Listening to the postgame on the radio last night, I hear Jaime Baker say (and I’m paraphrasing) that the Sharks should be happy with the way that they played, and although you can’t really be happy about losing, they should be happy about this loss.

Mr. Baker is someone I have talked to in person, and I respect. He’s extremely knowledgable about hockey, and as a third-line-type player, had to use his game smarts and experience rather than dazzling skill to get by in the NHL. But this time, I think Jaime is a little shortsighted.

If this were the first time this had happened during the season, I might agree with his analysis. But unfortunately, the Sharks have shown they play differently (and not better) when they hold a lead late in the game. The Sharks went into prevent defense the last ten minutes of last nights game, and got burned. Just like:

• December 20 – JR scores with 12 minutes left against Phoenix, go into a defensive shell, give up the tying goal to Shane Doan with less than a minute left, and lose in the shootout. Outshot the Yotes 38-37, but are outshot 6-2 after JR’s goal, with a penalty and 4 giveaways in that span.
• January 13 – Sharks lead going into the third against the Ducks, give up a goal to Doug Weight with less than a minute left, and lose in the shootout.
• February 6 – Sharks outshoot Colorado 31-25, who is playing without their three best players, give up an empty net in the last minute, and lose 3-1.
• And now February 12 – Sharks outshoot Calgary 41-18, go into a defensive shell after the go-ahead goal, give up the tying goal with less than a minute left, and lose in overtime. Sharks do not register a shot in regulation after their third goal.

There are several other games I could mention in this vein, but these are the most obvious. One of these is a bummer, two is a fluke, but three or more is a trend. Being happy with the way they played is all well and good, but right now the Sharks are the 5 seed, looking at consecutive playoff matchups against the best three Western teams: Anaheim, Dallas, and Detroit. They need to start getting happy about winning the damn games.

So I was reading about Sheldon Souray today, who is now out for the season, and it made me think of the endless common-sense platitudes uttered on most sports broadcasts. Stuff like “turnovers could hurt you” and “they need to do the little things right.” Stuff you say when you can’t really think of anything intelligent.

Now that we’re about two months away from the start of the playoffs, those freak injuries can really jack up teams in a big way. What if Joe cracked an orbital bone by getting hit in the face with that stick? What if the Sharks actually got Souray? Notice I’m not mentioning Marleau’s groin, because to be honest, I’m not convinced that’s a horrible thing to happen for the Sharks. Marleau seems to have 2nd-line tenure regardless of his quality of play, and I wouldn’t mind seeing guys like Pavelski and Mitchell get some PP time.

But the Sharks dodged a bullet, and Joe should be in the lineup tonight. Of course the Sharks are still missing a big piece in Ryane Clowe, and his injury is so bad that maybe he should be on the shelf for the playoffs too. It sounds heartless, but that might help the Sharks sign him for less that he normally would have gotten.

A final thought about injuries. Now that we know that Boyle has had a serious wrist injury, should the Sharks go after Campbell over Boyle? Campbell is younger and not as good (yet), but the Sharks could get into a Souray-type situation if Boyle comes here, gets his paid-in-the-Escalade dough, and gets hurt again.

See you all at the game tonight. Before the game, I’ll be collecting my winning Super Bowl bet from grier- free dinner, including beers, at Cluck U Chicken (now disappointingly called University Chicken).  Of course I took the points.  But I was nervous about it.

What a great deal for both teams. Ottawa wins because they get the super tough Commodore, who Mike and I both hoped would end up in Teal at the deadline, and a veteran sniper who can still light up the box score in Stillman. Both of these guys are winners. Carolina wins because they just got younger and shed two players who were not in their future plans next season. Corvo is locked up for two more years, and with Hedican and Wesley both likely retiring next season, adding a proven D-man was a must. Eaves is only 23 years old and his growth potential has yet to be seen. For Carolina, it is worth the risk.

I hope that Doug Wilson is able to make a similar deal with a team that needs some new, young blood for expiring contracts and these young players will allow them stay competitive in their playoff push this season.

To Tampa Bay: Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Devon Setoguchi
To San Jose: Dan Boyle and Vaclav Prospal

Tampa Bay gets two of the Sharks best young players that are both under contract beyond this season at a bargain basement price. The Sharks get a #1 puck moving defensemen and LW capable of scoring 80 points. It makes the Sharks instantly better this season. They won’t miss Gooch because he isn’t even on the big club right now and, while we might miss Pickles, the Sharks still have an excellent core with Ehrhoff, Carle, Rivet, McLaren and Murray. And it DW gets Dan Boyle – he ain’t letting him walk out of town, that’s for sure.

To Buffalo: Patrick Marleau and Marc-Edouard Vlasic
To San Jose: Brian Campbell and Maxim Afinogenov OR Tim Connolly

The Sharks get the best player in the deal in Campbell for young Pickles, and then the two teams trade headaches. Afinogenov or Connolly have been injury prone and have underachieved the last two years in Buffalo. Afinogenov has the way bigger upside and could be awesome on a line with Little Joe in the middle. In Marleau, Buffalo gets a former All Star who might just snap out of it with a change of scenery. He’s also locked up for two more years, saving Buffalo roughly 2.5M in this deal, with Campbell probably demanding 6.0M plus next year and Maxim/Connolly each pulling 3.5M in 2008-09 before becoming UFA.

You gotta give to get in this current market where too many teams have dreams of making the playoffs, as Ottawa proved here today. Let’s see if Doug Wilson has a deal like this up his sleeve.

He’s Back!!! We’ve been saying for weeks that the Cheechoo train appears to be back on track. He is finally healthy and doing all the things a Cheechoo does, outstanding positioning, burying his opportunities, playing an aggressive brand of hockey – he led the team with four hits last night, and a flair for dramatic, important goals. Cheechoo never forgot how to play, turned in a poor effort or lost his desire to compete – he was still recovering from offseason surgery. We can only hope that the Sharks have learned that by rushing Cheech back and having him out there at 50% wasn’t an advantage for the player or the team – and I hope they don’t make the same mistake with Clowe in the coming weeks. Ryane will be looking to make an immediate impact and I’m sure he’s eager to redeem himself for the organization and the fans who he let down with his Christmas DUI – but the Sharks need to be sure he is ready to go before letting him roll out there. Clowe is far too valuable for future seasons to watch him struggle down the stretch.

Last night was a very good win against one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Nashville played hard but in the end they couldn’t compete with the Sharks star power in Michalek, Thunder Joe and Cheechoo. It was a win the Sharks sorely needed after limping through with overtime wins against Columbus and Chicago. There may have been a collective sigh of distress when Patty Marleau came up gimpy with a groin injury during the game – but not because the team is going to miss him on the ice. If he’s out for an extended period of time, this could put a major wrench in the foundation of trade plans DW has been laying the last few weeks.

Okay, now a few odds and ends. Wade Redden can kiss my @#$. From different message boards, it appears Ottawa fans view Redden the same way we view Marleau, when the team struggles, the blame is usually cast towards Redden. As David Pollack pointed out in his blog yesterday it does confirm that the quiet mastermind is up to something, and his obsession with a #1 blueline doesn’t appear to have waned. I still think the prospect of a deal with Buffalo and Tampa Bay could be out there. How about a deal for both Prospal and Boyle? The Sharks have the best young players on the market.

Mike and I have begun to ponder – is Pickles really just a slightly more skilled Josh Gorges? Lately, Vlasic appears to taking a lot of punishment, doing some of the little things well but overall just fading as a can’t miss prospect. Is this just a 2nd year slump? What can we as Sharks fans realisticly expect from Vlasic long term? Right now, I see him as 6’1/200 pound defensemen who is unwilling to use his size and timid to jump into the play. I think his future is slightly cloudy and it’s possible he could be nothing more than a guy who can poke check the puck and take a hit. Hello Gorges.

I think the biggest question looming out there in the next two weeks is who are the sellers going to be at the deadline. Many teams are on the brink of making the playoffs. Will Toronto’s recent streak of points in four of their last five lead them to buy instead of sell? I will write more on this tomorrow. GO SHARKS!

As you were leaving the Tank or turning off the Sharks 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche last night, didn’t you feel like you were stuck in TV-Land Limbo? Because of the Writers Strike in Hollywood, we are without dozens of our favorite TV dramas and comedies. Are the Sharks on strike as well?

The Sharks were at home. The Sharks outshot their opposition. Nabby made some amazing plays. The Sharks looked disorganized at times. The Sharks lost. Sound familiar – check out these eight home losses that could be confused with last nights effort.

January 3rd 3-2 OT loss to Calgary
December 20th 3-2 OT loss to Phoenix
December 18th 2-0 loss to Anaheim
November 28th 3-2 OT loss to LA
November 24th 2-1 loss to LA
November 7th 3-1 loss to Dallas (remember this one we outshot the Stars 39-12)
November 2nd 5-2 loss to LA (we outshot the Kings 47-30 here)
Oct 13th 2-1 loss to Boston

Eight home losses that fit this criteria. Outshooting opponenets but not being able to cash in clutch goal scoring when we need it. Defensive lapses and mental mistakes – last night Colorado hit the post twice, DW should have put a McLaren jersey on the red guy. Last night was troubling because we lost to a Colorado team that is missing their three best forwards in Smyth, Sakic and Stastny. Inexcusable to not beat these guys on your home ice – but the Avs played harder and won the game legit – it wasnt a cheap win, the Sharks were outplayed by a lesser team last night. They got beat by Ben Guite, Jeff Finger, T.J Hensick, Jaroslav Hlinka, and Kurt Sauer. Not exactly the pinnacle of NHL hockey talent – but they were better than the Sharks last night. Other teams in the West are gaining momentum and the Sharks are 4-5-1 in their last ten. I have been warning that trouble may be just around the corner with the Sharks eight game road-trip-of-death still to come. All eight of these games have playoff implications – all eight teams on the trip are still thinking they have a chance at the postseason. They all have winning records at home, by the way, something San Jose can’t say with their 12-12-4 home count. With #8 seed Nashville only four points behind us, I’m concerned. Is anybody else?

I’m growing weary of American Gladiators, the Moment of Truth and Big Brother 37. (I do like Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew on VH1 though. Is that wrong?) I’m sick of these reruns and tired reality shows and I’m ready for some new programming. While Mikey says he thinks there may not be major changes in the offing at the deadline – I wouldn’t put anything past Mr. Poker Face, Doug Wilson. He’s likely to pull off the move we haven’t seen him linked to in the rumor mill and, after last nights rerun of similar home game programming that we’ve been subjected to this season, I hope that DW does some recasting because this San Jose Sharks show isn’t consistently thrilling.

James Mirtle just posted on his blog a list of the top 30 players in terms of points-per-game dropoff. There are four Sharks on that list:

The Pavs number looks a little weird because he only played 46 games last year. Anaheim has two players on the list(if you count McDonald), and the Rangers have three (Jagr, Straka, and Shanahan, ouch). Looking at these stats, you have to admit that the Sharks are doing a pretty phenomenal job given that two of their top three scorers are off by more than a half of a point per game. Most of the other players on the list play for bad teams, probably partially because of their decreased output (Colorado, Buffalo, Florida, Washington). So although I complain about the Sharks in one way or another in most of my posts (who wants to listen to a fanboy, right?), I have to give them props on this.

There are so many rumors of people on the move, and the Sharks tied to many of them, I have to write on it. This past week has been crazy, which is why I haven’t posted, but look for me and grier to give some takes on the rumors and other topics very soon. Here’s my quick take on the likelihood of players making it to the Sharks. Overall, I’d say that none of the deals makes ‘perfect’ sense.

I Could See It, But Only If I Squint a Certain Way

• Brian Campbell – this one might actually have legs. The latest reports are that Campbell won’t be talking to the Sabres about a contract until after the season. The Sabres have to at least be considering dealing him at this point. A top-flight puck mover on the blueline could improve the Sharks by a mile. I’m sure there will be plenty of other suitors, but the Sharks have the best young talent of almost anybody.
• Chris Gratton – I’ve heard Ottawa is now in the hunt, but Gratton could lend some more muscle. He’d be really inexpensive as well.
• Antropov/Raycroft – Might be a good idea, but I’m really suspicious of Antropov. He’s been a 45-point player until this season, and I could easily see he returning to form next year. I’d personally rather have Raycroft than Greiss backing up Nabby, but in a year or two I might be singing a different tune.
• Vaclav Prospal – I put this in the category based only on two things – a) he seems likely to move, and b) the Sharks need left wings in a really bad way. Although maybe the Sharks have their eye on Mathieu Darche again. That was a joke. I hope.

Not Bloody Likely:

• Dan Boyle – From where I sit, an even better move for the Sharks than Campbell. He has a better track record, and is a better player. Probably less likely to come to SJ, since he’s still under contract.
• Brad Stuart – The fact that he seems to harbor resentment towards the Sharks plus he plays for a division rival makes this move fairly unlikely.
• Rob Blake – Sorry Sharks fans, I put this in the same category as Stuart. We’d only get him as a rental anyway, and a slow Rob Blake ain’t all that great.
• Olli Jokinen – I’ve seen a couple of places that the Panthers are shopping Jokinen again. He could be a good fit, but only if Marleau goes the other way. Too many centers.
• Marian Hossa – The biggest name in this year’s UFA crop, and I think he’ll want to test the market regardless of what happens between now and July.

Not Gonna Happen:

• Mats Sundin – this guy would be a great addition, but he’s said repeatedly that he’s staying in Toronto. Even if he comes here, he’ll probably go back to the Leafs after the season. No thanks.
• Tomas Kaberle – same deal. He won’t waive his NTC.
• Peter Forsberg – First of all, the Sharks don’t want his fragile ass. Second, he’s only going to go where fans will throw rose petals under his feet when he walks. That makes Philly and Colorado about it. I just want to see if Philly will shoot themselves in the foot by trading young talent to clear cap room for Floppa.
• Ladislav Nagy – Please God Please God Please God Please God no.

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.