As most people know, the NHL trade deadline is noon EST tomorrow. The Sharks have been in the midst of rumors for every NHL player this side of Theo Fleury. Sundin (before he asserted his NTC) McCabe (before he asserted his NTC), Redden (before he… you get the idea), Hossa, Jokinen, Holik, Boyle, and mostly, Brian Campbell. Because I enjoy looking like an idiot, I’m going to call it right now. The Sharks will not make any big deals. Maybe they’ll get a minor piece like Bryce Salvador, but none of the big names floating around. This is so for two reasons.

1. There are so many buyers, and the price is too high. A reasonable deal for Campbell would be Ehrhoff, Setoguchi, and a high draft pick. But when you have half a dozen teams in the mix, Buffalo can command a deal that isn’t reasonable. Some teams (and the Sharks might be in this group) are so desperate for playoff ticket money they might just mortgage the future so they can push for the playoffs and break even money-wise. I’d like to think that DW is too smart for this, and he’ll let Dallas trade Mike Smith, Trevor Daley, and a pick for Brian Campbell. Then in two years the Stars will be screwed.
2. No one wants to play for San Jose. If soon-to-be UFAs are the ones being looked at, it’s good business to see if they would want to sign and extension before they become unrestricted on July 1. As we’ve see with Redden, Chara, and others, players don’t see San Jose as a good hockey destination, despite strong attendance numbers and a loud arena. Players want to be king s^&*# in town. Just look at Forsberg. He’s joining a team with a ton of problems; they’re four points out of the playoffs right now. Even though their big three just came back, there’s no guarantee any of them will stay healthy. It’s an ego move on his part, and lots of other players around the league are the same way. They don’t want to live in a city where a guy like JR or Thornton can walk down the street and not get mobbed. They want their multi-million dollar paycheck and have panties thrown at them.

So get ready to crawl back under the covers tomorrow morning, Sharks fans. The roster you see today will (mostly) be the one you see tomorrow.

The Sharks must get Brian Campbell before Tuesday. He is a key missing piece to our puzzle and the Sharks will never be able to move forward without a #1 defensemen on the roster. He rejected Buffalo’s latest contract offer of three years and less than 18 million dollars. I’m starting to think that Darcy Reiger doesn’t want to build a winner in Buffalo with a lame, token offer like that. DW can and will do better than that offer, he might put on the table something in the six/seven year range at over six million dollars per season. Give them whatever they want. I can hear Mikey right now, “What about Dan Boyle?” Well…I read that Boyle has a no-trade clause, and we know what that means for the San Jose Sharks. He won’t be coming here. No one wants to come West. Campbell doesn’t have that choice and once he gets here, he’ll love it. Nolan, Ricci, Whitney – all these guys still live here – so NHL’ers just need to give the Bay Area a chance. Get Brian Campbell in Teal by Tuesday. Make it so.

Okay…I’m done.

I have decent expectations for the rest of this road trip, depending on a few factors. If the Penguins win today at home vs. Ottawa – they might overlook the struggling Sharks and San Jose will win tomorrow morning. A victory in Detroit might actually happen because of how beat up the Wings are on the blueline. I’m thinking the Sharks could finish the trip 3-1, with their only loss coming in Columbus of all places.

Talk to you on Tuesday after the dust has settled. Go Sharks.

… the one eyed man is king. That’s what I felt like I was watching yesterday in the clash of the two worst-playing teams, the Sharks and the Flyers. The Flyers triumphed in the who-can-turn-over-the-puck-more-egregiously contest, and I tip my hat to them. The #1 line was looking good again for the Sharks, but all other lines are in constant flux, working together one night, invisible the next. The announcers are saying it, grier is saying it, there is no real second line for the Sharks. There’s a second-line player, Patrick Marleau, and a cast of thousands.

When the Flyers first goal went in with 5.8 seconds left in the period, I thought to myself, “This is it. Sharks are done.” If that goal came in the middle of the period, that might have been true. But RW and Co. must have said something decent, because the Sharks kept coming in the third and ended up winning by two. Also, thanks to boneheaded penalties after the period was over, the Sharks got to start on the power play. Which is fairly meaningless, becuase they are 1-for-8 billion, or whatever their latest PP drought is.

A word on the standings- the Sharks are currently 6th, only two points ahead of the 7th and 8th seeds. Luckily both of them face Detroit in their next matchup, with Calgary getting Minnesota after that. Of course, we are facing the Pens, a game the Sharks pretty much need to win. I figure win at CLB, loss at Detroit, win at STL, then losses at home to OTT and MON. Playing .500 hockey for the next month might not keep the Sharks in the playoffs, but that’s all I’m expecting.

I admit, I like to read Hockeybuzz for the sheer entertainment value of hockey gossip and some decent commentary by some of their team bloggers, but what has gotten into Sharks blogger Ryan Garner? I thought I’d comment on his bizarre suggestions of how to fix the Sharks roster .

Patrick Marleau for Ryan Smyth? Why even make the suggestion when it is impossible. Considering the rumor mill, Doug Wilson tried to get Smyth and Ryan wanted to play with his buddy Sakic instead of live in Sunny California. How about Garner’s brilliant suggestion of Matt Carle for Brian Seabrook? A great deal for San Jose and a deal that Chicago would never make – NEVER. Seabrook signed to a cheaper extension and, right now, he is the better player. How about a few realistic suggestions on how to improve this roster right now, for this season and for the long term. We all know the problems and components this team lacks – a number one defensemen, a 2nd line forward and an effective 4th line role player. Let’s get real for a moment. The Sharks have a top line (Thornton, Cheechoo, Michalek) and a 3rd line (Grier, Mitchell, The Rizz). They have no 2nd line to speak of. None. They have two players who seem intersted in doing protypical, 4th line duties (J.R. and Shelley). That leaves some players without a role, due to their own underachievement or possible lack of consistent opportunity to play in a scoring line situation.

Here is what the Sharks have to offer. Look at this as a value menu of talented, young players who might not have a role on the Sharks and let teams pick and choose.

You may order one of these young, inexpensive forwards: Bernier, Setoguchi, Pavelski
You may order one of these young, inexpensive defensemen: Carle, Ehrhoff, Vlasic
You may order one proven 80 point scorer who is having a down year and comes with a two year extension: Marleau

Now, fax your menu to all the GM’s in the league and go shopping.

PRIORITY NUMBER ONE: GET A NUMBER ONE DEFENSEMEN AND LOCK HIM UP
I’m of the mind right now that if the Sharks don’t get Campbell or Boyle or McCabe, then it is another failure in a long string of failed attempts for DW in his quest for a #1 puck-moving D-man. I know what he wants. He wants himself – Doug Wilson!! Someone in his own image on this team. A puck moving, hard nosed guy who would play without a helmet and provide the ROCK this team desperately needs. Settling for a 2nd tier player here will not suffice. Just say no to Brad Stuart and Bryan Berard. The time is now for the Sharks to get an impact defensemen to pair with Craig Rivet. Get the man and make him a Shark for the next six years. This is a need that will always haunt the Sharks until they address it.

To Buffalo: Setoguchi, Ehrhoff and 2008 #1 pick
To San Jose: Brian Campbell and sign him for six years/36M

PRIORITY NUMBER TWO: GET A TRUE SECOND LINE FORWARD
Let’s assume Marleau stays, okay? Who the hell does he have to play with? It’s not really fair to say to Patty go out and get 80 points with Plihal and Bernier on your wing. The Sharks need a 2nd line scoring winger. Prospal, Satan, Straka. All these guys could be available for a young forward and, if Marleau stays, he deserves to have two weapons on his wing – Ryane Clowe will be one and I don’t think the Sharks have the other currently on the roster. How about Wilson going a little off the map and getting a guy who is under contract for one more year who might also need a change in scenery. Carolina’s recent deal with Ottawa sends the message that they want to get younger while remaining competitive today.

To Carolina: Steve Bernier and a Worcester defensemen (Joslin or Spang)
To San Jose: Erik Cole

PRIORITY NUMBER THREE: GET A GUY WHO LIKES DOING THE FOURTH LINE WORK
Get Chris Gratton and let him loose on the 4th line. He is good enough to play some spot 2nd line duty, but he is physical and skilled. The Sharks are forcing kids (Pavelski and Bernier) to play on the 4th line when they are unable and not suited for that kind of constant grit.

To Tampa Bay: Joe Pavelski
To San Jose: Chris Gratton and a 3rd round pick

Let’s crunch the numbers – Setoguchi is signed for 0.85M, Bernier, Ehrhoff and Pavelski are all due for raises in the offseason, so let’s say the forwards both get 2.3M per and Ehrhoff gets 3M so that’s roughly 8.5M in salary. Campbell and Cole make 10M for 2008-09 and puts the Sharks at 45M in salary, leaving 8-9 million or so (once the cap goes up)to resign Clowe, Goc, Rissmiller or keep Gratton and hit the UFA market. Sounds like alot of cash, right? Well, as we’ve said before, the Sharks have probably 13M in RFA’s and UFA’s to deal with anyways. So, what will prevail – staying at around 45M in salary or fielding a Cup winner? It’s time to stop waiting on the young guys go out and get the veteran help this team and this fan base so deeply deserves.

Just got back from Vegas where I stole big bucks from the MGM Sportsbook going 3-0 on NHL picks this weekend. Thank you to the Blackhawks, Canadiens and Predators for supporting my habit.

Great to come home and see that nothing has changed. The Sharks played decently yesterday against the Rangers, who in a lot of ways mirror the Sharks, except the Rangers have more current upside for this season. I believe if they can get rid of Jagr, the Rangers will flourish. There are too many solid top line players combined with some young talent that really understand their roles. Now the Islanders are a bizarre mix of veterans no one else wanted during the offseason and young players your average hockey fan has never heard of – but these guys play hard. For San Jose to blow a 2-0 lead to this collection of nobodies and nobodywanted’s is embarrassing. P.S. 0-4 without Marleau and three of these games the Sharks have blown leads. Inexcusable. And in retrospect, the Sharks coaching staff probably regrets putting Nabby back in the game after he got his face destroyed. Why put him back in? We know Nabby is the man, he is tough and all that stuff – but the Sharks would have busted their ass to hold on for Greiss and instead they relaxed when Nabby returned and, in a New York minute, it was over.

With no relief in sight, you have to believe the Sharks are going to lose in New Jersey and Pittsburgh. Could it be the Sharks will be the team the Flyers break their seven game losing streak against? Now nine points behind Dallas, is it possible the Sharks will be fighting in the final month just to make the playoffs? Yes. I think so. Doug Wilson can not be looking at this season as a “buy for now” situation. Any changes must have an eye on next season – no expensive rental players please. That means no to you Mats Sundin and you too Rob Blake. That means YES to players like Brian Campbell or Dan Boyle, who I believe will never leave San Jose because Doug Wilson will pay them over six million dollar a year to stay in Teal.

Is the season over? No #$%&-ing way. The Sharks, with the right tweaking, could get hot and with the right matchups in April, could find themselves advancing deep into the Cup run. Marleau on IR might effectively kill any moves that involve him switching jerseys unless he can come back and play before the deadline.

Right now, the team and us Sharks fans are in a tail spin. We have to brace ourselves that it is possible that the Sharks could lose the next five in a row on this deadly road trip. Next stop New Jersey. Light a candle for the boys.

On a side note, I had defended Matt Carle here a few weeks ago and since February 1st, he has gone promptly in the toilet. Seven games, zero points and a minus six. After seeing Chicago sign Seabrook for 3 years/10.5 million, it is making the Carle extension look even worse by the day.

I’m a little pissed at you, Sharks. You play up and down hockey all year. You combine spectacular effort and dominating performance with listless, boring hockey. For every up story, there’s a down story. For every young kid playing well, there’s a young kid not playing to his potential. You can’t expect this crap to play in the playoffs, can you? When you can’t even win at home against a bad team decimated by injuries?

What am I saying? We need a break from each other. To put it bluntly, get the F away from me. Just go on the road or something. Get some New York hookers, and come back refreshed. Oh, I’ll check in on you from time to time. But I hope you can get your head straight. Take a couple of weeks. Please. And for God’s sake, get it together.

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!