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.
Welcome back to another edition of Sunday Night Pint!
This week we’ll have Rob Cooke (@cooke_rob), a hungover Lindsay Ryall (@lindsman77), and myself, BLH (@beerleagueheroe) rattling off some value bombs for you fine folks!
The Topics:
Pacific Division predictions!
Oilers enforcers!
Raising the dead!
Let’s Get This Party Started!
1. Pacific Division Predictions
BLH- I think it’ll go down like this: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Edmonton, San Jose, Calgary, Vancouver, Arizona.
I’m not sold on San Jose as a functioning squad this year. Their goaltending is unproven, the lack scoring from the wings and their new coach has done nothing to prove that he’ll take the Sharks any further that where they stand now, out of the playoffs. I’m also convinced that Calgary is going to hit the wall this season. Too many years now of lucking out. Either their young guys, their goaltending, or the coaching dries up this year. Vancouver and Arizona will be in competition for Auston Matthews, Jakub Chychrun, and Jesse Puljujarvi so who cares about them.
L.A. should be good for 2nd place but then again looked what happened to Boston last year…
Edmonton on the other hand is trending up. They’ve improved their roster immensely since last season. I’d say they’re on the opposite end of the spectrum as San Jose. Their top 6 has the potential to be the deadliest in the league and Talbot is entering the prime of his career after putting up some deadly numbers last year in New York. The secret weapon won’t be a player but an aura called The McDavid Effect.
LR – Ducks: The Ducks core is in their prime and they keep getting reinforcements on a maturing D and in goal. Getzlaf, Perry and crew easily have the talent and experience to easily push for another final four appearance and maybe even another cup as Chicago suffers under cap restraints. Finish 1st, 108 pts.
Kings: Many would see the Kings problems as a sign of potential implosion, but the bulk of their core remains intact and the addition of Milan Lucic means they are tougher and heavier in their top six. They could use more depth on D but finishing out of the playoffs will provide tons of motivation for this veteran-laden team only two years removed from a cup. Finish 2nd, 102 pts.
Flames: I hate the Flames, but I have to admit they have the best D in the Pacific and defense gets you wins and points in the NHL today. Look for highly touted rookie Sam Bennett to suffer a severe upper-body injury by mid-season but the rest of the forward group are serviceable if unspectacular and play very well within Bob Hartley’s system. Finish 3rd, 98 pts
Sharks: I predicted this team’s erosion a couple of years ago but they have stubbornly remained relevant… Until last year when they missed the playoffs. Not even Logan Couture’s daunting overbite can save them now. Unproven in goal and leaderless they will continue to drift. Finish 4th, 88 pts.
Oilers: After the draft I took a sip of the Kool-Aid and I liked the taste. Nonetheless, I’m not ready to label this team as playoff bound just yet, still too inexperienced on D and it’s not certain what impact Nurse and Reinhart will have. Nevertheless, they will take a huge step forward and position themselves to challenge the following year. Look for a 75 point season from the Nuge to go with 65 – 70 points from McDavid as he becomes the Oilers’ first Calder Trophy winner. Finish 5th, 84 pts.
Canucks: The Canucks have done nothing to help themselves and continue to drop in talent even further. The Sedins are well into their 30’s and aren’t magicians, so no playoffs for Vancouver. Finish 6th, 82 pts.
Coyotes: The Coyotes have the makings of a very exciting team… In about 3-4 years. Besides OEL they don’t have an impact player and it’s unsure Mike Smith can bounce back from a disastrous season. Missing the playoffs by a lot and being in the thick of the Auston Mathews sweepstakes. Finish 7th, 62 pts.
RC – Anaheim, Los Angeles, Calgary, Edmonton, San Jose, Vancouver, Arizona
2. Who’s Your Favorite Oilers Tough Guy?
McDavid SMASH!
BLH – My favorite Oilers tough guy is the team’s all-time leader in penalty minutes (1747) Kelly Buchberger. He lost more fights than he won but there was no backing down when push came to shove. The list of guys he fought is legendary: Probert, Pronger, Neely, McSorley, Kordic, Grimson, McCarty, Tim Hunter, Brashear, Kocur, and Odjick just to name a few. #BraveMan
LR – Dave Brown: This is a close call as I’m also a big Georges Laraque fan, and who could forget Semenko, but Brown was just so devastating. He didn’t just beat people up, he destroyed them.
RC – Dave Semenko without question. I grew up watching Cement Head take on all comers and I loved the epic battles of Alberta even more when Semenko and Hunter would go at it!
3. If You Could Bring Back Any Hockey Player From The Dead To Play For The Oilers, Who Would It Be?
BLH – I’d bring back Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. I remember reading a children’s illustrated book when I was small boy that featured The Rocket and I can’t remember what the name was but the message was about tenacity. I didn’t know what that word meant but by the end of that short story I knew all I needed to know about the word and the player! This man played the game with as much honesty as you could ask for and never asked for anything in return. Not only that but he managed to get an entire city to riot after he was suspended.
LR – Eddie Shore: Shore was much more than a footnote in the movie Slapshot, he was the original two way defenceman. Shore could beat you with toughness and scoring from the blueline, both of which the Oilers could use on their team today.
RC – This is a really tough one for me because the vast majority of the players that I grew up watching are still alive today. I decided that rather than select a former all star from another organization that I would select a player that left us way to young and had a ton of potential. Kristians Pelss was an Oilers prospect when he tragically died in a swimming accident in 2013 in his home country of Latvia. I have always wondered what he could have become had we not lost him.
Well that wraps it up for us here. Let us know in the comments below your Pacific Division predictions, who your favorite tough guy was or who you’d bring back from the dead to play on the Oilers.
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The San Jose Sharks find themselves in a rather unique situation comparative to years past. After missing the playoffs, as well as the perceived controversy in both the locker room and front offices, it’s safe to say the Sharks are ready to make a few changes. They already have some good young pieces in Mirco Mueller, Nikolay Goldobin, Tomas Hertl, and Matt Nieto, but they’re still a few pieces away from a rebuilt top six. One positive they have going for them is 26 year old pivot Logan Couture. Having a player like Couture alleviates some of the stress associated with finding a top 6 center. After making the rocky relationship between management and Jumbo known to the public, It’s possible he may have seen his last home game in the Shark Tank. Others who are rumoured to be on the block include Patrick Marleau and Brent Burns. Throw in Pavelski and Vlasic, and we could see a full on rebuild. As for the 9th pick, there’s a few directions they may end up going. Mathew Barzal’s name has been tossed around, however I don’t believe he’d be a good fit. Much like the Avs, the Sharks defensive depth is suspect, but the answer lies with Zach Werenski. Perhaps it would be in the best interest of both the Avs or the Sharks to move up because the chances of Werenski making it past the Jackets are very low.
Draft Day Gameplan
– Acquire a top 15 pick. Stars and Panthers may have interest in Burns/Pavelski.
– Move Joe Thornton for best possible return. A first (likely late) plus a good prospect may get it done.
– Address the crease. The Sharks do have a decent amount of forward prospects, so moving picks for a goalie like Talbot would be smart.
– Look at moving up. If Hanifin/Provorov falls, look to get in the top 7.
Sharks Big Board (Without McEichel)
1. Dylan Strome
2. Noah Hanifin
3. Ivan Provorov
4. Mitchell Marner
5. Zach Werenski
6. Mikko Rantanen
7. Pavel Zacha
8. Mathew Barzal
9. Lawson Crouse
10. Kyle Connor
Who do they take?
With the Jackets poised to grab a defenceman, it’s unlikely one of the big 3 make it past pick 8. If they’re looking at forwards, Barzal, Crouse, even Yevgeni Svechnikov would be good options. When it comes down to it, Lawson Crouse is the guy they go with.
Darkhorse?
In a year where the first round is as deep as it is, it’s hard to pick out a real “dark horse” per say, but two names I’d keep an eye on are Jansen Harkins of the Prince George Cougars as well as Everett’s Noah Juulsen.
