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.

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.