Pardon my absence but I spent last week in Boston, taking in the sights and sounds of Beantown while trying my best to stay warm and dry. While I’m ashamed to admit it, several years in California has turned me into a six-year-old girl when the temperature dips below 40 degrees. I whine, I complain, I stomp my feet. On two separate occasions, I made the mistake of complaining to complete strangers and got the same general response both times, a predictable “Suck it up, Nancy.”
Despite the cold it’s always refreshing to attend games in an Original Six city, viewing how local fans interact with the team. I heard booing for the first time in years — loud, long, lusty booing directed squarely at the Bruins power play — and it was beautiful. Finding myself in the birthplace of Joe Thornton’s career, I asked several Boston fans what they thought of the departed superstar. Honestly, I got the impression New Englanders miss British rule more than Jumbo Joe.
Boston fans don't feel the need to defend their team's mediocre play, they aren't simply happy to be playing the game, and they hold their star players to high standards without excuses. No wonder they unapologetically booed and booted Thornton. Aside from renewing my faith in hockey fans, TD Garden also turned out to be great for overhearing conversations, and a couple of gems stood out above the rest:
(Standing in line for the men’s room) “Back in the old Garden, they used to piss in the sink. Nobody pisses in the sink anymore.”
(Walking out after Boston’s 5-0 win over Calgary on Saturday) “Bruins fans are a different breed these days. We haven’t won the Cup in almost 40 years, we’re going through some rough times, and it takes a lot of pride to wear the spoked B.”
“Yeah, especially the way you did, in front of the judge.”
Anyway, it appears the Sharks turned things around during the past week, reclaiming first place in both the Pacific Division and Western Conference with a four-game winning streak. I’m ready to jump into the frenzy of San Jose’s stretch drive, and I thought it would be a good time to answer some reader mail. In order to save space and uphold decency I’ve omitted impertinent comments and profanity, so sit back and follow along as we open up the HockeyBuzz mailbag and answer your most pressing questions.
Does Patrick Marleau have a shot at finishing the regular season with the league lead in goals?
No. He’s currently sitting fourth in the league with 42 goals, three back of Steven Stamkos (45), four back of Alex Ovechkin (46), and five back of Sidney Crosby (47) with six games remaining. It’s been a phenomenal season for Marleau, ranking among the top 10 in league scoring and leading the Sharks in plus-minus. Did anyone think he would finish the season with more goals, points, and a higher shooting percentage than Dany Heatley? Not only is it a reality, Marleau has done it despite spending more than 30 games on the second line.
Who do you want to see the Sharks play in the first round of the playoffs?
The Sharks are down to five possible first-round opponents: Colorado, Detroit, Los Angeles or Nashville, with Calgary still having an outside shot. As a hockey fan, I’d love to see San Jose square off against Detroit, throwing them into the fire right off the bat, and dispatching the Wings would give the Sharks a lot of confidence going forward. Of course, it could also be an unmitigated disaster. If I’m looking at the easiest and least entertaining first round opponent, I don’t think the Predators have the goaltending or the scoring punch to pose a serious playoff threat.
How long is Joe Thornton going to be out, and is his injury a good thing or a bad thing?
He’s listed as day-to-day, which generally means two weeks in the Sharks’ injury timetable. Two weeks means one month, six weeks means three months, etc. Unless we’re discussing Torrey Mitchell, in which case everything’s tripled rather than doubled. The details are sketchy at best, but it really doesn’t matter if we see Thornton one the ice before the playoffs begin. In the depths of San Jose’s six-game losing skid, Todd McLellan admitted it didn’t matter whether the Sharks finished first or eight in the conference, and that’s completely true.
Is his injury a good thing? No. But the fact that question has even been asked speaks to the team’s reliance on their first-line center to carry the offense. Playoff history has shown us that Thornton’s linemates (Cheechoo, Michalek, Setoguchi) rely on the big man so much they completely defer to him in the playoffs and lose the ability to create on their own. There isn’t any urgency for Thornton to return before the postseason. If his teammates can build some confidence without him while he gets some much-needed rest, the Sharks will be better off in the playoffs.
The Sharks have juggled their lines a lot during the last couple weeks. What should the lines be going into the playoffs?
Just like steering wheel covers and non-alcoholic beer, I’ve never liked the idea of cramming Heatley, Thornton and Marleau on the top line. The Sharks were a better team last season when the scoring was more balanced, and in the playoffs it’s easy for good defensive teams to shut down a single line. That puts more pressure on the second line to produce, and they failed to do that last season against Anaheim. I would spread things around a little more to ensure you have at least one dangerous player (Marleau, Heatley, Thornton) on the ice 70 percent of the time.
The key here is Marleau, who scored at a better clip on the second line early in the season than he has on the top line since. The former captain — #12 in your programs #1 in your hearts — had 11 goals and 23 points over his first 20 games. He has 5 goals and 19 points in his last 20 games. During the 36 games in between he had 26 goals and 38 points. Marleau will score wherever you put him and playing on the top line might actually limit his effectiveness, whereas Setoguchi could only benefit playing on the top line with Thornton and Heatley.
Overall, do you think the Olympics helped or hurt the Sharks?
There’s no doubt the Olympics hurt the Sharks, just as they’ve had a negative impact on every NHL team that had a large number of participants. Take the Blackhawks for example, who have gone 5-6-2 since the Olympic break, or the Ducks, who dropped out of the playoff race with a 6-6-1 post-Olympic record. Meanwhile, the hottest teams in the league lately (Buffalo, Phoenix, Nashville, Toronto) didn’t have many players participating in the Olympics, and the two-week break had to help them gear up for the final 20 games of the season.
Marleau and Nabokov are unrestricted free agents at the end this offseason. Pavelski and Setoguchi are restricted free agents. Why haven’t we heard more about this, and what will the Sharks do with these players during the offseason?
We haven’t heard more about this impending rebuild/upheaval/catastrophe because Doug Wilson doesn’t want to deal with it or discuss it until the offseason, when he knows whether the Sharks have won the Stanley Cup or not. You can decide for yourself if it’s patience or avoidance but Wilson chose to wait, taking the opposite approach of the Blackhawks, who signed their players to long-term deals and have to sell during the offseason to stay under the salary cap. Personally, I’d rather sign the players and know the price tag, giving me the ability to sell, rather than playing the waiting game where you risk losing players for nothing.
In the past, Wilson has offered contract extensions to a few young players (Michalek, Carle, Vlasic) and let others wade into restricted free agency (Clowe, Ehrhoff, Murray) before re-signing them. It’s surprising that he hasn’t extended either Pavelski or Setoguchi, allowing other teams to establish the market with their signings. Judging by Ryan Kesler’s recent deal, Pavelski should pull down an annual salary in the $5 million range. Meanwhile, Setoguchi has a 31-goal, 65-point season on his resume and Michalek was coming off a 26-goal, 66-point season when he signed a six-year, $26 million extension in 2007. Despite his drop-off in production, Setoguchi could pull in big dollars this offseason.
But those two pieces (and the Sharks’ entire salary structure) will hinge on Marleau and Nabokov. Wilson’s patience backfired in the sense that both players are enjoying career seasons, and both could simply choose to go to the highest bidder at the end of the season. Watching two franchise cornerstones walk away would be disastrous for the Sharks and would effectively signal the end of Wilson’s tenure as general manager. Of course, winning a Stanley Cup would change things significantly, and it would be a lot easier to make those difficult decisions after a victory parade.
At this point, with San Jose stretching the limits of the salary cap, there are so many unknowns it’s hard to even speculate on the future. Will either player take less money to stay in San Jose? Can Wilson make both fit under the cap, along with raises to Pavelski and Setoguchi, and the $21.36 million cap chunk that goes to Thornton, Heatley and Boyle? Are they even part of the plans moving forward? Who replaces Nabokov if he skips town? Would the Sharks move either Thornton or Heatley to keep Marleau? I don’t know any of the questions to those five answers, but it’s clear that in San Jose the offseason could carry just as much intrigue as the postseason.
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I was thinking about scheduling the SharksBuzz Postgame Show tomorrow night, but it's the old lady's birthday and she probably doesn't want me gabbing about hockey for a couple hours. I can't commit to it on Friday, so Sunday seems like the obvious choice. Make sure you join us then, and feel free to call in at (724) 444-7444, talkcast ID# 74909.
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