2008/2009 UFA
Marleau: 2008/2009 UFA
Thornton: 2008/2009 UFA

So, both goalies are roughly the same age, and assuming when healthy, can put up roughly the same stats. If the Sharks internal budget is essentially set for this year -- and I have to think that it would be considering the Vladimir Malakhov transaction -- then Doug Wilson probably has the green light to move either goalie.

The question then becomes, how much will Toskala ultimately be worth? Will he want $5.25 million when he becomes UFA or will he want more? Consider this -- Tomas Vokoun got a four-year extension averaging just under $6 million cap hit and Rick Dipietro's ridiculous contract has a cap hit of $4.25 million per season. Assuming that there is some general level of inflation, it wouldn't be surprising for Toskala to get around $6 million at the end of the 2007/2008 season.

Assuming both goalies are playing to the best of their abilities, keeping Nabokov might actually be the smarter thing to do in the long run. With Nabby, at least Doug Wilson has some certainty in the numbers he will be dealing with when it comes to re-signing both Thornton and Marleau.

Doug Wilson Drinking Game!

My friend Kyle and I have put together the definitive list of Doug Wilson-isms. Have a drink any time you hear one of these phrases:

-Every day is a trade deadline. (do a shot)

-We believe in our players. (have a beer)

-We tried to sign Scott Niedermayer. (do two shots)

-Owen Nolan has given a lot of blood, sweat, and tears for this franchise. (have a beer)

-I will do anything to make this team better. (have a cocktail)

-It's a good problem to have. (pound a beer)

-We have the best coaching staff in the world. (have a cocktail)

-Matt Carle... (any sort of fawning upon Matt Carle -- have a beer)

-Reward excellence. (have a sip of your favorite drink)

-Makes some comment about filling holes from within. (do three shots)

Update!
-After December 1st (Joe Thornton trade), we were one of the best teams/best power plays/most winning teams in the league. (do two shots)

-Veteran leadership is overrated. (do a sake bomb)

Ominous quote of doom!

Boy, that Doug Wilson sure is optimistic, isn't he?

"(Chicago) got good players, but we’re fortunate that we have players that can fill roles. We’ve got a lot of depth in our defensive end."

Let's examine that depth, shall we?

Kyle McLaren: Good, steady, stay-at-home guy who hits like a mofo. Holds on to the puck WAY too long when he gets it and always gets his shot blocked. Has a really heavy shot but can't get it on net. Good #2/#3 guy.

Scott Hannan: Great at shutting down the opposition and has adjusted to play the non-clutch-and-grab style of play. Decent skater, but not great with the puck. Can't make a good outlet pass and can be prone to turnovers. Good #2/#3 guy.

Matt Carle: Doug Wilson's favorite person on the planet. Won the Hobey Baker award, smooth skater, good passer. Could use a little more meat on his bones, but has nowhere to go but up. Potential to be a #1/#2 defenseman, but right now he's a #4/#5.

Christian Ehrhoff: About halfway through the season, Ehrhoff finally figured it out and played terrifically down the stretch. He's still prone to bad turnovers and soft plays but skates like the wind and has a ridiculously good shot. There was a stretch right after the Olympics where he looked like the second coming of Brian Leetch. He won't ever be mistaken for Scott Stevens because of his defensive shortcomings, but he's getting better. Potential to be a #1/#2 defenseman, but right now he's a #3/#4.

Doug Murray: Big and built like a freight train, Murray hit a lot of people in a very short amount of time. That was cool. Then he got injured and we never saw him again. Potential to be a #3/#4 guy. Right now, who knows?

Josh Gorges: You know when you push a shopping cart around the grocery store? That's how the Edmonton forwards pushed Josh Gorges around. He's defensively sound, but still lacks bite. He's a #6 guy and he'll probably stay there if he even stays in the NHL.

The rest o' the crew...

Rob Davison: Rob Davison...not that good. That's all I have to say. I'm sure he's a nice guy though.

Jim Fahey: Jim Fahey...really not that good, which is weird considering how well he did his rookie year. He's probably pretty good at delivering Una Mas burritos from the concessions to Doug Wilson.

Patrick Traverse: Woo hoo, another big name free agent signing! This guy was...a mediocre defenseman...in the AHL. Yeah.

So that's it. You've got two guys with great potential (Ehrhoff/Carle), two steady vets (Hannan/McLaren), one guy who might be a #4 (Murray). The remaining four, well, let's just say that their isn't a large talent gap between them.

That's *cough cough* Doug Wilson's "depth".

By the way, for my take on the OTHER participants in the Bell deal, check out my non-California-centric blog.

Doug Wilson is a...

I've been known to criticize Doug Wilson for his inactivity (and the bullshit line of "Every day is a trade deadline"). Now, I don't know what his phone calls consist of, but surely we the fans (and external pundits like TSN) can't be the only ones who recognize that the Sharks need one defenseman -- preferably a puck moving one --, some grit, and a top line left winger.

So far, a bazillion free agents have signed elsewhere. The Sharks still have two #1 goalies. Curtis Freakin' Brown is back on the team (I will cut Brown some slack though; when he came over two seasons ago, he was meant to be a second line replacement for Marco Sturm -- stupid assumption by Doug Wilson, but after being bought out by the Blackhawks, I don't think anyone will assume Brown is anything more than a fourth line grinder with good PK sensibilities and that's fine).

What the hell are you doing Doug? You can't just sit around and say, "I traded for Joe Thornton" for the rest of your career. There are obvious holes in the organization -- DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Now, the last time I ragged on Wilson this bad, he came out of nowhere with the Thornton deal. Reports say that Wilson is involved in talks for Chris Pronger. Patrick Elias is still available to play left wing. There might still be something brewing for Marty Havlat.

But considering how much every other team has done, it's really really really ridiculously (said with my Zoolander Magnum face) hard to accept this lack of movement so far.