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Rob Blake and the Sharks
Reports are that despite Montreal, Buffalo, Philly and the NY Rangers having interest, Blake may choose to stay on the left coast for his cameo.
When you look at the teams that most need a Rob Blake, many teams in the east come to mind. And believe me when I tell you, they are of that mindset as well. However, there is word out of some of my sources that Rob may have already nixed a few "initial concepts" of movng to one of the powerhouses.
So that leaves three teams that will apparently battle for the classy, experienced, and still effective rental. San Jose, Detroit, and Rob's one time home, Colorado.
Last year at this time there was a story that broke that Rob had been asked to consider a move.
It was February 24, 2007. At the time, all I knew was that Rob Blake had been contacted about the possibility of being moved, and for about an hour...between 5:30 and 6:30pmET, the rumours were ridiculous and rampant.
It coincided with a Rumour that the Ducks were making a move involving a d-man, so naturally many thought Rob may be heading to Anaheim.
At 6:03pm TSN reported "The Anaheim Ducks have traded defenceman Shane O'Brien and a third round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for goaltender Gerald Coleman and a first round pick."
Then of course the whole thing got even crazier.
Then at 6:35 pm I was told (and reported) that Blake had decided NOT to waive his NTC. I thought it may have been Anaheim, but I never knew for certain.
It wasn't until sometime during this past summer that I was told the team that was involved that night was San Jose.
Well, this time may be different for Rob Blake.
The question really is more on San Jose who will need to give prospects to a hated rival for a shot.
I am told that San Jose is leading the way in the Blake sweeps and may just do it.
I want to be very clear about something as well.
In my last blog where I used one word to describe all thirty teams, I used what some perceived as my most negative word "ennui" to describe the Sharks.
I use this term out of frustration and concern for a team that I put as one of my top three teams that I am a fan of in the NHL. I have followed the Sharks closely ever since my future wife-to-be worked in Sunnyvale California for three years in the early nineties. This past summer I spent three incredible days in San Jose covering the Wings/Sharks series and I wrote a glowing piece about the quality of this organization and the kindness and incredible access showed to me by Ken Arnold and company.
The Sharks have a truly incredible fanbase that has shown all the loyalty of an old-time hockey town. The city embraces the Sharks and has been living proof that the young business technology sector LOVES the sport of hockey in America. Good news for Hockey on the Internet, which is of course near and dear to my heart. NHL.com has proven that hockey on the internet is VERY much a big-time sector.
NHL.com is among the top 1,000 websites in the world, just slightly above mainstream publications like USA Today, and the 42 and 505th ranked sites in Canada and the US respectively.
The word
Ennui according to Dictionary.com is defined as:
a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom: The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui.
That is how I see this. Satiety is easy to understand given the Sharks consistency. The fans can not question the effort and the fact that the Sharks have been a contender for a long time now. But they have been the same for a long time, and the fact is, they are the perfect example of the age-old sports question, "Do you take a chance and go for it for one or two REAL SHOTS or stay consistent and hope that one of those years the matchups, the injuries, and the hot goalie align?"
There is no right answer to that question.
Moving for Rob Blake would be taking that chance that San Jose has never done before.
And I think it's time. The Sharks are a sleeping giant that has shown in some important games that they can dominate and swarm (no pun intended). Other nights they do just enough to get by, which is what the state of ennui is about. Without something to shock you out of it, ennui is a scary place for teams or people in general.
Joe Thornton's rep of being an incredible player who is able to walk away smiling from a loss or a win equally plays into this perception around the league. I think that is a bit unfair on Joe, since there are people everywhere that say the ability to manage your highs and lows is the key to success. Half empty or half full argument really.
I think I was hard on the Sharks because I have seen them at their best and sat in that building during a playoff game and listened to a crowd that is every bit as loud as any arena anywhere. The Sharks fans are starting to get a little tired of losing in the second round, but at the same time the argument can be made that only four teams get that far. So it is tough to really call the team out or ask for more. It can always be excused with injuries or running into a hot goalie, freak posts in double OT, or Robert Lang scoring on a knuckler with seconds to go.
That's just my thoughts.
More rumours to come as the day goes along...feel free to ask your "what the ek?" questions as well for answering tomorrow.
Tomorrow we really kick this pre-deadline stuff a notch with only two weeks to go.
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