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A Pavelski Worth of Thoughts: Hall, Stadium Series, McLellan and more

December 17, 2014, 11:21 AM ET [125 Comments]
Tim Chiasson
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Sharks are still enjoying some extended time between games so let's talk about a Pavelski's (8) worth of topics.

1. Kings/Sharks Stadium Series Jersey’s: When the Sharks unveiled their jersey’s I wasn’t impressed. When the Kings unveiled theirs I felt much better. I’m not sure what either team was going for when they accepted these designs but I feel like LA should have a fake tie instead of their logo to go with a top hat and a cane for a stick. Both organizations have failed.

2. Taylor Hall: Hall’s being thrown under the bus by the media and whether or not it’s just by the media there’s no difference. The only good thing in Edmonton since they drafted Hall was Hall himself. If he’s available there are going to be 29 teams inquiring about the cost, including San Jose. While the price is most likely too steep for the Sharks – and an inter-division trade involving a superstar is unlikely - it’s at least worth a phone call to see where the Oilers stand. I’m not going to speculate beyond that because the whole idea of him being traded is insane.

3. McLellan’s Job Security: It’s pretty obvious that Todd McLellan has avoided an extended Christmas vacation after the string of games the Sharks just put together. I’d bet that the talk of him losing his job is all but done for the 2014-2015 season and will be revisited in the offseason unless the Sharks win the Stanley Cup.

4. All-Star Voting: This is a pure joke. The amount of terrible players that are littering the leaderboards is disgusting. I’ve always been on the fence about the All-Star game, but each year I cave and watch the madness anyway. This season I refuse to watch it for the sole reason that I don’t want to watch the Buffalo Sabres play hockey when I don’t have to.

5. Mirco Mueller and the WJHC: The Sharks need to let him play. He’s wasting away in the press-box more often than not lately and it’s a terrible decision. Let him go play for his country and remember what being on the ice feels like. If the Sharks plan on using Mueller in the lineup only 50% of the time he’s better off heading back to junior for the second half of the season.

6. Matt Nieto: Nieto is still nursing an ankle injury and won’t be in the lineup when the Sharks play the Oilers tomorrow night. I’d hope that he’s ready to go for the St Louis Blues on Saturday because the Sharks are going to need his excellent possession play after the Edmonton game.

7. Stadium Series Reality Show: EPIX is the new HBO for following teams every move this year and the Stadium Series television debut is on February 3rd for the Los Angeles Kings vs San Jose Sharks portion of the NHL’s latest money-grab.

8. Bottom Six Depth: Don’t let the recent swing of games fool you. The Sharks still need some help and it’s mostly in the center position in the bottom six. If your solution is Pavelski - a.k.a destroying the top six - then go ahead and slap yourself before you continue. I’m a fan of James Sheppard in the bottom-six but he’s probably more suited for the fourth line when everyone’s healthy and the fourth line isn't ugly, so the Sharks need a 3C. They have enough serviceable wingers when everyone is healthy to get by but Desjardins just hasn’t been getting it done down the middle. Is the answer Tierney? Probably not yet. Maybe the answer is as simple as putting Wingels in the middle and seeking an easier acquisition of a bottom-six winger.

If you were Doug Wilson, who would you go out and grab for the bottom-six?

The Sharks are back in action tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers as they look to continue their Western Conference climb.

Thanks for reading.


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