I guess it was Turn Back the Clock night in Calgary. Owen Nolan, who had all of nine goals before last night, went back in time and scored a hat trick while whipping my namesake Grier in a fight. It was hard to get too upset, I think most of us still hold a soft spot for our former Captain. I wish it hadn’t been against us, but that old fart still has a little game left it appears. Grier couldn’t get his hand free to strike back and I’m sure he went to bed with visions of Nolan’s grey temples in his head. I guess Owen drank his Ensure before the game.

As for the loss itself, I’m not discouraged. The game should have been a 4-4 draw except for Nabby’s blunder. I liked how San Jose didn’t roll over and die, like they would have a month ago, and scrapped back to make it a game in the final moments. Cheech got a goal and managed four shots – he appears to be healthy again and looking like his old self on the top line with Joe. In a game where Calgary scored four even strength goals, Marleau managed to be a +1. Another good sign. Big Joe happened to be a -3 and is quietly a -5 in the last five games. Earth to Joe. Defense is important. Matt Carle again was a +1, for those of you who are still picking on him…

Let’s get back to the trade talk from yesterday. Some people don’t think Wilson has the stones to pull off a roster busting trade. I disagree – he will do it but only if it makes sense in the LONG TERM for this franchise. DW has never been shortsighted, even when acquiring rental players like Guerin, he did it by ditching Niemenen and a 1st round pick which he got back in the Toronto deal for Toskala/Bell. Like I said yesterday, DW flies so far under the radar that you never know what he has up his sleeve. Before the deadline, he has some key decisions to make in my mind.

1) Is Patrick Marleau the future captain of this team for the next two seasons? If the answer is no – then he’s got to go. Can you get equal value. Possibly, not sure how his improved play in the last two weeks has effected his worth. He comes with a high price tag at six million per, so the Sharks would have take a high priced player in return, no doubt. That is why on some level, McCabe makes sense…

2) Are Pavelski, Ehrhoff, Bernier, Clowe, Greiss and Vlasic in the teams future plans? You can’t keep them all, it would be too expensive – so who are the odd man out? They are all RFA’s next year (except Pickles and Greiss who have another year). I think Wilson knows which ones he covets most, and the others could be made available to get veteran help. He has depth on the blueline and up front with prospects Couture, Wishart, Iggulden, Kaspar, Frazer McLaren, etc. Where do these players fit in the future? Only DW knows. So…who’s it gonna be. We’re going to find out soon.

3) Is Wilson looking to rent or buy? Not a big history of renting players at the deadline for DW. He likes to acquire guys who he thinks he has a chance at resigning or who come with extra years on the contracts. Guerin was the exception, but the cost was almost nothing, so why not? This is why I think players like Hossa, Sundin, Boyle, Rob Blake and Campbell could be long shots to end up in Teal because of the possibility they could walk away after the season. Unless DW has a feeling they might stick – most likely he won’t part with precious assets to get them. Remember how young this team is and how they are not only built to win now but also to win for years to come. DW has always been focused on winning without raiding the cupboard too much of his future rations.

I think Shelley is the first of several moves we’ll see in San Jose. We might sell a little – Goc could be someone a team believes can help their 3rd line and Curtis Brown might be available if healthy. We might buy a little. We might buy a lot and shake up the roster. As we always say here, In Doug Wilson We Trust.

Toronto might be ready to make a big trade, shipping out McCabe, Antropov and Raycroft to a Western Conference team. To me, it makes sense that this is San Jose. It addresses several needs we have, improving our toughness/offensive output from the blueline, size up front and goal production and a back-up netminder if Nabby gets hurt. Since San Jose and Toronto have been linked all season and Marleau has always been in the picture – let’s assume he is part of the deal.

To Toronto:
Patrick Marleau (2 years left at 6.3 per)
Christian Ehrhoff (RFA at the end of the year) or Vlasic (1 year left at 0.7)
Joe Pavelski (RFA at the end of the year)

To San Jose:
Brian McCabe (who would have to waive his NTC/14.3 million and 3 years left)
Nik Antropov (1 year left at 2.1)
Andrew Raycroft (1 year left at 2.2)

San Jose has the cap room to pull this off and the young assets to spare. This saves Toronto a ton of dough, gets them younger and allows some flexibility for future improvements. It makes sense for both teams and certainly makes San Jose better right now. McCabe’s contract isn’t as bad as it seems, he is the power play quarterback/100 PIM defensemen DW has wanted for years and his salary is large in 08-09 at 6 million, but declines to 4.0 million in 09-10 and 10-11. A bargain if you ask me. The knock on McCabe is defensive irresponsibilty, but I don’t see it reflected in his numbers. He is a career +35 and last season was a +3.

Isn’t it possible that Vlasic was sent down to showcase the fact that he can perform on the powerplay? He stated as much in the paper yesterday, saying they wanted him to work on being more aggressive in the offensive zone. He was more active last night than before. Could that bizarre move have been part of this trade – to show Vlasic is more than a stay at home D-man? Just thinking out loud…

What do you think? Assuming this is on the tabe – do you pull the trigger?

With the second half of the season ready to start tomorrow night in Edmonton, there are a few things we know about our beloved San Jose Sharks and a few things we don’t.

WE KNOW VLASIC, PLIHAL, GREISS AND THE GOOCH ARE BACK
After a few days of speculating, all four players were recalled from their bizarre conditioning weekend mecca to Worcester. I don’t understand the logic behind it. Why cart those four boys across the country to the freezing cold to get two games in (Vlasic only played in one by the way) only to head back on a plane today to Alberta. Vlasic’s recent play has waranted a demotion, so maybe the goal was to get his attention? Who knows.

WE KNOW NABBY IS THE MAN
What a great show from Nabby at the All Star game. He made Osgood and Legace look like the back-ups they used to be. He is the Sharks best player this season and the run-away first half MVP. Our playoff longevity currently rides on his shoulders.

WE KNOW THE ST. LOUIS GAME WAS WHAT WE WANT TO SEE
The Sharks stuck up for themselves. They held on to a lead and didn’t let the weaker team respond. They were physical, won tough draws and got good performances out of Cheechoo and Marleau.

WE DON’T KNOW WHAT DOUG WILSON IS THINKING
DW has one of the best poker faces in the game. It’s hard to tell what he has up his sleeve at any given moment, so trying to guess is almost futile. Is he going to go for it and trade major young players for high priced talent like Hossa or Campbell? Is he only going to add role players that won’t disrupt the core young players that he values? I fell in love with Brian Campbell during the All-Star game and I think DW should do anything in his power to add him. Would Ehrhoff, Pavelski and a #1 be enough? This guy Campbell is a cornerstone defender who is just coming into his own and could be the anchor blueliner DW has been searching for the last three seasons.

P.S. Did it piss anyone else off how pretty it was to see Thornton pass to Neidermeyer for that goal. Made me angry of what could have been…Damn you Rob N.!! “I want to play with my brother. WAAAHHH.”

WE DON’T KNOW WHICH MARLEAU AND CHEECHOO ARE GOING TO SHOW UP
You can’t fault Cheech’s effort. He is busting his ass and, as many people have said including Mike, he is perhaps only just now getting healthy from offseason hernia surgery. He has four goals in the last five games and is a +1 for the season. I think Cheechoo is going to bust out in the next week and net 15-17 goals in the final months. As for Marleau, he has seven points in his last seven, five of which has come on the power play – which means his five on five play is still terrible and he posted a -7 during this same stretch. In my gut, if Patty continues to struggle in the next two weeks, I think Marleau will not be a San Jose Shark past the trade deadline.

WE DON’T KNOW IF THE SHARKS SURVIVE THE FEBRUARY ROAD TRIP
This is a deadly trip with two stops in New York, New Jersey, Philly, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Detroit and St. Louis. If the Sharks are on the brink and are continuing to be Jekyll and Hyde – it could be the death sentence.

Selanne is back in Anaheim, Dallas could be on the brink of pulling off a huge trade sending Turco to Tampa Bay for St. Louis. Calgary isn’t going to stand pat at the deadline. The Sharks face an uphill battle to contend for the Pacific Division title, but if they can capture the passion they showed on Thursday night at the Tank and bring it to the ice every game – something this team has struggled to do since “Consistency” hasn’t exactly been this teams middle name – then the Sharks are as good as anyone on any night.

We will soon find out who these boys really are.

The big Sharks news of the day is that they sent down Vlasic, Setoguchi, Greiss, and Plihal. Interesting move. I guess those guys won’t get the All-Star break to heal whatever bumps and bruises are nagging them.

The last three aren’t that suprising, but Marc-Edouard Vlasic is a bit of a shock. But as my partner in crime pointed out over a ChompBoard, Vlasic is -7 with zero points in the last 14 games. Not good numbers.

I think the general idea is that these guys aren’t playing all that well (or in Greiss’ case, not playing much at all), and could use the time to tune up their game. But, assuming Vlasic will be called back once games resume, is shipping him back and forth across the country in a week really the best thing for him?

It’s also essential that none of them have to clear waivers. I wrote about this a while back with respect to Carle, but Vlasic is also near the cutoff. Since he played as an 18-year-old in the NHL, he’s exempt from having to clear waivers for 5 years or 180 NHL games, whichever comes first. As of now, he has 130 games to his credit, so he’s exempt. Someone would certainly snap him up if he had to clear. For those of you asking why Carle didn’t get sent too, this is the reason. He started in the NHL as a 22-year-old, so he only had 70 exempt games, which have already been played (131, to be exact). He too, would be quickly snatched off of waivers. Now Carle is in the large group NHL players that are practically immune from being sent down to the minors. For those guys, the press box is really the only punishment available.

Drew and Randy couldn’t have summed up tonights game vs. St. Louis any better in the closing moments. Finally, everything seemed to come together for one night. Shot blocking. Power play goals. Cheechoo finding the net. Marleau a +1 with a great assist on Bernier’s goal. Fire in their hearts. And, most importantly to me, they stuck up for one another. At the end of the game when Hinote slashed Nabby, Ozo dragged him to the ground and punched him in the face. Thank you. Thank you very much. The only player on the roster who has been doing this all season is Rivet and tonight, the Sharks weren’t going to take any #*$& from the Blues. Ozo did the right thing, when someone runs your goalie, you beat them down. When someone runs your Captain or star player – you fight back. Ron Wilson’s saltiness at the end of the game, screaming at Andy Murray over Tkachuk’s amateur hour tactics at the end of the game was great. The Sharks players stood there and saw it. Whether they like RW or not, you have to love your coach getting that emotionally invested to want to fist fight the other teams coach at the end. Could St. Louis have awakened the sleeping giant that is the San Jose Sharks or will they revert to their old ways after the break? One can only hope that Thursday night is a sign of things to come – because this Pacific division is going to be a dogfight until the last week of the season.

Last nights ugly win didn’t make me feel any better. The Sharks played well in stretches but how many breakaways and clean looks are you going to give another team? Nabby had to earn his Number One star last night and he was the only reason why the Sharks didn’t lose 5-3. Once again, San Jose proved they are good enough to beat the mid-level teams but their act grows old against the top competition.

Let’s play a little game, shall we? Take away the jerseys. Take away the loyalty. Looking strictly at talent and future potential – which roster of young players under 30 years of age would you rather have for your home team?

Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Martin Havlat, Tuomo Ruutu, Patrick Sharp, Jack Skille, Adam Burrish, David Koci AND Cam Barker, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, James Wisniewski

OR

Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo, Steve Bernier, Torrey Mitchell, Milan Michalek, Joe Pavelski and Ryan Clowe AND Matt Carle, Vlasic, Ehrhoff, Murray

It’s an interesting question that Mike and I discussed after the game last night. Let’s assume Doug Wilson does not do any major tinkering and keeps this core intact. Now, I’m not talking about this season, where the Sharks are the superior team and have more veteran help. Let’s assume that veteran help is available for both clubs on the free agent market. I’m asking which roster is better set up for success for winning future Stanley Cups?

THE FRANCHISE: THORNTON vs. TOEWS
While Toews and Thunder Joe may possess similar skills that make them franchise centers, there is one thing Toews will never have that Joe does – Super Size. Joe is at times immovable in the corners and behind the net and it allows him to dominate games. ADVANTAGE: SHARKS

THE SECOND FIDDLE: MARLEAU vs. KANE
It is tough to call Kane a “second fiddle”, but his size is always going to be question mark. Marleau’s regression into one of the most disappointing players in the NHL gives Kane the clear leg up here. ADVANTAGE: HAWKS

THE SPEEDSTERS: MICHALEK vs. HAVLAT
This is a tough call, but injuries and Havlat’s inability to be on the ice for enough games to score more than 68 points in a season (his career best) make Michalek the better long term option with his combo of speed and skill. ADVANTAGE: SHARKS

THE SNIPERS: CHEECHOO vs. SHARP
Based on this season and potential future seasons to come, one has to wonder if Cheech is ever going to rediscover his scoring touch from 2005-06. Sharp is no rookie, but he has settled in a clutch goal scorer for the Hawks. ADVANTAGE: HAWKS

THE HUSTLER: PAVELSKI vs. SKILLE
Last night, I must admit I looked at Mike and said “Jack Skille who?” Well, he is certainly isn’t a nobody. He was picked #7 in the 1st round of the 2005 NHL draft and has won at Wisconsin and played for the National U18 Team. This guy was everywhere last night, and while I like Pavelski, Skille really caught my eye. ADVANTAGE: HAWKS

THE THRID LINERS: BERNIER/CLOWE/MITCHELL vs. BURISH/KOCI/RUUTU
Burish is another guy I had never heard of until last night when he scored his first NHL goal on the Sharks. He also won at Wisconsin with Skille and Pavelski and this guy is no wimp. He has 8 fighting majors this season against some big time opponents and isn’t afraid of anyone, even though he lacks size at 6-1, 190. He also wears an “A”. We didn’t see Koci last night, but he is a monster at 6-6. Sharks fans dislike Ruutu for his dirty play, but this 9th pick in 2001 was once compared to Forsberg. If he can ever get the total package together, he could be more than a pest. The Sharks have different types in these roles. Bernier and Clowe can enforce, but they are needed to provide scoring instead of bang around as 3rd liners. Torrey Mitchell is already a good player as a rook, and his potential to be a Kris Draper type presence on the Sharks for years is exciting. Two different styles of roles players – but I have to say while the Sharks guys might have more skill, the Hawks guys know their roles better and it could spell for more success for them as a team. It almost begs the question: do the Sharks have too many players who think they are 1st and 2nd line guys, making them unwilling to do the dirty 3rd line work?
ADVANTAGE: EVEN

THE DEFENSEMEN
I’ve got some issues with Pickles that should be saved for a later post. While everyone has jumped all over Carle for his poor play (has anyone noticed how much he has improved in the last few weeks, by the way…), shouldn’t we be giving Vlasic the same treatment? His numbers aren’t screaming Top D-Pairing at five points and -9. The first goal was all on him last night, Pickles just stood there and watched Skille bury the puck. Vlasic seems to be the team whipping boy in the dressing room and never sticks up for himself from what we see on Shark Byte (a local cable show here in the Bay Area that follows the Sharks around and gives locker room/reality TV coverage). I think he was not ready to anchor this blue line and he misses being paired with Hannan badly. Carle is improving and has huge offensive upside. Ehrhoff is Ehrhoff, last night he looked good, most nights he makes multiple questionable decisions. Doug Murray is never going to be more than a #6 defensemen and he should not be getting 19 minutes a night. He is less physical this season and I’m not sure that is a good thing.

Seabrook is the Hawks version of Vlasic. He is bigger, stronger and owns an effective combo of skill and size. Duncan Keith drives the powerplay and the break and wears an “A” at age 24. Wisniewski is their Murray, but he has much more skill. Cam Barker is really green still, but as the #3 pick in 2004 – he has much more upside than Ehrhoff. Some have compared his game to Pronger.

ADVANTAGE: HAWKS

By my count, I’ve got the Hawks with the advantage 4-2. Now, this doesn’t take goaltending into it, where we have a huge advantage. It also excluded a few young players in Dowell, Setoguchi, Couture, Wishart, Byfugilien. Looking at the rosters side by side, the Sharks have been touted as the best young team in the NHL, but is that really true anymore…?

As I like to say, “Same shit, different day.” The Sharks, looking lackadaisical as thay have often this season, managed to do just enough to win last night, beating the Hawks 3-2. The power play looked quite good, but the amount of bonehead plays and missed coverage was staggering. Chicago must of had 4 or 5 outright breakaways. Nabby managed to keep the Sharks in it, and deserved first star.

As for the rest of the Sharks, I must say, “Jesus guys, Adam Burish?!” He’s played in every game this year, and that was his first goal. With 120 PIM, it’s obvious what his role is. You give a guy like that a real chance to score, then you’ve got a serious problem. Funny how he’s the one that scored, when Nabby stoned a bunch of other chances, notably Patrick Kane on the doorstep.

The moral of this story clearly is, the Sharks are playing just the same as they did in November and December, flashes of brilliance followed by stretches of ennui, with the occasional embarrassing breakdown.

Oh, and in the Patty front, he was -1, to bring him to -2.1 * 10¹ for the season. It’s easier to express such large numbers as exponents. Brad Richards was even last night, so he still leads the NHL at -23.

You can access the whole thing at chompboard.com. Here’s my call, near the beginning of the show.

San Jose Sharks beat writer David Pollak points out on his blog that there were several scouts in attendance on Saturday night. I’m going to throw out a team that was at the Tank on Saturday, a team that has struggled to find their own identity but they aren’t afraid to pull off a big trade.

The Florida Panthers.

Could the Panthers be the perfect trading partners for San Jose? They have what Doug Wilson might be looking for – a 29 year old All Star center and team captain. No, I’m not talking about our Patrick Marleau. I’m talking about Olli Jokinen. Doesn’t it make some sense? Florida is not going to make the playoffs and they have a decent young core that they need to continue to add on. Jokinen is signed until 2010, is a 80-90 point player and plays with more fire than Marleau. Jokinen has two fighting majors this season, averages around 70 PIM’s and he reportedly speaks out in the dressing room (as a good Captain should). Florida needs a sniper, another young D-man and a veteran center to replace Jokinen – we can offer all three. All the Sharks need in return in a 6th d-man to replace Ehrhoff in the line up until DW can swing another deal….and so we don’t have to watch Frankenstein. Florida likes to make the big trade, the Luongo/Bertuzzi deal and the Vokoun deal proves they aren’t afraid to roll the dice. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2000. Think they don’t need a major shake-up?

To San Jose: Olli Jokinen and Jasson Cullimore
To Florida: Patrick Marleau, Christian Ehrhoff and Joe Pavelski

So we lose Marleau (big deal) and Ehrhoff (not in the future plans anyways, I don’t think) and Little Joe. Pavelski is the one that stings, but you’ve gotta give to get and given Jokinen’s long term contract status, I think it’s worth it. Would this translate to a Stanley Cup this year? No. Would this be putting the Sharks back on the right track for the future? I think so.

Classic Drew Remenda post in the broadcaster’s blog:

I could disect(sic) the game for you but by reading the various chatroom threads you all have it pretty much figured out.

I’m sure he’s talking about my crack analysis (“The Wings are better”). You can’t get this kind of insight just anywhere. But then he gets warmed up (italics mine):

With the exception of Hasek after the first goal they just played within their system and kept moving their feet, pursuing the puck and working hard off it frustrating and dominating the Sharks. Basically the Wings don’t cheat. They don’t cheat the game or each other. They don’t have team meetings then three weeks later forget what was discussed. They just go out, play, work smart and win. They hold each other accountable by their actions not their words. Enough said.

Great blast. It should be said that if it was as easy as saying “we all need to work hard every shift”, then 29 other teams would be doing what Detroit is doing. But they aren’t. Detroit has a mix of players, coaching, and management that is yielding this kind of play. For now. As with everything else in professional sports, it could go south at any time. The President’s trophy is the kiss of death in the playoffs.