DOH 301 – Final Stretch Coming
April 2nd, 2015, 4:05 pm
The Sharks have rebounded, but it probably too little, too late. With points in their last four games, and a weak schedule to end the season, it’s possible they could still make the playoffs, but the odds are stacked hard against. The Worchester Sharks, however (next year, the San Jose Barracuda) are more likely to make the playoffs. So playoff hockey is most likely coming for Sharks fans either way.
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Tags: San Jose Sharks, Worchester Sharks
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My favorite idea to fix the NHL draft is this: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nbas-possible-solution-for-tanking-good-bye-to-the-lottery-hello-to-the-wheel/
Essentially, a fixed non-linear, 30 year cycle where every team drafts at every position once every 30 years. Or whatever number of teams there are.
This model makes all teams even. Each team gets the same resources. How successful you are would be mostly about how well you draft.
I won’t rehash it, I’ve made the point before rewarding bad teams with top picks over and over unfairly benefits teams. See CHI, LAK, BOS, PIT, etc.
This way everyone knows who is getting what picks and you just have to do your best drafting and trading. No more tanking, no more rewarding teams for decades of futility and mismanagement.
This is really the only way to end tanking. Any other method that is determined by performance during the previous season can be gamed by tanking at some point during that season.
One problem with this: let’s assume that this system had been in place for the last few years. What happens if someone like Pittsburgh or Chicago were slated to pick #1 in the next draft? People would be up in arms about it.
You’re also stuck with this system for a minimum of 30 years because you can’t abandon it until everyone gets their #1 pick at least once.
I’m fine with a lottery that determines the first 4 or so picks. Years like this are pretty rare.
I’d like to see them just do a weighted lottery kind of like they are going to do for the first 3 picks next year only done for all 14 picks.
I like this, perhaps with an added prohibition of teams who have won the Cup in the past 10 years are eliminated from the pool of top 5 picks.
Ruben
Ruben that’s a good add on to be honest. Someone get Bettman on the phone.
The easiest solution to that is rank teams by length since last cup.
The easiest overall way is just what Ian says though too.
Either way I think there is insentive to take regular season performance out of the equation.
The lottery would still be weighted though, so the worse you do the more balls you have in the tumbler so while there is potential to get screwed the regular season record is not totally out of the equation.
Yeah, I get that… I guess what I wrote is slightly ambiguous.
My point is that while I like Ian’s idea also, I think my suggestion is better BECAUSE it removes regular season performance. Ian’s idea is just simpler and easier to adjust to.
Gotcha, fair enough.
As of today, Saturday, here’s how teams in the West playoff race can finish if they win out: Kings 100 points, Jets 100, Flames 98, Sharks 95. So to make the postseason, the Sharks need to win out, plus have 2 of those 2 teams go .500 or worse in terms of points. These 4 teams play one another in their last game (Kings-Sharks, Flames-Jets). I like the Flames and Kings’ playoff chances, even though the Kings looked bad this week (against good teams). While I don’t think the Sharks’ will still be in the playoff hunt by the L.A. game, Doug’s scenario of the Sharks as potential Kings spoilers is entirely possible.
I might be the only one that wants the Kings to make the playoffs. They are literally the only team that has a chance to not make the playoffs that I would be upset of they won the draft lottery.
So with the season over and speculation working overtime i’m curious about what ideas people have for us for the draft. Do we trade up,down, stay put? Do we go for a forward or a prime dman? Big trade for different personnel?
Does anyone know why Stalock isn’t playing tonight against the Oilers? Is he still ill? p.s. Boo on the Dudes twitter for mocking a 29-year old player who realized his dream to play in the NHL. And for good measure, scored a goal in his first game.
I think you misunderstood, if anything I was annoyed that the Sharks strung him along and scratched him at the last minute. I wish him all the luck in the world, it was just a small microcosm of the Sharks’ seemingly endless ability to screw the WooSharks and by extension, their players. It wouldn’t have surprised me to see them send him back down without him ever getting into a game, and thus my tweet.
Thanks for the clarification. I did not read it that way and am glad to hear it’s not what you intended.
Mike this is good to read. I had also that tweet as a jab.
Pollak’s most recent blog post quotes Thornton saying Plattner “advised the former captain that he would retire as a Shark.” Wow. It would be bad for the Sharks to have both Jumbo and DW in the organization next season.
And then it hit me: I have turned on Thornton. I am no longer a Thornton fan and I was a big one prior to the last couple seasons. I don’t want to see him in a Sharks jersey again. I wonder if I am alone in that sentiment.
I think the idea of Hasso Platter firing DW over a spat with a player, especially a player who is retiring in a couple of years anyways, without a better replacement is my worst fear. And a prime example of how an nhl org goes bad.
I’m fine with the argument that DW hasn’t done his job and should go. I don’t particularly agree with it, but it’s at least logical. But not at the expense of having a suitable replacement. I can’t imagine an owner who’d take #19’s side in this situation being capable of knowing whats best.
I’ve also seen Pollack write that he belives Plattner has given DW reign to bring this team through this time period.
If I had to guess… No one is getting fired or traded. Not DW, not Tmac AND #19 and #12 will both be here two more years. If anything Tmac might be gone.
Good or bad I cant say. But that’s what I think will happen