Sharks Doing More of the Same This Offseason

There is an old saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This offseason has shown the Sharks are clearly insane. After losing to the Saint Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs last April, their quickest exit from postseason play, you would think the Sharks would make some major changes in response to an embarrassing season. The Sharks ownership group even made a public statement saying last season’s postseason was unacceptable. With that statement you would think the Sharks were committed to fixing this team. Instead, they have stood pat this offseason, making only minor changes to the team. 

                The first big mistake was keeping head coach Todd McLellan. That was the first sign that the Sharks ownership group doesn’t care about improving this team. McLellan clearly lost the respect of his players towards the end of last season. The penalty kill was also terrible. Worst of all was that McLellan had the Sharks play a very conservative style of hockey despite all the skill that was on the team. He had them play that overrated dump and chase style of hockey where the player shoots the puck into the zone and then skates over to retrieve it near the goal. Problem was the Sharks never seem to succeed in retrieving the puck before the other team did. Yet McLellan still had them playing that style of hockey. It was the reason they could not score many goals in the playoffs. Instead of McLellan being held responsible for the team’s failures, his assistant coaches took the fall and a few of the assistants were fired. While that is a good start, the buck stops with McLellan. He runs the coaching staff. He should get the ax but he didn’t.

                The next big mistake was not trading a lot of the current players on the roster. Patrick Marleau should have been gone in a heartbeat but instead is still on the team. I know he has a no trade clause but I am sure the Sharks could have found a way to get Marleau to waive it, especially if the Sharks made his life miserable. They also didn’t trade Marc-Eduoard Vlasic, despite the fact that during the postseason, he was pushed around by opposing forwards with ease.  He is so small in size and weak in terms of physical play, you wonder why he gets so much praise. The Sharks then were dumb enough to give Vlasic a five year contract extension that will keep him with the team for six more years. That’s just what this team needs for six more years, a defender who gets pushed around like a rag doll. The only good thing the Sharks did in terms of getting rid of players was letting Torrey Mitchell sign with another team. However, most of the other players who were on the Sharks last season are coming back and that makes me want to puke.

                The final big mistake was not adding many new players to the Sharks. Sure, they brought back Brad Stuart and he will be a decent addition to the defense. However, he is not a difference maker and he is getting older. The only other big signing the Sharks made was signing Adam Burish but he is nothing more than a fourth line player. He isn’t going to score many goals and he isn’t going to be a big difference maker to the team. However, the team felt the need to give a player like this a four year contract.  Talk about a waste of money for a marginal player.

                I said earlier in the offseason that the Sharks needed to make big changes if they were going to be a contender for the Stanley Cup again. It appears that the Sharks won’t be a contender this year. They have stood quietly as other teams went and improved their rosters through free agency and trades. The Sharks are satisfied just keeping last year’s team together for one more year. If this same team couldn’t win a single playoff series last season, what makes the Sharks think they could do better next season let alone win the Stanley Cup. Expect the Sharks to be more of the same next year. The Sharks have truly gone insane.