I visited Chicago with a couple buddies last November, taking in a Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks game during a whirlwind weekend. We rubbed elbows with patrons at the legendary Billy Goat Tavern, consumed some dubious free “chilli” at a dive bar on Hubbard St., followed a couple homeless tour guides several blocks in search of deep dish pizza, and froze our butts off on the highest row of Soldier Field. The entire trip has been chronicled with dozens of pictures unsuitable for posting on Facebook.
We capped the weekend watching the Blackhawks destroy the Flames, and the goal song at the United Center might be the best thing ever created by people. I haven’t danced since the Macarena came and went, but I was up out my chair after every tally, twisting and grooving along with the capacity crowd. Talk about a fun night. A blowout Hawks win makes your average Sharks game feel like a trip to the dentist.
Before the game I was scanning the rafters, checking out the Bulls and Hawks banners on display, when my attention focused on the 1990-91 Presidents’ Trophy banner. What thoughts came to mind? Not the dominance of Roenick, Larmer or Belfour, but the disappointment those players must have felt when they lost to the Minnesota North Stars in the first round. Doug Wilson probably remembers the feeling, and the banner of shame still hangs in the United Center as a stark reminder of what might have been.
The Presidents’ Trophy winners enter the playoffs as the frontrunners each season, and while they’re not always the favorites to win the Stanley Cup they’re always on the shortlist of contenders. In April, the Sharks became the fourth Presidents’ Trophy winners to fall in the first round, and no doubt there will be a huge celebration tonight during the Sharks’ home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Yes, tonight the Sharks will raise the NHL’s fourth banner of shame, and you can expect mixed feelings at HP Pavilion as the fond and bitter memories run together. During the celebration, San Jose will probably pad its reputation as a non-hockey market, displaying the Presidents’ Trophy proudly at center ice and raising the banner slowly as some inspirational theme pumps through the sound system. That’s SOP I suppose, but it shouldn’t come without an apology to the fans and a promise to deliver more.
If it were up to me, I would have the banner hanging from the rafters long before anybody showed up tonight. Put a spotlight on it briefly before the game, acknowledge its presence on the jumbotron, and then move on. There’s no need to celebrate last year’s failure, because that’s what a Presidents’ Trophy is when you follow it up with a first-round upset — a monumental failure and a stain on the franchise, especially for one that doesn’t have a Stanley Cup. Just look at St. Louis fans, who are still bitter about the 1999-00 season.
I’m not saying a Presidents’ Trophy shouldn’t be celebrated, because it is an outstanding regular season accomplishment. However, it’s far from the ultimate goal, and the banner of shame is exactly that. Maybe it will provide motivation to help the Sharks get over the hump this season. Maybe, as in Chicago, it will stare down at the ice surface for another 19 seasons without a recent Stanley Cup banner to soothe the pain, serving as a constant reminder of missed chances and wasted opportunities.
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Brad Staubitz has been suspended a game for his charging incident against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. I thought the hit itself was clean, but obviously you can’t race 40 feet across the ice to paste a guy in the corner. While Staubitz received the suspension Shelley got the worst of the melee that followed, absorbing Raitis Ivanans’ fists with his face.
There’s no doubt Staubitz’s reputation and playing style factored into the decision, because we saw a much worse hit from Mike Grier last season, breaking Aaron Johnson’s arm and receiving a five-minute boarding call without a suspension.
Jamie McGinn has been called up from Worcester and should be playing on the third line tonight with Manny Malhotra and Frazer McLaren. We’ll see if he can have any impact in his return to the lineup, and should have plenty of motivation to prove he belongs in San Jose permanently after his 35-game audition last season.
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There won’t be a SharksBuzz Postgame Show tonight, since it’s a home game and I figure most people will be down at HP Pavilion, but you can check out the previous episodes below. San Jose doesn’t play another road game until Oct. 15 against the Washington Capitals, but stay tuned for another episode of SharksBuzz sometime between now and then, because I’m sure the Sharks will give us a lot to talk about during their three-game homestand.
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