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Two dudes blogging and podcasting about the San Jose Sharks, straight from sunny California.

post DOH 388 – The Impossible Happens

June 6th, 2018, 10:59 am

Filed under: podcast — Written by Mike

The Caps and Knights make the finals, and Mike wins the Vegas bet for the first time in history.  The Dudes also talk about the Kane signing and the Tavares sweepstakes.

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12 Comments to “DOH 388 – The Impossible Happens”

  1. Ted says:

    Dudes, totally loved the Tavares marathon. That’s the kind of show that will get me through another offseason.

    That said, I am not sure I understand how we’re even talking about Tavares, and Thornton to boot, given their cap space. Unless there is some team out there willing to magically eat Martin and Boedker’s salaries for us.

  2. Nate says:

    I love this podcast. I was obsessively checking the website the last 2 weeks, wondering when a new episode would be recorded. Great job guys. You always cheer me up.

    Cracked me up how Doug ddidn’t want to listen to Kane’s stats. No Doug, Kane did not sniff 60+ points, nor has he ever scored 30 goals, and no mention of his injury problems? But we love that you are a homer!

    If Tavares really wants to win a cup and also win with the Islanders, he should take less money and sign a short-term deal with the Preds so he can play with his buds, such as childhood pal PK Subban. They are a team that is “a Tavares away” from winning it all, are not in the Eastern Conference so not much Isles, and a good hockey town without too much spotlight. Move Turris to the 3rd line, put Ryan J on the second, and insert Tavares as top center. Only issues is cap space, so take less, and make it work. Then, after 2-3 years and a cup or two, see where the islanders are at. See what the roster is like, who the coach is, and whether the new venue is about to open. If they are in a good place, sign there and return a hero trying to bring the team a championship, like Lebron James did going Cleveland-Miami-Cleveland.

    I don’t think that will happen though. I expect him to try to combine big money + a long-term deal with a decent team, in which case really the only options are the Maple Leafs, Bruins, and Sharks. Of those, he has a personal connection to the Leafs which should make them favorites. I can’t see him connecting with Burns, Thorton, Kane, all of whom are semi-loony. Tavares seems a little more old school, so playing for his childhood team makes a lot of sense.

    • Mike says:

      Thanks for the kind words Nate, we really appreciate it.

      I’m going to push back a little bit on the Preds idea though. The NHL is not the NBA where you have a “sign LeBron and win a title” situation. One player can make a difference, but even adding the best player in the league will not win you a Cup, or (as I would argue) give you enough of a boost to sacrifice millions (or tens of millions) of dollars.

      The Oilers were the pre-season Cup favorite, with the best player in the league, and missed the playoffs by a mile. That doesn’t happen in the NBA. You’ll never see the Sacramento Kings make the Finals out of nowhere, the way the Knights (and to a lesser extent, the Caps) did. The variance is larger, and the impact of a single player is much smaller.

      If I were Tavares, I want to go to a good situation where there’s a good chance of winning, but also make 70 or 80 million dollars (or more). If he goes to the Preds and wrecks his knee or ankle, we’re talking a TON of money lost here. Plus the very real possibility he goes there, plays well, the Preds still don’t win, and he’s scuffling for a contract at 30 instead of 27, where his value might be 30% less. That’s enough money for you, me, Doug, and most of the listeners of the podcast to retire on.

      Too much risk, not enough reward.

      I’ll say this, your point about the chemistry of the Sharks is a good one. And I think you may be onto something about Tavares not gelling with the loony Burns/Jumbo combo. If that is in fact the case, we must all adjust our expectations accordingly.

    • James says:

      Tavares has played with Burns, Thornton, and Vlasic on Team Canada. So he probably knows those guys a little. But you make a really good point in that Tavares doesn’t seem like he’d grow a long beard or strip nude for a photo session or partake in the Sharks Christmas video, if you know what I mean. And yet in a year, Thornton will be gone, so it would definitely be Tavares’ team.

      I have to respectfully disagree with Doug that Lamarello isn’t a factor. I think it’s huge. The guy is a legend. His Devils went from being a laghingstock to 5 cup appearances, with 3 wins. He turned the Leafs around incredibly quickly. Imagine if he signs Trotz to coach the Isles before July 1, then on July 1 signs Carlson and gets Kovalchuk. In other words, the next few weeks are going to be huge because he knows he has to prove to Tavares that a quick turnaround is possible.

      All that said, the only reason I can think of why he wouldn’t go to the Leafs is because he’d play the Isles, but at least they’re in different divisions.

      • James says:

        Also, I think Doug’s theory about a Thornton wink-wink 2-year arrangement where he was overpaid last year is very cogent.

      • Nadir says:

        Trotz is coaching Islanders. The comment is looking pretty smart right now.

        Bad move by Caps if you ask me. They could have got him on a long term coaching deal, then tried to resign Carlson or go after a free agent. Now, They’ll lose Carlson and Trotz.

        Too bad for the Sharks. Tavares will resign with the Isles.

        Will be interesting to see if Lou’s connections to JVR and Kovie, or Trotz’s connection to Carlson bring any of those UFA’s to the island.

        • James says:

          If Tavares does resign, that’s a phenomenal job by Lamorello. He is benefitting from the Caps letting Trotz go when there are no other open coaching jobs and Barzal winning the Calder, but still quite an accomplishment.

          I’m hoping the Sharks sign JVR Imagine 9-8-27, 48-39-[25], 28-19-50. And a top pp unit of 88-19-8-39-[25]. Wow.

          I momentarily thought the Sharks pulled off another Heatley type “buy low” trade from the Sens with Boedker for Hoffman. But no one can blame Wilson for flipping Hoffman to the Panthers. Yes he’s a bonda-fide 25 goal-scorer, but at the moment, his wife’s off-ice scandal makes him potential locker room bad news.

          p.s. How bad does that Hall-Larsson deal look right now.

  3. Nazir says:

    Congrats to Mike on winning the bet! Now you will go on a streak and win 5 years in a row.

    The Tavares talk was great. I put it in terms of story – which ideal story does he want to chase?

    With the Islanders, the story is: I can be the guy who stayed loyal, helped build a new stadium, and led a rebuild towards a good playoff team.

    With the Leafs: I can be the guy who helps bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada, in them most hockey-mad city in the world, for the club I grew up rotting for.

    With the Sharks: I can be the guy who helped with a cup for Joe Thornton.

    I’d be very surprised if he signs with another team, but who knows what he is thinking?

  4. Tom says:

    Per ESPN: http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/21588800/nhl-eight-teams-new-york-islanders-center-john-tavares-sign-2018-free-agent-market

    They have SJ as a “darkhorse” team to sign Tavares if he leaves NYI. Interesting pro and con argument.

    Either way, it’s interesting to see him in the photo shop picture in teal, even if that’s probably the closest we’ll ever see him in that jersey.

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