Do you know the way to San Jose?

• Member of 2002, 2006 and 2010 USA Olympic Team.
• Former captain of two different NHL franchises in Buffalo and New York.
• Calder Trophy winner. Hobey Baker winner. Stanley Cup winner. Multiple trips to Conference Finals in both conferences.
• Played 70+ games for 11 straight NHL seasons until last year.
• Chronic knee condition and surgery limited him to 24 games in 2010-11 and Torterella’s dog house.

Chris Drury is an interesting story to follow this offseason. Will he retire and sail into the sunset to live off his big 32.5M payday from the Rangers or will he continue to rehab the knee and give it another go. He would be 35 going into next season and IF he could recapture even part of what made him one of the best defensive forwards and faceoff guys for several years in the NHL, wouldn’t some NHL teams be interested? We know Doug Wilson has given guys a chance in the past. He has brought in established NHL veterans and given them another shot with Jeff Friesen, Claude Lemieux, Jeremy Roenick. Their last chance before retirement and one more shot to win the big one.

The Sharks have been linked to Drury in the past via trade and his free agency in 2007. I could see Doug Wilson making a phone call and an offer of the same deal Roenick signed in 2007. One year and $500,000 to prove you’ve still got it. Drury has been known as one of the most competitive guys in the NHL. Unless his knee is beyond repair, you gotta think he’d consider it.

Based on Doug Wilson’s track record and Chris Drury’s competitive spirit, it’s not too far fetched. I’m not saying I’m advocating for it, I’m just saying…it could happen.

In the start of an offseason series, Mike and Doug break down the status of all the Sharks’ forwards, and identify which are the keepers, which ones may be brought back, and which ones may be let go.

Also, this is a call to those wonderful readers and listeners that won the fantasy leagues- drop us a line so we can schedule your appearance on the podcast.

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The Dudes begin to tackle the many offseason questions that surround the Sharks- the coach, the D, the third and fourth lines.  Of course, hockey is still being played, so those topics are addressed as well.

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Sharks hockey is over you say? Yes, it is. Sorry, I can’t change that – but you can get a glimpse at a potential Young Dude on the NHL Network tonight when Sharks goalie prospect J.P. Anderson is in between the pipes for the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors in the Finals of the Memorial Cup.

What is the Memorial Cup, you say? How dare you! It is only the Final Four of Canadian Major Junior Hockey! What the BCS should be NCAA Football. It pits the playoff winners of the three Canadian Hockey League’s which are the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in a final tournament with a host team (which happens to be Anderson’s Mississauga St. Michael club) for the steal cage match of amateur hockey to crown the Summer Slam champion, the winner of the Memorial Cup.

Sharks prospect J.P. Anderson has had an amazing year in the Ontario Hockey League, posting the following stats:

Regular season: 38-10-1 with a 2.36 GAA and .911%

OHL Playoffs: 15-5 with a 2.11 GAA and .920%

Memorial Cup: 3-1 with a 1.76 GAA and .939%

Hard to say what Anderson’s future holds in the San Jose Sharks organization but his accomplishments this season in junior hockey have likely opened some eyes. For the 2nd straight season, he has won the Dave Pinkney Trophy for having the fewest GAA in the OHL regular season. At 19 years old, there’s likely no rush to push him into professional hockey, especially with Tyson Sexsmith, Alex Stalock and likely Harri Sateri circling for playing time in Worcester, but he’s definitely a guy to keep an eye on in the next two years.

Enjoy checking out this kid and his bright future tonight. Good luck Young Dude.

Another year, another disappointing loss.  The Sharks drop game 5 to Vancouver on some crazy plays, and the Dudes try to suss out if it was a Sharks choke job or a Vancouver domination.  And while there’s plenty of time yet, Mike and Doug try to call what philosophy the Sharks should contemplate.

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She’s not crying because it’s her last show….she saw the replay of the final two goals last night.

We will be recording this afternoon with our post Conference Finals thoughts. Keep all sharp objects at a safe distance today.

I went 0 for 5 with a beautiful woman this afternoon. Still a loser.

This afternoon, it appeared the hockey gods had smiled a giant toothy Baba Booey grin upon the Sharks. The Vancouver parade to the penalty box was plentiful, they were losing their composure and the Sharks were given golden opportunity after golden opportunity to take the lead. And then…0 for freaking 5.

When lady luck invites you over, you have to score. That’s the bottom line.

Sure, the Sharks melted down and allowed multiple 5 on 3’s and three goals in two minutes, but it never ever should have gotten to that point. The Sharks had been operating at a tasty 41% (5 for 12) on the PP in the first three games, so they should have easily had a 2-0 lead after five free gifts from Vancouver. The Sharks could gain the zone. They could even set up, but it was one shot and done, Vancouver was always first to the puck and they could clear from anywhere at any time.

We said at the beginning of the series that special teams would decide the winner. The Sharks may have dug their own grave today by refusing their free gift from the Canucks. I’m not giving up but I was pretty disappointed today. I can handle losing, but when the Sharks had the girl back at their place, took her upstairs and got her undressed…they busted out their Bobo Fett action figures.

Want to feel better? Vancouver has been up 3-1 against Chicago and Nashville in the playoffs this year and they lost both Game 5’s at home, so all is not lost. All you have to do is win one game to make this a series again and I have to believe the Sharks will do just that.

We will record the next podcast on Wednesday to talk about Game Six….make it so.

After a beatdown in game 2 versus Vancouver, the Dudes have few answers.  At least there’s a lot of room for improvement by the Sharks.

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Mike, Doug, and WingsFan from SharksLand finally put the Wings series to bed, with the now-annual reading of funny lines about the Wings.  It’s also time for the Vancouver preview, with the Dudes identifying the keys to the series, and how Game 1 is extremely important.

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Although Doug and I are both still riding the high of last night, we are actively planning for our weekend podcast, in which we will collect on our bet from WingsFan From SharksLand, same one as last year.  I recommend refreshing your memory by listening to last year’s equivalent episode – Episode 99.  This year, we will also take your suggestions for lines, either through Twitter or email.  Get those in if you have any comedy inspiration.

Of course, the weekend episode will also include a Western Conference Finals preview.