I’m not going to torture us all by recapping last night’s game against Detroit; instead, I’ll sum it one with one (ok, two) statements. The Wings are better. A lot better.

Not only do the Wings have superior talent, talent that is actually performing (ahem), but they they all play with the same intensity, regardless of the score or time on the clock. It’s a lesson the Sharks still haven’t learned this year.

I hate to revisit the same old topics again and again, but after a late-night discussion with grier, they seem to be new again.

First of all, is trading young talent for Sundin really the answer? Let’s say we get rid of Pavelski, Marleau and Bernier (perhaps among others) so we can get Antropov, Raycroft and Sundin. Would we be on par with the Ducks or Wings? Not really. And Sundin is UFA after this season, so DW would be raiding the pantry for what? So we can dump Marleau’s contract? To keep the fans from complaining? We are more than a Sundin away from winning this thing.

This brings me to my second point. As I commented in the previous post, something has to be done about Marleau, because he’s just sucking ass, and not really getting better. He’s -20 now, for those keeping score at home. It’s long been discussed and rumored that he and RW are at odds. What about dumping the bench boss? Grier thinks he won’t be back next year whatever happens, but maybe the Sharks should make a change now. It might immediately cure the Marleau issue. A new style may smooth out the huge ebbs and flows of intensity that we’ve all witnessed. Does anyone honestly believe the Sharks would be playing (and losing) the way they have in the last week if Ken Hitchcock was behind the bench? Or Mike Babcock? or Ted Nolan?

It might be time to make a change in that department. It would give us more info on the depth of the Marleau situation and more insight as to what this team really needs. I’m not saying the Sharks should pack it in for this year- teams get hot in the playoffs, and a hot Sharks squad could be very dangerous come April. But perhaps the Sharks should realize changes need to be made if the Stanley Cup is truly the goal. Regardless of their hot streaks, their cold streaks, and everything else, one thing is undisputed. The Sharks cannot beat the elite teams in this league. Until you can do that, the Cup is just a pipe dream.

Rumors are buzzing that the Sharks are throwing their hat in on the Mats Sundin sweepstakes. These two teams have been linked in the rumor mill for the last two months, so I don’t think we can discount there might be some truth to this. Let’s break it down, shall we.

I talked about Toronto and San Jose talking Blake/Marleau – but with the mention of Sundin, Antropov and Raycroft – this has the looks of a potential monster deal that could change the look of two teams that desperately need makeovers. So, what would Toronto want for those three players? What would Doug Wilson be willing to give? The list of usual suspects (Ehrhoff, Cheech, Goc) probably won’t get it done. The Leafs would likely want one of these players to be included – Bernier, Vlasic, Mitchell or Setoguchi. Which one would you be most willing to give up? I say Mitchell is untouchable. For a team that plays with little heart, he stands front and center every night and gives it his all. Mitchell’s ability to kill penalties, be a pest and score clutch goals makes him untouchable in my mind. Bernier has finally discovered his “B” game and paired with Clowe in the future, could be a dominant 2nd line force, so he stays. Vlasic is a solid, stay at home defensemen who has not discovered an offensive upside. DW let Hannan walk because Vlasic is in the future plans. He stays. That leaves The Gooch. I like Setoguchi, but his injury history and the presence of Cheechoo makes him expendable if the net return is a superstar like Sundin.

Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Devon Setoguchi and Thomas Greiss for Mats Sundin, Nik Antropov and Andrew Raycroft.

This is assuming Sundin comes without extension, which is most likely. He might leave and go back to Toronto in the offseason. It’s a risk that might be worth taking just to get Marleau out of town and change the culture of the team. Doug Wilson has had pretty good success convincing veterans to stick around in San Jose after trading for them (Thornton and Rivet) excluding Bill Guerin, who I don’t think was courted to stay after being a deadline bust. Perhaps Sundin could be convinced to spend his final years in a different shade of blue? If not, the Sharks will have six million dollars to play with in the offseason and are already very deep up the middle with Big Joe, Goc, Couture, Brown and Mitchell. And then there is Antropov. Antropov is bigger than Pavelski – he looked like a beast out there two weeks ago standing at 6’6″ and playing him in the middle of Bernier and Clowe would be HUGE – literally. Raycroft is worth the gamble and at 2.2 million next year, he is a decent insurance policy and certainly better than Greiss right now.

If this is real, and the Sharks are able to hold on to some of their key young players in the process – I say make it happen Dougie. What do you think?

I’m dreading tonights game vs. Detroit. Since we’ve yet to see the Sharks beat the Wings, Ducks or Stars on home ice this year – isn’t that a sure sign that something big needs to change and soon?

UPDATED (1/20)
LOOKS LIKE MIKE AND I OVERLOOKED ONE FORMER ALL-STAR CENTER WHEN DISCUSSING THE WORST PLUS/MINUS IN THE LEAGUE – BRAD RICHARDS, WHO HAS A TERRIBLE -23 GOING THIS YEAR FOR TAMPA BAY. PERHAPS THE SHARKS AND TAMPA BAY SHOULD HAVE A CONVERSATION??

I couldn’t believe my eyes. The Sharks are number one in the ESPN power rankings. I should be happy that the Sharks are getting some credit, recognized as the top team in the NHL….wait. I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. The Sharks have flip/flopped back to their Evil Dr. Hyde ways. Marleau looked terrible again last night, getting totally burned on the back check. He is now -18 for the season, the worst +/- rating in the league, tied with that NHL mainstay Steve McCarthy of the Thrashers. Marleau has the worst +/- in the league. I just wanted to say that again in case you missed it. He is virtually untradeable now, unless Doug Wilson sends Mike Ricci to slip another GM some crazy pills. Maybe that is what Marchment’s front office job is – to kick Don Waddell painfully in the nuts until he agrees to trade us Marian Hossa for Marcel Goc and a 7th rounder. You can stop calling for Patty’s head – we are stuck with him until he figures this out. With his high salary and lack of production, the return for San Jose would likely be nothing or we would have to take someone else’s problem in the deal – example, Jason Blake from Toronto. More on this later.

With McLaren out, the Sharks are forced to play Frankenov – and Ron Wilson was so disgusted that he only ran him out there for nine minutes last night. I’m begging you – no more Semenov. Call up Joslin or Spang or Brennan Evans. Bring Danny Markov over from Russia. Bring Doug Bodger out of retirement. Anything but Frankenstein please. If McLaren’s injury is going to be nagging for the rest of the season, the Sharks have a serious problem since they have lost all confidence in Ozo.

Does this sound like a #1 team to you still ESPN? Perhaps you don’t watch enough Versus or Fox Sports. Check out the NHL Network, if you can find it.

Back to Jason Blake, who the Leafs are rumored to be shopping around. If Toronto was willing to swap our problem (Marleau) for theirs (Blake) in a larger package that brought them some youth (take your pick from our roster) and brought us some veteran talent (Kaberle, Tucker, McCabe, or Sundin), would you be willing to take on Blake until 2012 with leukemia? I’m tempted to say yes. The dude has cancer and he plays every night. He’s on pace for his career average numbers, discounting last years contract season. He is a + 4 on a bad team. Isn’t that better than Marleau right now?

I’m sure Detroit is salivating at the chance to play the Sharks, who they have beaten five times in a row and held the Sharks to a season low 11 shots on goal last meeting. With the Sharks reeling again – the odds of them turning it around against Detroit are tough – but with this team, whenever I count them out, Dr Jekyll appears and gets a win. They are flirting with disaster. The Sharks are four points away from being the #8 seed.

So, mercifully, Frankenstein is out, and Oz is back in. Next time, let’s close the barn door before the horses all run out.

A lot has been said about the Ducks game, so I won’t really talk about that much more. But I do want to talk about several game-time and in-game decisions by the coaching staff, all of which I have a problem with:

1. Starting Thomas Greiss. I get that RW and Co. want the kid to get some NHL competition before the playoffs, but in his NHL debut?? Outside of Bertuzzi’s wraparound it was a good effort, but to me, this is the craziest personnel decision the Sharks have made this year. Unless the stuff about Nabby being banged up after the Leafs game was BS. What’s the harm in letting the kid play against the Coyotes first, then work up to some tougher games this month or next? We have Colorado and Calgary at home next month, a long Atlantic road trip, and plenty of tough teams in March.
2. Starting Semenov. We’ve beaten this to death. It was a decent gamble to bring this guy in, a good experiment, but the results are in. He shouldn’t be on an NHL roster.
3. Playing Semenov in key situations. Also flogged to perfection. Why he was out at the end of the game, and why he got PP time, is one of life’s great mysteries. As Jeremy said, Zettler should be held accountable for this decision if it was in fact his call. I laughed out loud when I read that Semenov was out at the end because “he is an NHL player.” That might be RW taking some heat for his assistant’s mistake. The idea that because Semenov, a frequent healthy scratch, is on an NHL roster somehow explains playing him in the most crucial moment of the game is ludicrous. If Brown, The Rizz™, and Marcel Goc play an entire 5-on-3 power play and the justification for having them on the ice is because they are “NHL players,” the coaching staff should immediately be placed in the NHL substance-abuse program. Oz can give you directions to the meetings.

It was like the Twilight Zone. Greiss in net instead of Nabby? No Bernier? McLaren on the IR? What else could happen.

IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE. FRANKENSTEIN IS ON THE ICE. SEMENOV. BRAINS! BRAAAAAIIIIIINNNNSSSS!!! PUTTING ON THE RITZ!!! I #$%*ing hate this guy and he proved why he is the worst player on the Sharks. Don’t believe me? Check this out.

Todd Bertuzzi scored in the 1st period to make the game a 1-1 tie. Guess who was on the ice? Semenov.

Corey Perry brought the score to 3-2 Sharks near the end of the 2nd period. On the ice again. Frankenov.

Then, the killer. Standing like a man-made block of lifeless tissue in front of the net with an Abbey-Normal brain in his head – Chernobyl’s finest living monster, Semenov, had Doug Weight’s shot bounce off his tree-trunk and past Greiss with 28 seconds left, deflating the Sharks and dashing any dreams the team had of pulling off their finest road win of the season.

WHY? Why is he on the ice for 17 minutes? Is Ozolinsh dying? Did he hit on Ron Wilson’s wife? Did he run off to Mexico with Britney? This turd Semenov is a -8 in 14 games and, for some reason, Ron Wilson continues to run The Monster out there to torture Sharks’ fans. There is a reason why this guy hasn’t played more than 46 games in five NHL seasons, why Florida – a team that doens’t exactly scream “Defensive Depth” – gave up on him. Terrible. Disgusting. In a matter of seconds this went from one of the best wins of the year to, quite possibly, the most disappointing. The worst part is, Semenov will probably be back out on the ice on Tuesday night vs. Phoenix. Mrs. Gretzky has the odds at 2 to 1.

I’m going to start drinking now…..

Last night at the Tank went from a disasterous loss to one of the worst teams in the NHL to a thrilling, come from behind home victory in a matter of 45 minutes. It was a typical home loss M.O. for the Sharks, they were out shooting Toronto 23-17 at the second intermission, we were outhitting them, we were blocking more shots – and the Sharks were losing two-zip. I was getting the text messages. “Sharks are done” “No way Sharks come back tonight” “Terrible loss”. I had little hope, but I reminded my friend to keep in mind how terrible the Leafs are and to not give up hope just yet.

And then…something did change. Craig Rivet, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau all made sure that the Sharks were not heading to Anaheim tonight for another huge showdown with the smell of losing to Toronto wafting behind them (which I think smells like rotting Canadian Bacon laced with Molson and John Candy’s corpse). Did this just happen? I almost hesitate to talk about the recent San Jose upswing at home, with a season high three straight victories, but their improved play at home must be noted. San Jose should be riding an emotional high into Anaheim tonight, who are also on a home winning streak of their own.

I always get excited when an original six team comes to town, especially one that we haven’t seen here in the Bay Area for a few years. This Leafs team is as bad as advertised. Free flowing offensive attack, not much defense and piss-poor special teams. You look at their roster on paper, as I did at the beginning of the season, and think this is a playoff team for sure – but it doesn’t translate on the ice. It made me appreciate what we have here in San Jose even more. So, Sharks fans, when you feel like bitching about Marleau or whining about Ron Wilson’s system, take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs. Stocked with talent (Sundin, Toskala, Kaberle, Kubina, Tucker, Blake, etc) and their cup runneth over with miserable hockey. Fire Maurice. Fire JFJ. Convince some on your vets to waive their no trades and restock. If the price is right, Mike and I have already said Sundin would be a great fit in Teal, but I just don’t think Doug Wilson is going to make a “big splash” unless it is the perfect deal. I’m looking for him to add two veteran third line players, “Craig Rivet” types at the forward position. Mike and I will identify some of our trade targets for Dougie in the coming week.

I remember fondly (or not-so-fondly) just a couple of weeks ago, when the Sharks had a horrible week against the Ducks and Coyotes. The mood around here was pretty pessimistic. Since then the Sharks have ripped off a 6-0-1 streak, including what I would consider the most dominating performance of the year tonight, beating Vancouver 3-1. There’s a lot of season left, but the Sharks’ play in the last couple of weeks have been just outstanding.

The Sharks seemed to be toying with the Canucks on a few occasions, with players simply passing up shots in order to continue the tick-tack-toe passing. If there was anything to be concerned about, and there really wasn’t, it still the slightly anemic scoring. Into the second, the Sharks were just killing it, yet only up 1-0 until JR scored on a nice and quick shoveled backhand rebound past Luongo. The Canucks had one very scary shift, with the Sharks out way too long, needing a change, and having the long skate to the bench in the second period. But Grier finally blocked a pass, and the threat was over.

I’ll be honest- I thought the Sharks would lose, and I bet fake money on ChompBoard to that effect. I figured their home woes would continue, and they have not been good this season after a long rest (their last game was last Saturday). But they proved me wrong. Oh boy did they. And I couldn’t be happier about it. I might just waste my ChompBux from now on betting against the Sharks, if they are going to play like they did tonight.

Sorry to say that grier’s rumor is finally over- AO signed a 350 year, $4.5B contract, or something close to that. He can get back to watching the sex tape of that girl’s giant ass (you wish there was a link here, don’t you? Don’t be lazy, just Google it).

Now the main NHL rumors surround the team coming into San Jose on Saturday, the Leafs. Driving home, I was listing to the post-game on the radio, and Dan and Jaime brought up a good point. Obviously having Sundin in teal would be just awesome. But what would the Leafs want? And to add another wrinkle, wouldn’t Anaheim be in that sweepstakes too, and shouldn’t the Sharks thus offer more to keep the Ducks from getting him? Wouldn’t Dallas want him as well? I think the Sharks should make a run at Sundin just as a defensive play. Toronto will want prospects and picks. I think the Sharks have more of a stable of those than either of the other two contenders in our division. The downside of course being that we get a big, strong, point-per-game leader who is a menace in the faceoff circle. We could do a hell of a lot worse.

I love some good gossip. With Britney going El Pollo Loco, Reggie Bush dating that girl with the huge ass – I figured it was time for us to weigh in with a little hot hockey gossip to join the club.

Alexander Ovechkin will be wearing a different uniform by the deadline.

But could this be true, that Washington would actually trade Ovechkin, a franchise winger and one of the league’s most dominant scorers? The answer, very simply, could be yes. A.O. is a Restricted Free Agent at the end of the season and if he hits the open market, you can bet teams with cap room will line up and make wild offers. The question is, does Ovechkin want to stay in Washington? If I were him, the answer would be HELL NO. What does the franchise have going for it? Not much. His supporting cast is weak, their blue line is poor and the goalie situation is in flux if Kolzig leaves after this year. So if Ovechkin isn’t willing to extend, then Washington might try and get as much as possible before they lose him for draft picks as a RFA.

Eklund links the Caps and Predators. Are you kidding me? Ovechkin wants to play in that hockey mecca of Nashville? Get the #$%& out of here. He either wants to win or play in a major market or go for a money grab. So, what will it be? He will control his own destiny to a point. The supposed Nashville offer is as follows.

To Washington: Zidlicky, Suter, Dumont and two 1st round picks. A veteran D, a young D, an expiring contract and draft picks.

If Washington is putting him on the block, then wouldn’t the Sharks have the pieces to make a similar offer? We might have to part with a few players that we love and value. A young power forward? A shut down defensemen? A future goaltender? A former All Star? So, let’s play GM, shall we. Would you make this deal? Would Washington? Would Ovechkin even want to come to the Bay Area?

To Washington: Steve Bernier, Marc-Eduard Vlasic, Tomas Greiss and Patrick Marleau and 2008 1st round pick.
To San Jose: Alexander Ovechkin (with contract extension)

I think it doesn’t happen. He won’t land here but he will land somewhere. Montreal has some attractive young pieces to make a similar offer. They could build a deal around Carey Price, Higgins, Komisarek and Ryder. New Jersey could offer a deal with any combo of reasonably priced impact players in Paul Martin, Gionta and Parise. But I’m calling it here. My prediction for who will land the mighty A.O in 2008.

The Los Angeles Kings.

Yup. Crazy Dean Lombardi is probably in a room right now trying to figure out how to make this happen. He has the pieces to offer and he is nuts enough to give way more than he should to secure a huge star to build around. A.O. cashes in with a big extension, gets to play in Hollywood and be the face of a franchise that needs a huge kick in the ass.

To Washington: Mike Cammalieri, Patrick O’Sullivan, Jack Johnson and a first round pick.
To LA: Alexander Ovechkin

What do you think? Does he stay or does he go? Where will he end up?

Last night didn’t end pretty, but I’m sure we’ll all take it. We need all the points we can muster before Selanne comes back to the Ducks. It’s not a matter of if with Selanne – it’s a matter of when. Last night, Bernier continued to prove my preseason criticism wrong – he is showing why so many talent scouts believe he can be a 30 goal/100 PIM player. His goal last night was Sportscenter material. I told Mike during the game that I wouldn’t include Steve Bernier in any deal right now. He should be the next RFA Doug Wilson resigns this season. Three years/10 million might get it done, don’t you think?

While “In Doug Wilson I Trust”, I do have to question one move he has made this season – or lack of move I should say. Not acquiring a proven NHL back up as an insurance policy for Nabby. Can you imagine a scenerio where Nabby injures his shoulder and groin and misses thirteen games (05-06) or misses four games with a groin pull (06-07)? What would Ron Wilson do? With other division leading clubs, the coach can look down the bench and see Kevin Weekes in New Jersey or Curtis Sanford in Vancouver. These guys don’t play much.They shouldn’t. But they can be more than Nabby’s towel boy and caddy and carry the load for a few games if the #1 guy needs to rest an aching back or groin. So why didn’t Doug Wilson claim David Aebischer when Phoenix waived him, or trade a low level draft pick for Alex Auld before he was claimed by Boston, or put in a claim on recently demoted veteran backstop John Grahame in Carolina? Why hasn’t he made a play for Sharks-killer Curtis Joseph, sitting on the UFA pile?

I’ve been back and forth and I can only come to the conclusion that Patzold isn’t here to play. He must give a good massage or pick up Nabby’s dry cleaning because he certainly isn’t here to play hockey. Ron and Doug Wilson have zero confidence in him, no matter what they might say. So – if Nabby goes down – the plan must be to have Greiss leap frog from the AHL and start immediately. Greiss looked great in the preseason and could be the future in the pipes when Nabby’s contract is up in 2010. But how can Team Wilson think he can succeed by being thrust into an NHL playoff race without a single minute of game experience. I have no problem going with youth. Don’t get me wrong. But you have to let the rookie play. Anaheim is going this route with Jonas Hillar, but the difference is he has started seven games so far so he won’t #$&% his pants if he has to play for an extended period of time.

I say trade a spare part or pick and get a veteran back up. Which option would you pick Sharks fans?

1. Light a candle and let Nabby start all 82 games, which has never been done before. The record is 79 by Grant Fuhr.
2. Call up Greiss after the All Star break and let him spot start Nabby every seven/eight games so he could perform in the playoffs, if needed.
3. Acquire a proven veteran back up for this season. If so, who would you want and what are you willing to give up?

On a side note – I do get sucked into Eklund’s rumors from time to time – and his linking hard hitting defensemen Mike Commodore to the Sharks made me smile. Not only because I had him on my wish list in the off season, but because he would be an excellent addition of leadership and toughness for a 2nd round grudge match with Anaheim or Detroit. If he truly is available, I would offer Ehrhoff in return. I would think Carolina would have to think that over.

UPDATE: PATZOLD WAS PUT ON WAIVERS YESTERDAY AND GREISS HAS BEEN RECALLED TO BE THE BACK-UP STARTING THURSDAY VS. VANCOUVER. DOUG WILSON SAID ALL THE RIGHT THINGS ABOUT PATZOLD, THAT THEY HOPE HE CLEARS AND THEY WANT HIM TO BE PART OF THE ORGANIZATION. IF THEY REALLY VALUED HIM, THEY WOULDN’T PUT PATZOLD OUT THERE FOR FREE. GREISS IS HERE TO STAY AND I’M EXPECTING TO SEE HIM START A GAME IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, POSSIBILY EVEN AGAINST TORONTO ON SATURDAY OR JAN 15TH AT PHOENIX.

I’m feeling a bit salty, so I’m going to blast a player that I’ve been decidedly quiet about up until now. He’s not the only one I feel salty about, but he’s the only one I’m blasting today.

The first is the most obvious- Patrick Marleau. He’s a quiet guy, and I can’t fault him for that. Maybe a quiet captain isn’t what the Sharks need right now, and he’s not that guy. That’s not my problem with him either. My problem is, as a leader, quiet or not, he needs to take it upon himself to find the areas where the Sharks are lacking, and fill those voids. As everyone has said ad nauseam, the Sharks lack heart, and grit around the net. Those are things that Patty can provide on the ice. In the game last night, there was a particular possession late in the game, score tied, when Patty skates into the zone with speed. Does he drive the next and gut out a scoring chance? No, he delays, circles back, and the puck is eventually turned over. Is Patty going out of his way to throw around his 6-2, 210 lb body? If anything, he seems to be consciously avoiding contact.

I can’t blame a guy for being who he is. I do blame him for playing the way he is. Great hockey players find a way to give their team what they need. Marleau isn’t doing that. Perhaps it’s fallout from his well-publicized and still-ongoing feud with Ron Wilson, or he’s quietly nursing an injury. Here’s the brass tacks- Mr. Marleau has to swallow a bit of pride and start doing the things a player of his skill doesn’t have to do most of the time. Forecheck hard. Hit. Take punishment in front of the net. Drive to hard places with dogged stubbornness. You think Sidney Crosby needed to fight? Of course not, but for his sake and the sake of the team, he was saying, “I’m not gonna stand for this s&*%.”

Marleau can take this team to another level, all by himself. That turning over of a new leaf could be extremely contagious, and drive this team to start winning games that will make the entire league take notice. Let’s face it, the league will not take notice until we can beat the elite, and we just flat out haven’t done it. But the next chance to show ’em is coming up quickly- January 13 at Anaheim.