Brent Burns
Brent Burns is in line for a massive season that could finally put that Burns-to-forward nonsense in the past for good. With Paul Martin as his wingman, and a full season back as a defender under his belt, Burns could be doing quite a bit of impressing this year. It will be interesting to see how the Burns-Martin pair pans out – if that’s what happens, and sticks. Of all the line combinations – forward or defense – this is the one I’m the most excited to see.
The Captain Poll
Last Sunday was the captain poll. Here are the results one week later (1404 votes).
Joe Pavelski – 406 Joe Thornton – 387 Marc-Edouard Vlasic – 251 Brent Burns – 166 Logan Couture – 142 Patrick Marleau – 52
It’s pretty clear that Pavelski and Thornton are in a class of their own amongst the voters, accounting for nearly 60% of the voting. I was shocked at how much love Burns received for the captaincy, and shocked at how little Marleau was regarded in that thought. Nonetheless, Pavelski is your fan-voted Sharks captain, with Thornton and Vlasic by his side.
Thornton/Marleau
Everyone knows that Thornton and Marleau have stated they want to retire Sharks, but will they? It’s hard to ignore the rumors in the past of Wilson wanting them both gone, but was obviously bound by the contract details he gave them in the first place. When the Sharks were in a re-build for those couple of months it seemed like there was no way either would be given another contract in teal – essentially that Wilson was just going to move on after 2016-2017.
Now, with Martin signed for four years, and Ward signed for three, does Wilson keep Thornton and Marleau around because they’ll still be looking to win? I’d say Thornton stays for sure if they’re still competing, and I think Marleau’s status will be based on what he does to make people forget about last season – and if he doesn’t go up this year and regress again in the final year of his contract.
I think it will be a really hard sell to say the team is still looking to win if they let Joe Thornton walk because, let’s be honest, he’s still a very good hockey player and isn’t likely going to fall completely off the map in two years. He’s built to last another 2-3 year contract after this one expires.
This Week’s Poll
Let’s stick with the Thornton/Marleau narrative for this week. Should the Sharks keep them both? Just one? Who is it?
Thanks for reading.