Sharks Niemi Responds Well to Being Benched

          Yesterday, Sharks goalie Antti Niemi recorded a shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that had the second most goals in the NHL this season. This was, without a doubt, a bounce back game for Niemi. He had struggled a lot on the Sharks nine game road trip and had started to receive strong criticism, including from me.  There were even some rumors that he was trade bait by Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson before the trade deadline. So why did Niemi suddenly play so well against a high powered offense such as the Flyers? If yesterday is an indicator, Niemi responds well to being overlooked.

            In the game against the Flyers Niemi looked like a goalie out on a mission to prove everyone wrong especially his coach. You can tell that Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was starting to lose faith in Niemi during that nine game road trip. Following the embarrassing loss to Tampa Bay in the beginning of the trip McLellan, who usually doesn’t criticize his goalies, criticized Niemi to the press and said that he couldn’t play like he did if the team was going to win.  Then McLellan pulled Niemi from the game in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Nashville Predators after Niemi gave up three quick goals in each game. McLellan lost so much confidence in Niemi that he started backup goaltender Thomas Greiss in the last game of the road trip against Minnesota. After being benched against Minnesota, Niemi was back in the net against the Flyers and he went on to prove that he shouldn’t be on the bench. He proved that he can still be a winner for the Sharks and that he can stop every puck that goes near him.

            I was glad to see Niemi bounce back from adversity and if he can play like he did against the Flyers on a consistent basis, then the Sharks can definitely contend in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, that’s the key, consistency and that has not been Niemi’s strong point. That’s why I like the way McLellan has handled Niemi recently because it seems like when the coach is hard on Niemi, Niemi holds a chip on his shoulder and goes out and shuts out an opponent. So the next time Niemi has a bad game, McLellan should bench him the following game. By benching Niemi after bad games, Niemi responds by playing his best hockey and the Sharks will need that from him come playoff time. It may be something Niemi hates, but if that’s what makes him play his best I don’t care if Niemi gets his feelings hurt every now and then, as long as the Sharks win.  So McLellan should not treat Niemi like a starting goalie that has no competition at his position. He should treat Niemi like his job is on the line game in and game out.  If he does this, hopefully we see the angry Niemi that we saw yesterday and that’s a man on a mission to prove people wrong.

Sharks Deadline Moves Not Enough to Turn this Season Around

            Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson made a trade just hours before the trade deadline today. He acquired forwards Daniel Winnik and T.J. Galiardi. These two players are third line players who will provide great penalty killing as well as the occasional goals. They also bring size and good defense to the team. However, the Sharks have so many holes that these trades alone are not going to turn around the teams misfortunes.

            While Winnik and Galiardi are decent players they are only role players. They are not going to score goals frequently. They are not going to amaze you on offense. They are not going to be relied on to score that needed goal to tie a game with just a minute left. They are not going to be the guys who will score important goals in the postseason that advance the team to the next round.  Wilson needed to get a big time goal scorer and didn’t do it.

            Now that the trade deadline has passed without major moves, many things have to happen for the Sharks to turn around their season. First of all, Antti Niemi and Thomas Greiss have to stop giving up so many goals each game. As the goaltenders, they have the most important job on the ice. They are the last line of defense. They can’t give up soft goals. If they keep struggling like they are currently, the Sharks will not get far in the playoffs if they’re lucky enough to reach that point.     

            Second, the Sharks need Douglas Murray and Martin Havlat back. I believe the team is missing Murray right now. His physical presence on the ice intimidates opposing offensive players which makes Murray a great defender. It’s no coincidence that Murray has been injured during the majority of the Sharks bad nine game road trip. That is why they need him back to help the defense. Since the team didn’t acquire a big goal scorer, they are going to have to rely on Havlat to score some goals. If Havlat can go on an offensive tear, the offense in general will be where it is expected to be. They also need Havlat to stay healthy for the rest of the season. That means no more freak injuries.

            Finally, the team needs to play better on the penalty kill.  History shows that a team cannot win a lot of games if they are bad at penalty killing. The Sharks need to improve on that. Winnik and Galiardi will help in this department along with Dominic Moore, but the team’s defensive men also need to pick up their game.

            I don’t see all of these keys happening for the Sharks. Everything has to go in place at the same time and the schedule is getting closer to an end. Doug Wilson’s moves will help but they don’t solve all of the teams needs.

Sharks Need to Trade for a Goal Scorer

The trade deadline for the NHL is on Monday and I wonder if the San Jose Sharks are going to make any more moves to improve the team. If I am Sharks General Manager, Doug Wilson, I would try to get a goal scorer.

            Rumors have surfaced that the team is looking into acquiring Rick Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’s a goal scorer I wouldn’t mind having as long as we don’t have to give up guys like Joe Pavelski or Logan Couture. However, considering he has a high salary cap hit I have a hard time believing Wilson will be able to fit him under the team’s cap without giving up half of the Sharks’ players. 

            The Sharks don’t necessarily need Nash to make the team better. They just need a top forward line goal scorer. A player who can team up with Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, and Patrick Marleau to put pucks in the net. A player Joe Thornton can make great passes to. In general, a player who can boost the team’s offense. Lately, the Sharks have been losing games where the team only scores two goals. If the Sharks’ defense continues to give up as many goals as it has been, the team is going to need another scorer.

            Wilson already made a trade for a third line forward in Dominic Moore, but he’s not someone who is going to score goals at a rate of a first or second line forward. If Wilson doesn’t acquire a goal scorer, then he’s probably relying on Martin Havlat’s return from the injured reserve to stimulate the Sharks’ offense.

            I think the Sharks are taking a huge risk if they rely on Havlat to score goals. This year, Havlat has only scored two goals in 26 games, not exactly impressive. Plus, the guy breaks as easily as glass. He’s already been on injured reserve twice this year. His last injury came from jumping off his bench onto the ice and falling.  Who is to say he won’t get injured in another freak accident? It wouldn’t surprise me if he tore his hamstring tripping on a banana peel. Havlat’s inconsistency and injuries are more reasons for the Sharks to get another goal scorer. If they don’t, they will regret it.

49ers Should Not Commit to Alex Smith Long Term

         Forty Niners quarterback Alex Smith may be a free agent, but the 49ers have made it clear they want him back. Coach Harbaugh has also said that Smith will be the team's quarterback for next year. It is understanding that the team wants to bring Smith back. He had his best season last year. He did not turn the ball over much, lead many 4th quarter comebacks, and he helped the team to the NFC Championship game.
        However, here's my suggestion to the 49ers: don't commit Alex Smith to a long term contract. I know Smith played great last year and he is only 27 years old. However, I wouldn't call his season outstanding. People seem to forget that the 49ers team was lead by a great defense that featured many Pro Bowl selections. They didn't allow a rushing touchdown until the second to last game of the regular season. They also didn't allow a 100 yard rusher until the second to last game of the season. Also the team closed out the season with the second fewest points in the NFL. The defense was the reason for the 49ers success, not Alex Smith.
       While the defense ranked in the top of most categories, the offense was the opposite. The team was one of the lowest in the NFL in pass yards, was one of the lowest in points scored, and worst of all, they had one of the worst red zone offenses in the league. They were one of the least successful teams in scoring touchdowns once they were in the red zone. That is why a good chunk of the teams points came from kicker David Akers and that is why Akers set a franchise record in points scored in a season. All of these low stats have to be blamed on the quarterback. The only area on offense where they ranked high was in rushing yards but that has to do with Frank Gore, not the quarterback. The reason why Alex Smith looked so good this year was because in years past, he was so horrible and so when you compare this season to years past of course he looks a lot better. However, that doesn't mean he is a Pro-Bowler no matter how much Harbaugh wants you to believe he is. If he was, he would have been selected.  What made Alex Smith's season great was that  he didn't screw up. He didn't turn the ball over. That was what made him such a bad quarterback in years past. He would throw just as many interceptions as he did touchdowns. This year he was one of the quarterbacks with the least turnovers. So yes, he was great at not making mistakes but that doesn't make one a great quarterback. That just means you are not a bad quarterback. At best Alex Smith was average.
      Now some will argue that the reason for keeping Smith long term is that Hargbaugh can continue to develop Smith so that he performs better stats. I don't see that happening. Smith has been in the league for seven years. If he needs that much babysitting from Harbaugh at this point in his career that he can't play better at his job without his coach, then he does not have much leverage with the 49ers.  Where else is Smith going to go and find a coach as good as Harbaugh. Plus, can Smith afford to join another team and learn another new system. That's why the 49ers shouldn't give in to Smiths demands for a five year contract. They should offer at most three years and tell Smith to take it or leave it. Smith will pretty much have no choice.
     The biggest reason for not committing to Smith long term is not because I think he is terrible but I think the quarterback behind him can be better. Colin Kaepernick is a great athlete who can throw the ball ball and rush with the ball at ease. In college he was one of a only a few quarterbacks to rush for over 1000 yards and throw for over 2000 yards in the same season.  He carried Nevada University on his back and lead them to big wins against big schools such as Cal Berkeley and Boise State. When I watched him play he reminded me of Steve Young as both quarterbacks used their run threats just as well as their throwing abilities. Smith is not a dual threat quarterback. Kaepernick is and that can be a great advantage in the NFL. Kaepernick still needs some developing so he doesn't need to be rushed in next season. However, Kaepernick is only under contract for three more years.
      The last thing I want to see the 49ers do is sign Alex Smith for five years and then lose Kaepernick to free agency because he feels he won't get a shot to start with San Francisco. He was a second round draft pick so obviously he was highly regarded for and many teams would love to have him as their starter. Imagine what would have happen if Green Bay had kept Brett Favre around longer and then lost Aaron Rodgers to free agency. They probably wouldn't win their fourth Super Bowl like they did recently. With all due respect to Smith, he is no Brett Favre. If Favre can be replaced so can Smith. Anyone in the NFL can be replaced after Steve Young replaced Joe Montana.  We are talking about a Hall of Famer. Alex Smith is no Hall of Famer, although Harbaugh wouldn't surprise me if he said Smith was. He sure likes to boost up Smith's confidence beyond realistic expectations.
     That is why the 49ers really need to be careful with how long they commit to Alex Smith. He is not the future and you do not want to sacrifice the future of Kaepernick just to keep Smith around.

Lew Wolf Needs to Build a Winner if he Wants New Stadium

Before Lew Wolf became owner of the Oakland A’s, the team was a competitor. They went to the playoffs, they competed, and they had talent. Back in the early part of the 2000s the A’s still were a low budget team that couldn’t attract free agents. Yet, the team had a talented farm system and they brought up players from the minors who would turn into Major League stars.  So the team was a competitor despite a weak attendance record and a low payroll.

            Things have changed since Wolf became owner. Unlike previous ownership, Wolf did not care about winning. All he cared about was getting the A’s out of town and moving them to nearby San Jose. Wolf put all of his focus into moving the team to San Jose and no focus with the product on the field. He was more concerned about the A’s of the future instead of the A’s of the present. Now don’t get me wrong, Wolf has good reasons for wanting to move the A’s out of Oakland. The team has been underappreciated for a team that has won four World Series in Oakland. They have had many stars from Reggie Jackson to Ricky Henderson. Despite all the success of this franchise, the team attendance is terrible and has always been that way. 

            Having said that, I believe Wolf could still make plans to move the team without gutting the present franchise of its talented players.  This offseason, Wolf has done nothing to improve the team from last year and that is saying something. The A’s were terrible last year. However, the few bright spots on the team that the A’s had, Wolf destroyed it this offseason. The few players that had the potential to be great players for the franchise were traded in order to cut payroll. The very little hope the A’s had of competing this year was crushed when Wolf did everything but admit that this season will be a year with minor leaguers competing not to be in last place in the league. Basically, Wolf is being the cheapest man in sports. He basically is saying, “The heck with this season! When can I go to San Jose?”

            What Wolf doesn’t seem to realize is that in order to build a new stadium, it takes a talented team to build a new stadium.  If you are going to try a new market for fans, you need to win them over. Fans don’t want to watch a losing product. They want winners.  The A’s are not winners. They are a once proud franchise that is now embarrassing.  Does Wolf believe that San Jose fans will flock to a new stadium just to watch a lousy team? If the team continues to play bad, San Jose voters may not even vote in approval for a new stadium in San Jose because of its reputation as a poor performer on the field.  But for the sake argument let’s say Wolf does get his San Jose stadium built. Sure, the fans might come in huge numbers when the ballpark first opens just for the excitement of close entertainment, but that enthusiasm can drop very fast if the team plays bad. If the A’s continue to play bad year in and year out what makes Wolf think he can suddenly build a winner overnight? It is very difficult for a team to go from last place to first place from one year to the next. So let’s say Wolf keeps being cheap and keeps getting rid of players up to their last season in Oakland. That trend of being a bad team will likely carry over into the first season the A’s play in San Jose. It could take years for the team to recover from bad management and that could cost the A’s fans. Since Wolf wants to privately fund a stadium in San Jose, he could end up struggling to pay the bills on the stadium because fans won’t come to see a team lose. What if he is forced to sell the team because he is losing money? What happens if he sells to an owner who doesn’t want to pay off the stadium and instead relocates them again? All of these problems could happen if Wolf does not fix the team now instead of later.

            Past stadiums that were built in the Bay Area resulted from teams that showed promise and were competitive before and after their new stadiums were built. When the Giants started construction on current AT&T Park in the late 1990s, the team was on the rise with stars like Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent.  The Giants went to the playoffs in 1997 and came in second place in their division in 1998 and 1999. The team  had momentum going into AT&T Park when it first opened in 2000. Then in their first year at the ballpark, they went to the playoffs again and two years later went to a World  Series. Then they saw Barry Bonds year in and year out entertain fans with his splash hit home runs and breaking records. It was a park that Bonds built. Could you imagine AT&T Park being what it is today if the Giants decided to trade Barry Bonds before the new park was open? I sure don’t think so. It was the park that Bonds built. 

            When the San Jose Sharks came into existence in 1991, the team already had construction under way on the arena in San Jose. The arena opened in 1993 after the Sharks already played two seasons in Daly City.  The Sharks didn’t make the playoffs in those first two years but they did have promise that the A’s lack right now. They had an upcoming goalie in Arturs Irbe who showed promise in those first two years. Same thing was occurring with other players such as Ray Whitney, Pat Faloon, and Sandis Ozolinsh. All these players were on the team prior to the HP Pavilion opening up in San Jose and they built around them with new additions to the team prior to the first year in San Jose such as Igor Larionov and Sergie Makarov. All of these players contributed to helping the Sharks reach the postseason in their first year in San Jose. They then went on to upset the top seeded team in the first round of the playoffs. With that success early on, the Sharks won a fan base over to this day and they still sell out the arena.

            More recently, the San Francisco 49ers were in a similar situation that the A’s are in right now. The 49ers wanted to get out of San Francisco and wanted to build a new stadium in Santa Clara.  They got voter approval to build a stadium in Santa Clara in 2010 but that was in the middle of a playoff drought for the 49ers and financing for the stadium was a big question mark. Nobody knew if the Stadium would ever get built. Like the A’s now, many 49ers fans wondered then if the 49ers were going to be cheap and focus just on the new stadium plan.  49ers owner Jed York knew better. He knew in order to get a new stadium built he needed to put a good product on the field. He had the talent already but he needed the right coaches. So York hired Jim Harbaugh this past year to coach and with Harbaugh’s leadership the 49ers went on to have a great season and went all the way to the NFC title game in the playoffs just a month ago. During the 49ers great run in 2011 the 49ers secured loans from major banks to finance the majority of the funds needed to build the stadium. The team probably wouldn’t have received the loans had they played terrible like in years past. They also may not have earned a loan from the NFL if they had another poor season. Thanks to York’s vision of hiring a great coach, the construction of the 49ers stadium will be underway this summer and is scheduled to open in either 2014 or 2015.

            Wolf needs to take a look at the above examples and realize that it takes fans to build stadiums. The only way you win fans is by putting a great product on the field. That’s why Wolf needs to turn the A’s into a winner now, not years later in San Jose, but now.

For Sharks to Win Cup Antti Niemi Needs to Steal Wins

             Watching Antti Niemi play against Tampa Bay the other night was painful to watch. He gave up six goals. Giving up that many goals is not going to cut it for the Sharks. If they are going to win the Stanley Cup this season, they will need Niemi to be at the top of his game and stealing wins for the Sharks.  When I say “stealing wins” I mean games where the goalie plays beyond what is expected of him and leads his team to victory. I mean games where the goalie bails out his team when they are not playing well and not scoring a lot of goals.  I mean games where the goalie is the main reason the team won a particular game. For a goalie to steal a win, sometimes he needs to shutout the opponent and not let them score one goal. If not, he should not give up more than two goals.

            While Niemi does not have many bad games like he did against Tampa Bay this season, it was a reminder of how unreliable Niemi is when it comes to stealing victories for the Sharks. Sure, he will win a lot of games and will play good hockey but he does not usually shut down an opponent. He does not bail out his team in games. Usually it’s the other way around. The Sharks offense is bailing him out by scoring a lot of goals.  The Sharks offense may be able to carry the load during the regular season but once the playoffs start, the team can’t rely on scoring to lead this team to the Stanley Cup.  Scoring goals is tougher to come by in the playoffs as defenses play stronger and more physical. This means that that pretty goals are not scored as often as ugly goals. 

Based on past Stanley Cup Champions, it takes a hot goalie for a team to be champions. We saw that last year with Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. He was the Con Smythe trophy winner as the most valuable player during the playoffs. The Bruins would not have won the cup without him. The Sharks did not win the Stanley Cup last year for a few reasons but the most obvious reason was Niemi. He gave up an average of over three goals a game. In hockey stats, that is lousy. Goalies in the playoffs are expected to carry a goal against average of near two goals a game.

The Sharks were lucky to reach the conference finals with that kind of goaltending. They managed to score a lot of goals against Los Angeles and Detroit. However, once they played Vancouver, scoring goals got tougher. They played a tough goalie in Robert Luongo and he stole wins for the Canucks. You couldn’t say the same about Niemi. There were many instances when the Sharks would grab a lead in the game only to have the lead taken away by soft goals being given up by Niemi. I’ll never forget game five last postseason between the Sharks and the Canucks. The sharks had a lead with less than a minute remaining. The Sharks were facing elimination being down the best of seven series three games to one.  The Sharks were seconds away from winning the game and regaining some momentum in the series. All the team needed was for their goalie to make some tough saves because playoff type goalies make tough saves to secure wins for their team. Unfortunately, Niemi gave up a goal with just seconds left, forcing the game into overtime.  It was a momentum killer that the Sharks would not recover from and the team would lose in overtime, ending their season.  Even in the games Niemi won in last year’s postseason, they were not wins that he stole for the Sharks. Many of the wins were in spite of the goalie.

Going into this season I had hopes that Niemi would rebound from the postseason and steal some games for the Sharks. Problem is, some days he shuts out opponents, other days he’s giving up six goals. Some days, he plays great, other days he plays terrible.  Consistency will be the key this postseason for Niemi. He can’t perform like he did last year or the Sharks will find themselves knocked out in the first or second round.  I want to see a different Niemi this postseason. I want the see the guy that robbed the Sharks of a Stanley Cup finals appearance back in 2010 when he was goaltending for the Blackhawks. I remember he robbed the sharks of many scoring chances that series between the two teams.  He stole games from the Sharks. I want to see that goalie again but with the Sharks instead of against them. I want to see a goalie that can stand on his head for the Sharks and shutout opponents a few times. I want to see a goalie that does not kill momentum for his team but rather gives his team momentum with outstanding saves.  I want to see Niemi play like Thomas did last year.  Overall, I want to see Niemi steal wins for the Sharks.  So far, he hasn’t convinced me he could be that goalie. I hope he proves me wrong.