Just a few quick hits before we all sit down for Game 2 of 82.

• Sharks win 3-2 in their season debut. It wasn’t pretty but a win is a win and we’ll take it this early against a non-playoff team like Columbus.
• Vlasic made the kind of error that continues to make you long for an upgrade in the top four when Ethan Moreau pulled the old “Winona Ryder” and stole the puck from Pickles purse and Umburger tipped it past Niemi.
• Niemi looked good, not great – but he made the saves he was supposed to. I don’t blame him for either goal.
• I didn’t notice Filatov much even strength for Columbus except for when he got hammered by Scott Nichol. Welcome back from Russia, ladybug!
• For those of you keeping track, the Ducks got completely hammered last night in Detroit and Andy Sutton went down with an injury, pushing their blueline from bad to Ishtar. Dallas pulled off an impressive win in New Jersey 4-3.

I’m going to make an official shopping list for a Sharks blueline upgrade in the coming weeks and I’m looking for your suggestions of who should be on the list and who shouldn’t. I’ll keep a running top ten and guys can move in and out based on their performance. We want a legit top four guy, not a Shane Hnidy (no disrespect intended…no, wait…full disrespect intended). We can officially cross Zdeno Chara off the wish list after the news he signed an extension for 7 years/45M. That pulls a premiere UFA off the market and makes our speculation even that more interesting.

GO SHARKS.

They waited until the very last minute as expected.  Joe Thornton is the new captain of the Sharks.  It’s a bit of a surprise, though not to everyone.   After talking with Randy, I’m certainly not as surprised as I would have been if it was announced a month ago.  If one guy ‘stirs the drink’ as Randy put it, it makes sense.  The other contender, Dan Boyle, gets the “permanent ‘A'”, with the other ‘A’ rotating.  Maybe the most surprising thing about the announcement is the news that Clowe will share the ‘A’.  No mention of Pavelski.

Of course this is going to be covered and debated in Sharks Nation with zeal, and we’ve had our fair share of captaincy discussions over the past couple of years.  The more I think about it, the less I think I know about it.  This quote from McLellan is a bit of a clue:

The verbal leadership gets way overrated. We don’t  need cheerleaders on our team by any means. We need people  who speak their mind and then back it up on the ice.

Let’s face it, it’s not about us.  It’s not about how good or bad a guy is at a press conference after a game.  It’s not about whether we think a guy is too sunny, or too laid-back, or too intense.  The captain is the PR face of the franchise, and for that reason, we think we should have a say, and what we see is all there is.  Sure, it’d be nice if those two things agreed, and many times they do.  But the real measure is wins, losses, and Cups.  Warm fuzzies in the fan base aren’t counted.  Would you really want it any other way?

Life’s a big circle, right?  Our old pal Cheech is back, but only sorta.  He’s in Worchester on a pro tryout.  This is a bit confusing, so I’ll try to explain.  Feel free to stop reading if you know this already.  Every NHL team has a contract limit of  50 (not counting junior players).  That’s every single player the Sharks have the rights to- SJ Sharks, Worchester Sharks, Stockton Thunder, European leagues, etc.  As a practical matter, that means everyone on the Worchester Sharks, even though that is the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, isn’t necessarily SJ Sharks property.  Roy Sommer and the crew over there can sign a limited number of free agents to fill out the roster.  That’s what Cheech might be, and that’s what Claude Lemieux was once upon a time.  He’s not even signed to an AHL deal yet, he’s just on a tryout.   Even if he does make the team, any NHL team at any time could sign him to an NHL SPC (that’s “standard player contract”).  San Jose would have the benefit of a little inside information, being it’s their affiliate, but they would have no priority in signing Cheech to an NHL deal if he happens to regain some of his past glory.

Personally, I’m really pleased about this.  I like the idea of having Cheech back in the Sharks “family”.  And I’m also a little relieved that the big club isn’t on the hook for anything.   But don’t worry, Cheech will be ok- he is getting over a million bucks this year in buyout money from Ottawa.

The season is finally upon us, and the Dudes are there.  They digest the most recent Sharks news- Andreas Lilja being released, and wonder what sort of ramifications it will have on the team.  But the bulk of the show is devoted to something they do every year- preview the NHL for the 2010-2011 season.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Per Pollak.  I’m not being facetious here.  I thought for sure he’d be on the opening day roster.  I guess that means two things- one, that Niclas Wallin is healthy enough to play.  Two, that Lilja wasn’t playing better (or better by a big enough margin) to play every night, so they might as well have Mike Moore or somebody else in the #7 slot.  We’ll be talking all about that tonight, along with our season preview.  Email us or post something on FB if you want us to talk about something specific.

The Dudes go to the final home preseason game, and make their roster predictions.  They also run down the goalie situation, and open some Mystery Pucks.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Just got all three in the mail today. Who’s a happy camper? THIS GUY.

Per TSN.  I’m perfectly fine with that.  I think we both said on the podcast last week that we’d prefer Lilja to Leach.

As far as Sullivan goes, he did score that nice goal on Saturday, but in my terrible amateur scouting opinion, he made several gaffes during that game, not unlike our golden boy, Nick Petrecki.  Lilja has to be the big favorite at this point to make the club.

Don’t think about that either.

Don’t even think about it.