I’ll admit I’m not an expert on Chinese cuisine, but when it comes to dim sum there’s a great little place in Walnut Creek called Tin’s Tea House. Tin’s has a small parking lot, enclosed by the buildings surrounding it, with just enough room for about a dozen vehicles. The entrance also serves as the exit, so if there aren’t any spots available you have to carefully reverse and wiggle your way around and exit the same way you came in. It can be a headache, but it’s worth it for the walnut vanilla prawns.
The Sharks find themselves in a similar situation these days. When Tin’s parking lot is full I don’t firebomb the whole place, and San Jose doesn’t need to blow up this team to get back into Stanley Cup contention. However, they do need to make some changes, reversing the car and changing course to ensure competitiveness this season and in the years to come. I’m not saying any of these will happen – in fact, they probably won’t – but here are the 10 moves I would make if I was Doug Wilson.
1) Trade Patrick Marleau to the Colorado Avalanche for Ryan Smyth
Not only does this fix the problems San Jose has at left wing, but it gives the team a proven leader and a player whose immense work ethic and grit will rub off on the players around him. Ryane Clowe looked like a 25-goal scorer playing with Thornton, just by standing in front of the net and cleaning up the garbage. Nobody is better in front of the net than Smyth, helping San Jose’s power play and fitting in perfectly with Thornton’s deliberate style of play.
Colorado needs help at center as they battle for a playoff spot with both Sakic and Stastny on the IR. The Avs will also be looking for a center to replace Sakic – who should retire in the next couple years – and Marleau plays a very similar style with the same type of personality. Plus, the longtime Shark gets a fresh start on some good ice with a team stocked with talented young wingers. The contracts are comparable, with Smyth making $6.25M through 2012 and Marleau making $6.3M through 2010.
2) Make Craig Rivet captain
Rivet is the obvious choice because he’s been a vocal leader and taken on several different roles this season that management failed to address. To everyone’s surprise, he’s become a power play QB in the absence of a true No. 1 defenseman. Everyone figured his fighting days were well behind him, but he’s defended his teammates several times this season and scored the best knockout of the year against Columbus’ Jason Chimera. He’s maintained solid numbers despite being paired with Matt Carle for most of the season, and even worked the bench as an assistant coach. This is a no-brainer.
Joe Thornton is a great teammate, but he’s not a captain. Captains don’t refuse to participate in the shootout, shrugging off responsibility with the game on the line. Roenick probably won’t be around after this season. Grier would be another great choice, but I don’t think he has the same status or clout Rivet does. After those four there’s a huge drop-off in leadership/captain material.
3) Sign Joe Pavelski to a two-year contract extension and move him up to the second line
I’m convinced Pavelski can fill this spot, since his fourth line has outworked and outperformed the second line for most of the season. He’s putting up numbers close to Marleau’s despite playing a fraction of the time and he’s a solid playmaker who’s also responsible defensively. Pavelski would center Michalek and Bernier, giving the line speed on one side, size on the other, with a smart, crafty playmaker in the middle. Looking down the road, Little Joe is keeping the spot warm for Logan Couture, who should arrive at the same time Pavelski’s entering the final year of his contract.
4) Trade Matt Carle to the Chicago Blackhawks for Brent Seabrook
This would be a blockbuster trade five years from now, when both players have established themselves as Norris candidates. Both have recently signed similar contract extensions, and they both have a ton of upside. Carle will be a monster down the road but Seabrook has the physical dimension the Sharks need and he’s better defensively right now. Throw in Goc, Plihal or Kaspar if Chicago needs more to make the deal happen.
The Seabrook move doesn’t ignore San Jose’s need for a true No. 1 defenseman, but it delays the process until the summer when the team can make a real bid for an unrestricted free agent. Why sell the farm for two months of Brian Campbell or Dan Boyle without any guarantee they’ll return next season when you can sign them this summer? Wilson shouldn’t get caught up in the trade deadline hype.
5) Find, and sign, Robert Esche
This is basically an insurance policy against injury to Nabokov. Best-case scenario: Nabokov plays every game of the playoffs and Esche is paid a couple hundred thousand dollars for a seat on the bench. Worst-case scenario: Nabokov is injured, but the Sharks suit up a competitive netminder with something to prove rather than an unproven and inexperienced youngster like Greiss or Patzold.
6) Put Alexei Semenov on waivers and after he clears send him to Worcester
There won’t be any room for him when/if Clowe and Brown return from the IR, and he can’t suit up in the playoffs if the Sharks want to have any hope of winning.
7) Begin the search for a new coach
Ron Wilson should be given the rest of the season to turn this team around and make a long playoff run. However, it’s time to start looking ahead to San Jose’s next bench boss. This team would be well-served by a taskmaster, a Keenan or Tortorella type who can provide a contrast to the laid-back Northern California style. Basically, toughness and work ethic have been problems for this team the last couple years. It’s time for a coach who will demand more of his players and help develop youngsters in a style that can get the most out of them.
8) Sign Christian Ehrhoff to a three-year contract extension
He’s been San Jose’s best defenseman over the last month, and he’s just going to get better with more minutes and increased confidence. Also, thanks to the Seabrook deal Ehrhoff can’t use Carle’s contract as leverage for his deal. Carle’s extension set the standard, and it could have led to resentment if he was still sitting a couple spots away in the locker room playing like a minor-leaguer.
9) Dangle Steve Bernier, but wait for a team to go after him this summer
There have to be a bunch of teams interested in a 6-foot-2, 225-pound winger who can skate and play the body. Jump on it if the right offer comes along, or wait until the offseason and see what type of offers teams lob at the restricted free agent. He’s not in the same class as Dustin Penner, but there could be a big offer out there and you let him walk for the compensatory picks. If none of the above happen, you should be able to sign him for a bargain price.
10) Demand ownership increase the team salary or threaten to walk
At Tin’s, they don’t have a knife and fork on the table when you sit down, but they’ll bring some over if you ask for them. Sharks ownership isn’t going to spend to the cap on their own, so it’s going to take a push from Wilson to convince the bean counters the Sharks need to be on a level playing field with the rest of the league’s best teams. Do it for the fans. Do it for the all the people who yearn for the Cup. The current salary structure won’t allow the Sharks to bring in any high-priced free agents while signing players like Clowe, Pavelski and Ehrhoff.
Wilson has built a strong resume, and I’m sure he’ll draw some interest from the Leafs when they begin the search for a new GM. If he’s really as hungry for a Cup as he’d have us believe, he has to demand ownership give him the tools necessary to compete. There’s a fantastic article by Paul Solotaroff written in 1991 titled “The Power and the Gory.” I’d encourage anyone reading this to check it out and read the opening paragraphs. The Sharks will only succeed when they’re that hungry, when everyone from ownership to the training staff is so committed to winning a Cup they’ll put it before anything else.
After those 10 moves, this is how the lines would look heading into the playoffs:
Smyth-Thornton-Cheechoo
Michalek-Pavelski-Bernier
Clowe-Mitchell-Grier
Rissmiller-Roenick-Setoguchi
Goc, Shelley, Brown
Rivet-Seabrook
McLaren-Ehrhoff
Murray-Vlasic
Ozolinsh
Davison
Nabokov
Esche
It's time for some changes. Not a dramatic restructuring, but a change of course and a change of attitude. The Sharks are close, but Stanley Cup victory is going to take a little more effort than simply reversing the car for a plate full of walnut vanilla prawns.
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