Sharks Gameday: Ron Returns To The Scene Of The Crime

San Jose Sharks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

7:30 PM, Comcast Sportsnet

Sharks fans weren’t particularly nice to Brian Campbell when he returned to HP Pavilion. That’s to be expected, as Campbell came with a lot of potential and promise and he failed to deliver, then he said, “Screw you” to the team before cashing in.

So what happens when the guy who came with the most potential and promise returns? Perhaps Ron Wilson himself didn’t embody that potential but his roster – and regular season performance – certainly did, and as the guy who runs the show when it comes to motivating players, the combined lack of inspiration and toughness can fall on Wilson’s shoulders. If only to accentuate the point, Todd McLellan’s got this team doing those things, though it certainly helps that McLellan’s got a better set of defensemen.

Does Ron Wilson deserve a harsh greeting when he steps behind the bench as a visitor for the first time since the axe fell? In my opinion, no. In fact, as critical as I was of the guy, I think he deserves hearty recognition for what he accomplished with the team.

Put it this way: Wilson took a team that focused more on grit than skill and brought the best out of them, if only for a short time. Wilson seemingly has a penchant to make mediocre players good (see: Wayne Primeau) but when the roster become stronger and more skillful, Wilson couldn’t figure out the right combination.

There’s plenty to criticize with Wilson. His stubborn refusal to depart from his “five guys in formation” system gave the team an identity of a fast team that became so entrenched in their roles that they failed to truly use their natural skill and creativity. On the power play, rather than use movement and skill, Wilson’s system simply said, “Go to Joe Thornton on the half boards.” And then there’s his whole public smiting of players, something that Toronto’s getting a taste of now. That sort of abrasiveness only goes so far.

Still, you can’t take away the 2003-04 conference finals away from Wilson, and when you look at a roster filled with the Nils Ekmans and Alex Korolyuks of the world, it’s hard to figure out how that particular squad was so awesome to watch. And you won’t hear me criticizing Wilson on the defensive side of things; the team’s goals-against were always strong and for the most part, the penalty kill was solid. It’s just that after the team moved past the overachieving 03-04 squad, something was always off about the team, be it passion or toughness or chemistry.

The bottom line is that despite the team’s post-season failures and inconsistencies, Wilson’s still got the best record in Sharks history – and he’s taken them farther than Darryl Sutter or Kevin Constantine. For that simple fact, Wilson should get a rousing ovation when he’s shown on the HP Pavilion jumbotron.

Report: Toskala to Toronto

...for three draft picks according to Toronto's Fan590. Not sure what the full package is. More details to come...

Update: The Jersey Curse kills Mark Bell. He's part of the package according to Fan590. Salary dump, anyone?

Update 2: John Ferguson Jr.'s on the Fan590. He says the deal is not done and it's premature. Don't know if that means specifics are still being worked on or if paperwork just needs to be filed. I wouldn't be surprised if they're still hammering out the draft picks.

Update 3: Ok, it looks like it's Toskala/Bell for 1st (13th overall), 2nd, and 4th round picks. This clears up about $4 million in cap space. Will offer a full analysis later.

Anyone want to buy a Mark Bell jersey?

Update 4: I did some cap number crunching and assuming the Craig Rivet deal is done for $3.5 a year, the Sharks currently stand at $35 million with Scott Hannan, Bill Guerin, and Mark Smith all unsigned. You figure that Devin Setoguchi will come in at the rookie max plus bonuses, so let's say that it's at about $37 million for now. I don't think the Sharks will push the cap, but I could see them spending to $45 million. Does that mean they'll push for Sheldon Souray or Brian Rafalski to fill out the blueline? A group of Rivet, Kyle McLaren, Christian Ehrhoff, Matt Carle, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic definitely lacks punch.

Who's booing Nabby now?

Man, all freakin' season at the Shark Tank, I had to listen to morons boo the crap out of Evgeni Nabokov. It doesn't take a genius to realize that his stats were great even when his goal support sucked balls, so really, why the hate? Yeah, he let up some bonehead plays, but then again, so did Matt Carle on quite a regular basis. Go visit the official Sharks chatroom and it was non-stop "Nabby is the great Satan" over and over and over.

And then Nabby gets like 923 shutouts in a row. Suddenly, everyone loves him.

In the immortal words of Ash -- "First you want to kill me. Now you want to kiss me. Blow."

So, now the shoe is on the other foot. During today's broadcast, an informal poll of TV viewers had about 70% of fans voting to run with Nabby in the playoffs. In the infamous Sharks chatroom, people are talking about sticking with Nabby instead of getting Vesa Toskala back in the rotation.

Part of the reason why Nabby himself thinks he's on a roll is that he's been able to get in a groove by playing so many games consistently. I don't really buy that because he was hotter than flaming crap earlier in the season and Ron Wilson was still doing his goalie rotation. No, I think this is more a case of good timing for Nabby, bad timing for Toskala. In other words, it's the exact reverse of what happened last season.

So, let's just assume that Nabby continues his level of play and Toskala comes in and plays pretty darn well himself down the stretch. What's a playoff coach to do? Personally, I think both goalies can do a good job and it's the young defense that had me most worried (as I'd bitched on here fairly regularly about). However, Craig Rivet seems to have given everyone a nice boost of confidence and the forwards decided to start scoring again (hello Mark Bell -- why the hell didn't you play this way earlier in the season?).

So if I had to pick, well, I'd take the easy way out and just pick whoever played better during the final two weeks of the season. However, I wouldn't do the one-and-one rotation in the playoffs; I'd play a goalie until he had a bad game, then switch and let the other goalie run with it until he had a bad game.

In most normal situations, a coach will play his backup maybe once, but not in consecutive games. I'd just defy that logic completely and tell the two guys that the last two weeks serves as an audition for whoever gets the first pass. However, one strike and the other guy goes in indefinitely.

Hopefully, these guys would be professional enough to be motivated by this. Maybe Vesa Toskala's still hurting by the trade of his best Finnish bud Ville Niemenen.

Battle of California round 3 photos

Jean-Sebastien Giguere prepares for a shot in the second period.



Vesa Toskala dives to the far post to stuff a rebound attempt from Corey Perry.



The B.O.C. readers or Earl Sleek can caption this photo. More from the Ducks 7-4 win is available here.

Exclusive BOC Sharks-Blackhawks photos from the Blogfather

I spent most of the Sharks-Chicago game up near the rafters chatting with Lew Shapiro, PR director for the NHL's Oakland/California Seals (1967-76), and the PHL San Francisco Shamrocks (1977-79). It was interesting talking to him about the media coverage back in the day, the opening of the Oakland Coliseum, and a few other hockey related topics.

I wandered down to the top of the aisle in the lower bowl in the second period to take a few photos. After the above Chicago goal by Martin Havlat over a sprawled Vesa Toskala, one fan in a soccer jersey let out a gooooo-ooo-oooaaa-ooooaaal that would have made Andres Cantor proud.



Patrick Marleau answered with a goal of his own a few minutes later. Marleau wristed the puck around Khabibulin before he could reset after a scramble. This time soccer fan stumbled, barely getting out a gaa ol-ol. The section had a good laugh.



There was a massive collision between Mark Bell and a player who is not on my score sheet, #89 Troy Brouwer.



After the game, Vesa Toskala said he could not remember ever scoring 2 assists in a game before. It was 1 point shy of an NHL single game record, and half of the total for current NHL goalie points leader (Turco). When someone jiibed him about Evgeni Nabokov's power play goal a few years back, he said he picked one up in Europe so he was fine. Toskala had an open net late in the third, but he cleared the puck off the boards instead of trying to loft a shot up ice. Given the way the bounces have gone the last few games, smart move. More on the Sharks-Blackhawks here.

Sharks play Anaheim at HP Pavilion in beautiful San Jose on Tuesday, before heading to Anaheim on Wednesday to play in the smog. Let the Battle of California begin!



This might be a good look if I attend Wednesday's game in Anaheim.

Goaltending tandems in San Jose and Nashville are hot like fire

Only two teams in the NHL have a pair of players in the top 10 for a major statistical goaltending category (wins, save percentage, goals against average). The Nashville Predators have Tomas Vokoun [9th] and Chris Mason [7th] operating at a sub-2.50 goal against average. The San Jose Sharks have studiously alternated goaltenders each game, with Vesa Toskala [5th] and Evgeni Nabokov [8th] providing a measure of stability in front of a very young blueline. Each have allowed 2.40 goals against per game or less.

Tomas Vokoun [13-4-1, 2.42GAA, .920SV%] returned from a torn ligaments and fractured thumb recently to find his replacement Chris Mason [17-7-2, 2.36GAA, .928SV%] making waves as one of the top goaltenders in the league. Predators head coach Barry Trotz will alternate Vokoun and Mason until both netminders are ready to compete with each other for the #1 job.

The San Jose Sharks have seen both of their co-#1 goaltenders struggle and shine at times this season. Evgeni Nabokov [11-9-0, 2.40GAA, .913SV%] is in the middle of a rough patch, allowing 3 goals in the opening period in 3 straight games, including being pulled twice against Detroit and Phoenix. Vesa Toskala [18-6-0, 2.32GAA, .912SV%] receives the bulk of the goal support on a nightly basis, and is in the middle of a 4 game winning streak.

In Smashville, things are going to remain status quo until the end of the season. San Jose is a different story. Nabokov seemed irritated and visibily frustrated after being pulled against the Detroit Red Wings. Instead of getting the call 2 days later to redeem himself against Columbus, Evgeni had to wait 6 days when his team came out flat against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Sharks will continue to rotate goaltenders each game, but look for more trade rumors to heat up around the trade deadline. With two rookie defenseman logging significant ice time, and two more defenseman in their sophmore season, a veteran defensive-defenseman could be a necessary addition heading into the playoffs.

There is also an outside chance that a scoring winger could be brough in to fill the hole Mark Bell has left on the first line. With the lack of production from Bell, San Jose head coach Ron Wilson has demoted last year's Rocket Richard winner Jonathan Cheechoo, and run with a top line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Mike Grier to try to create a consistent effort.

Nabokov's no-trade clause and hefty contract will be an issue if teams want to make a move for him, but many have expressed interest in Vesa Toskala. Teams are also going to have to adapt to emerging problems with the goalie waiver wire re-entry circus. Bottom line prediction: all 4 goaltenders stay put and both teams meet in the Stanley Cup Western Conference semis (where each team will rely on only 1 goalie).

[Update] Marleau's fight inspires Sharks - San Jose Sharks.

Goalie Vesa Toskala, who finished with 29 saves, started for the second consecutive game. This was just the second time that Wilson deviated from his plan of alternating goalies every game.

Evgeni Nabokov started consecutive games against Calgary and Anaheim immediately before and after Christmas, because Wilson was concerned about playing Toskala without adequate practice time. The coach cited the same reason Saturday -- the Sharks didn't skate Friday -- as well as Nabokov's recent difficulties.

Nabokov surrendered three goals in the first period in each of his previous three starts, which included the 8-0 squash two weeks ago in Phoenix. He wasn't entirely to blame on those goals, but Wilson pulled him for Toskala on the first two occasions.

"He's been having a bit of a struggle," Wilson said. "I know for him, the thing he'd like to do is to go back in and play. But the situation is, every point is valuable. And I'm not at the point where it's, `OK, work it out in a game.' We just won't do that. He'll get in a good practice tomorrow. It's just using logic."

Nabby says, "It's not fair!"

Ever notice how Evgeni Nabokov looks really pissed off when he does interviews these days? Well, it's not just the goal-support issue (Nabby gets about 2 goals for each game, Vesa Toskala gets almost 4.5), it's the schedule. Sure, Ron Wilson probably thinks it's fair just to alternate Nabokov and Toskala game by game, but look at the opponents in here:

Nabokov's Schedule
*NY Islanders
Edmonton
Dallas
Minnesota
Detroit
Tampa
NY Rangers
Minnesota
*Phoenix
Colorado
Anaheim
NJ Devils
Minnesota
Dallas
Nashville

Toskala's Schedule
*St. Louis
Calgary
Vancouver
*Columbus
Nashville
*Florida
Pittsburgh
*LA
*Phoenix
*LA
*Philadelphia
*LA
*St. Louis
Detroit
Colorado
*Phoenix

I've put an asterik next to each team that's not within sniffing distance of .500 or better (the only exception is the Islanders since Toskala played them before Ted Nolan spun straw into gold). So by my account, Toskala's got 10 fairly easy opponents while Nabokov's only had, um, 2.

Not quite fair, huh? In terms of stats, the two are freakishly identical. As of today, they both have 2.04 GAA and a save percentage that is within one 1000th of each other (.924 for Nabby vs .925 for Toskala). But if you factor in the competition and goal support in there, I'd say that Nabokov's having an even better season than Toskala.

Food for thought when we enter the post-Christmas trade rumor silly season.

Exclusive Battle of California Sharks vs Flyers photos

San Jose center Joe Thornton skates out of the Sharks head Saturday night prior to a game with the Philadelphia Flyers.


Sharks goaltender Vesa Toskala battles Flyers forward #22 Mike Knuble. San Jose downed Philadelphia 6-1 for a convinving home win.


Philadelphia forward Triston Grant flips over the top of Sharks goaltender Vesa Toskala in the waning minutes of the 3rd period.


San Jose mascot SJ Sharkie watches the action intently from the front row.

More on the game will be posted on Sharkspage shortly. If you know how to post multiple photos on Blogger with Hello or Picasa, drop me a line.

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.

You be the California Coach

I’ve got an L.A.-at-Anaheim summary coming tomorrow, but first, take this quiz:

Anaheim
Game 1: Friday vs. Los Angeles. J.S. Giguere allows 3 goals on 44 shots to win 4-3.
Game 2: Saturday at Phoenix. Ilya Bryzgalov allows 1 goal on 35 shots to win 2-1.
Game 3: Monday vs. St. Louis

Los Angeles
Game 1: Friday at Anaheim. Dan Cloutier allows 4 goals on 32 shots in a 3-4 loss.
Game 2: Saturday vs. St. Louis. Mathieu Garon allows 1 goal on 36 shots to win 4-1.
Game 3: Tuesday vs. NY Islanders

San Jose
Game 1: Thursday vs. St. Louis. Vesa Toskala allows 4 goals on 35 shots in a 5-4 OT win.
Game 2: Saturday vs. NY Islanders. Evgeni Nabokov allows 0 goals on 26 shots for a 2-0 win.
Game 3: Monday in Calgary

So the three-part question: which goalie would you start for each team's Game 3?

More photos from SJ/ANA

Pronger in game action. I guess this guy is growing on me, though I still have to catch myself from saying "You suck!" everytime I mention his name. He was as good as advertised last night, although he did break two different sticks trying to shoot pucks on net.


Some good seats for a prime battle between Todd Fedoruk and Scott Parker. This was towards the end of the second period, so he went straight to the locker room. I didn't notice at the time, but does it look like Fedoruk got cut in the forehead in that first picture?


Generally, Vesa Toskala was not too excited to give up 5 goals in a little more than 7 minutes during the second period. A lot of looking to the heavens and cursing the porous defense. "Where's my boy Joey Thornton?"


Frenchie Beauchemin was definitely excited that he will continue to play with Scotty Niedermayer this year. One time in the 3rd period he really went for a vicious hipcheck but really got caught out of position. If we still had Vishdog, then we could leave this sort of aggressive defense to the experts.

Meanwhile Dustin Penner looked really good re-teaming with Todd Marchant. Penner tallied the first two goals and assisted on an improbable Marchant goal later in the period.


These are the best of what Damndaze sent me last night, but he took a lot more. Likely, though, these represent the better-quality pics, but I'll see if he doesn't have any more gems. Enjoy!

A Tale of Four Goalies

I think Mr. Bryzgalov doesn't really understand the concept of "Team First":

“I got a call from the club and they told me that they see me as their number one goaltender,” the Russian told Sovietsky Sport newspaper. “They (Anaheim) also want to trade Giguere but no one wants him.”

If Giguere is not moved by opening night, there should be a nice icy freeze to go with the new orange colors in the Anaheim locker room.

On the other hand, even though Vesa Toskala and Evgeni Nabokov don't need to get a room or anything, they have at least a friendly and respectable public relationship.

Vesa Toskala has nothing but great things to say about the San Jose Sharks, his GM Doug Wilson, and his fellow goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

But he's adamant he doesn't want to head into training camp next season still battling for playing time in goal with his buddy Nabokov.

''I really hope that doesn't happen,'' Toskala said Tuesday from his native Tampere, Finland. ''That's not good for me, or for Nabby. And I don't think it's good for the team either, sitting one of us on the bench. I really hope there's a trade.''

The difference here is that Bryzgalov has essentially forced Brian Burke into a trade to prevent any bad locker room vibes before the season starts, totally destroying any leverage Burke may have had. On the other hand, Toskala's comments put pressure on Doug Wilson to do something, but doesn't promote the sense of locker room-destroying venom that Bryzgalov's comments do.

Assuming nothing's been taken out of context (ha!) and these public statements reflect how Toskala and Bryzgalov feel, don't you think it'll be easier for Doug Wilson's tandem to accept "Look, one of you will move. It might not be till November, but we'll find the best situation for you two and the team. Just be patient." rather than Brian Burke's apparently-at-odds duo?

Preparing for Game 5

Vesa Toskala prepares for game 5 in San Jose.