Brent Burns had a goal and an assist in his All-Star game appearance yesterday. Here’s the goal he scored in case you missed it.
Add #NHLAllStar goal to @burnzie88's hockey resume.
https://t.co/amPlqSqHa5
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 26, 2015Burns’ Team Foligno dropped a close one, 17-12, to Team Toews.
No Clear Direction
The Sharks come out of the All-Star break with no clear direction for where the team is headed.
Doug Wilson said prior to the season, and during, that the kids would get a chance to play. That’s sort of a true statement.
Had there not been injuries we may never have seen Melker Karlsson inserted into the lineup. Had the coach kept faith in Mirco Mueller – who often became a healthy scratch prior to the WJHC – we may not have seen Matt Tennyson brought up.
Eriah Hayes, Chris Tierney, Michael Haley and Freddie Hamilton have combined for 23 games.
John Scott plays nearly every second game on average. Andrew Desjardins has played 45 games with less than stellar results.
The fourth line is consistently a wash.
Nieto’s ice-time is up, but Hertl’s is down.
The kids are playing, but I’m not convinced it’s because it was Wilson’s big master plan for the season. I’m more inclined to believe the kids are playing by accident.
Moving toward the deadline the Sharks are fighting to keep position in the Western Conference and Wilson has stated they plan to make no moves for “rental players…. That’s fine. Wasting picks on players for a Cup run when you have no hope in hell to win the Cup isn't a good idea.
Any upcoming UFA is considered a rental player – but they don’t have to be. If the Sharks acquired, say, Andrej Sekera and re-signed him then he wouldn't be a rental player – and he’d be a huge boost to the defensive group. What’s wrong with making a move like that?
There is still a future for this team beyond this season and the odds of getting a better deal on a player in the offseason compared to extending them during the current year are about, well, zero.
After what we've seen this year it’s safe to say this club is missing more than a few pieces the way it’s currently designed.
Let’s say the Sharks need 95 points to make the playoffs. That means they need to go 18-13-3 over the remaining 34 games to get into the dance. In the last 34 games the Sharks have gone 18-12-4. It’s going to be close, Sharks fans.
So, what’s the plan?
I think the plan is the Sharks are hoping for a playoff berth with the current roster – and praying for a playoff round win. It’s all about dollars at this point. Everyone knows this team isn't good enough to win the Stanley Cup as it is and with Wilson unwilling to make moves to improve the club for this season we can consider this year a wash.
The only problem with writing off this season is that there’s no plan for next year, or the year after that.
There’s a misconception that deadline deals are solely for playoff pushes or rebuilds. That’s not the case. The deadline doesn't erase the ability to make a good hockey deal. Just because it’s February or March doesn't mean you can’t make a trade that you’d make in November or December to improve your team. Standing pat for the sake of standing pat is foolish.
To me, Wilson is saying that he has no clue what’s going on with this team and he’s going to spend the remainder of the year figuring out what he’s going to do. Maybe you should have done that during the offseason, Doug, instead of doing absolutely nothing to address any team needs.
I’m not saying the Sharks need to sell the farm to push for the playoffs. What I’m saying is they still need to improve and just because we’re inching towards the deadline doesn't mean that shouldn't happen. If there’s a player out there that can contribute to the Sharks now and in the future and they are a pending UFA then get them and sign them to an extension. Make a deal to improve the team. Give the fanbase a sense of direction.
Thanks for reading.