Another 7-2 beat-down courtesy of the St. Louis Blues.
Things were all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows while Marc-Edouard Vlasic was playing the role of hero with last second game winning goals over the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild after the first massacre the Blues committed on a Sharks team playing without Joe Thornton.
Those two wins have to be taken in context. The Winnipeg Jets are 8th in the West and the Minnesota Wild are 12th. They are average hockey teams, much like San Jose right now, and that's not a knock on either team or their compete level - that's just truth and it's the Sharks truth as well. Two points are two points but when you’re looking for a reason to feel better about Joe Thornton it shouldn't come from beating two average teams with last second goals while being completely demolished by an above average team – twice.
Yes, they won two games without Thornton – it was bound to happen; teams don’t go 0-for-whatever without one single player. What happens, though, when you remove arguably the best player on the team is that the level of play drops. That was evident in all of the last four San Jose Sharks games.
Most notably, the powerplay is atrocious without Thornton – 1/19 (5.3%) – with their only goal coming against the Jets in a game they had 7(!) opportunities.
Second on my captain obvious list is the Sharks possession during the last four games.
The Sharks score-adjusted fenwick for those four games is a filthy 43.7. Let’s put that in context, too. The Buffalo Sabres have the league’s worst SAF this year at 36.9. Second worst belongs to the Colorado Avalanche at 44.6. See where this is going? It’s not good. The Sharks are noticeably bad without Thornton; even using the eye-test would tell you that.
So, what does this all mean in the greater scheme of things?
It means the San Jose Sharks roster isn’t built to operate sufficiently without Joe Thornton – and that’s a really bad thing. I’m not saying the Sharks should be able to perform at the same level as they do without their best player, what I’m saying is that the on-ice product shouldn't be the equivalent of walking blindfolded toward the edge of the Grand Canyon.
It’s obvious the powerplay is centered around Thornton – there’s not much of a debate there. While everyone is healthy that’s a great plan but clearly not so fabulous when 19 is missing. That’s not on the players, that’s on McLellan. I’m not going to blame the players for a poor powerplay because their whole existence with the Sharks powerplay has been get-Joe-puck, see-Joe-pass, watch-box-crumble, shoot-Joe’s-pass-into-net. Now they just pass the puck around aimlessly and watch it float back to their end of the ice.
Going even deeper it’s easy to see that, with one player making such an impact, Doug Wilson has some major problems – possibly bigger than previously thought.
What’s the expected return if the Sharks traded Thornton? Decent roster player, good prospect, 1st round pick? Don’t laugh, if David Perron gets a roster player and a first then Joe Thornton is definitely worth at least the previously stated items.
The point is, which one of those pieces is going to help the Sharks right away? The answer is none. None of them replaces 19 within the current Sharks gameplan which means trading Thornton is essentially entering a rebuild – however large or small.
But there’s a problem: Thornton isn't going anywhere. He’s not waiving his NTC and – despite being horribly treated by management/coaching – he happens to like playing in San Jose. The old saying “anyone can be traded… is moot now that there are NTC’s being handed out like candy. Trading him isn’t an option, so the only real option is for Doug Wilson to take a long, hard look at what he’s constructed and hit the drawing board.
As it stands right now the Sharks might make the playoffs but they are in no position to contend for anything without adding some pieces. Maybe Doug Wilson enjoys being mocked for playoff failures? The fan base sure doesn’t – the empty seats will tell you that. This team isn’t performing as designed, so the design has to change. There are limited options for who can be traded – and who should be – but those options have to be explored to better this team for the playoffs this year because the guy everyone wants to trade isn’t getting traded.
The Sharks have to be a now team, whether Wilson likes it or not, so the GM might as well operate as such and starting making phone calls to fix what’s wrong with this team.
Thanks for reading.