Tag Archives: Brent Burns

NHL, Rob Cooke

Beer League Heroes 15 – 16 Season Primers: San Jose Sharks

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Last season the San Jose Sharks missed the playoff for the first time since 2003. In the aftermath we seen the mutual parting of ways between the team and long-time head coach Todd McLellan. Was last season an anomaly or is the long playoff run over for the one mighty Sharks? The core group of players is aging but there should still be a little left in the tank of Jumbo Joe Thornton and Patty Marleau. Enough to get them back to the playoffs? We will see I guess.

Key Additions: RW Joel Ward, D Paul Martin, D Mark Cundari, G Martin Jones

Key Departures: G Antti Niemi, D Matt Irwin, D Taylor Fedun

Roster Hopefuls: RW Timo Meier, RW Nikolay Goldobin, D Jeremy Roy

Last season was a bit of free fall for the once powerful Sharks. They went from 111 points and a second place finish in the Pacific division to 89 points and a fifth place end. The unfortunate part for Sharks fans is that while they did bring in a few nice players this summer they also lost a couple good ones too. Joel Ward is a great addition to the team as is defenseman Paul Martin but I can’t seem to figure out why they walked away from goaltender Antti Niemi. In my opinion opting for a very much unproven Martin Jones as the new starter when you had a more than capable starter already in the fold is beyond me but that is something you would have to ask GM Doug Wilson.

Timo Meier should bring the team some hope. He has a big frame and has excellent instincts in the offensive zone. He is a very capable player when he has the puck on his stick. He is going to head back to the QMJHL this season but should be in the NHL full-time by next season. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching this kid play I urge you to do so! You won’t be disappointed. Another player on this team that I absolutely love is big defender/ winger Brent Burns. The guy is a stud defenseman and can really supply the offense from the backend. Last season he finished fourth on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 43 assists. That’s pretty damn special for a defenseman!

Potential Lineup:

Patrick Marleau – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski

Melker  Karlsson – Logan Couture – Tomas Hertl

Matt Neito – Chris Tierney – Joel Ward

Raffi Torres – Ben Smith – Tommy Wingels

Brent Burns – Paul Martin

M.E. Vlasic – Justin Braun

Brendon Dillon – Mirco Mueller

Martin Jones

Alex Stalock

The Sharks finished an astounding 11 points out of the playoffs, I know that isn’t “Oilers” astounding but that is pretty huge a change for a perennial playoff team like San Jose. I don’t think last season was an anomaly by any stretch. I think it was a bigger than expected regression but not an unexpected regression. With little in the way of changes from last season I expect the team will regress even further this season and will be in the fifth slot come the end of the season.

Martin Jones is the guy to keep an eye on for this team. He is largely unproven and will be needed to play a hell of a lot more than the fifteen games he played last season. It will be interesting to see if the Sharks guessed right and Jones is in fact ready. Situation sounds very similar to that of the Oilers.

 

Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rob Cooke, Rumors, Trades

Lowered Expectations

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I have seen a lot, and been involved in more than a few, conversations about what could occur in Florida between Friday evening and supper time Saturday. It’s a no-brainer that Edmonton is going to select Connor McDavid with the first overall selection and that the heavens will open and all the angels rejoice at the rebirth of the saviour. Well maybe that last part won’t happen but McD is a lock to be in Oilers silks come June 26th. Every basement dwelling blogger, myself included if I had a basement, will be going insane with anticipation on Friday night watching the first round to see what will actually occur after this horrendously long off-season. Yes I know there are a ton of rumours flying around about the Oilers 16th overall pick and I for one am hoping that they turn out to be completely baseless and false. Most times I am seeing this pick mentioned in trade it involves acquiring goaltender Cam Talbot and I am adding my voice to the overwhelming number of Oilersnation faithful in saying that the guy just isn’t worth it! Don’t get me wrong the guy played fantastic down the stretch when the King went down but he has limited games played and I for one don’t feel comfortable paying that amount for an as of yet unproven goalie. Especially one on the final year of a contract that sees him reach unrestricted free agency should he be so inclined.

The rumour mongers are going absolutely ape shit like normal at this time of year and all I am here to ask is that fans and bloggers alike, please be realistic in your expectations for Friday night and early Saturday morning. Talbot very well could be acquired by Chiarelli but I think it is much more likely for the 33rd pick. No I am not including Marincin as I have seen some others do because again that is an overpay in my opinion and the Rangers are not in that strong of a position to demand it. The 16th overall pick, if moved at all, will be better spent on acquiring help on defense as that is the biggest hole that is going to be the hardest to fill. No we are not going to see Brent Seabrook or Brent Burns as Oilers next fall so don’t even bother suggesting it.

I have no idea who the team could be targeting with the pick if it is traded but should the team do the boring thing and use the selection there is a better than good chance that this will add another elite prospect to an already young franchise. That’s not necessarily a bad thing considering where the team finished last year and what we will likely see as far as improvement this coming season. When I am saying that people need to be realistic I’m not just talking about the upcoming draft and free agency. I am also including the 2015-16 NHL season. Last season the Oilers finished 35 points out of the playoffs in this league a deficit like that is nearly impossible to make up in one season. I mean teams have gone from bottom dweller to playoff team in one year, most recently the Colorado Avalanche in the 2013-14 season and the vastly over achieving Calgary Flames from this past season. Neither did much in the playoffs but at least they made it there is my thought. IS Edmonton going to be the odds defying team this season? They very well could be the belle of the ball but I really have my doubts on that. With the outside possibility that the team will actually bring in two legit defenders and a new starting goalie there could be a possibility but I don’t think Mr. Chiarelli finishes his shopping list this summer with another top defender hopefully joining the team next summer if Nurse and Klefbom don’t develop into the role first. I think that if we are being realistic and even a little optimistic we can expect a jump of roughly 25 points next year which unfortunately in the extremely deep western conference wouldn’t even move the team up 1 spot in the standings but would like see some meaningful hockey come February and March. And at this stage of the game that is really all that we can ask for!

I really hope that I am wrong and we do get the players we need this summer and go on a miracle run that takes us to the second season for the first time in a decade. God knows that the fans sure deserve it but when have what us fans deserve ever entered into the equation? If you think I’m wrong let me know. What do you expect to happen over the next couple of weeks as we pass the draft and head into free agency? Hit me up in the comments or get at me on twitter, @cooke_rob. Until next time Beer Leaguers!