Sharks System Playoff Notes:
The Worcester Sharks can clinch a playoff berth with a Springfield loss or a Sharks win on Friday. The reinforcements should be in the lineup after being reassigned two days ago by San Jose.
As expected, #SJSharks reassign Tierney, Lerg, Fedun and Stollery to Worcester for their playoff push
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzCSN) April 12, 2015Wouldn’t it be fun if Worcester fell to 8th place and got the Manchester Monarchs in the first round? It would add a little excitement to things at the very least.
Julius Bergman’s London Knights are getting the snot beat out of them by Connor McDavid and most likely won’t see too much more hockey this year – but he does have 5 points in 9 games.
Kevin Labanc’s Barrie Colts are tied 1-1 with the North Bay Battalion. He has 3 points in 6 games so far in the playoffs.
Alex Schoenborn’s Portland Winterhawks are tied 1-1 in the second round series with the Everett Silvertips and Rourke Chartier’s Kelowna Rockets are up 2-love on Victoria. Chartier has 7 points in 6 games, Schoenborn has 3 points in 8 games.
Onward...
Todd McLellan has been confirmed as the head coach for Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships after a lot of speculation. He’ll be joined by Jay Woodcroft, Bill Peters and Peter DeBoer behind the bench.
This shouldn’t shock anyone because it’s been talked about for a bit now. A final few games worth of auditioning for a new job.
In his newest '30 Thoughts’ post, Elliotte Friedman had this nugget to pass along concerning the San Jose Sharks:
14. Word on potential San Jose changes could come down at any time, but a few sources indicate one of Doug Wilson’s suggestions is creating another layer between him and the coaching staff. He becomes President with a GM in the middle or something like that. If Todd McLellan is let go, he’ll be a hot commodity. (Sportsnet)
My favorite part is where the sources say “one of Doug Wilson’s suggestions…. That’s called finding a way to un-fire yourself.
It’s a thought many people have had on Wilson’s future – the whole hiding moving to a different role within the organization – that makes total sense.
There needs to be distance between Doug Wilson and the operation of this team moving forward. There are salty relationships at work and the best way for the Sharks to move on and get back to the playoffs is to have Wilson out of the picture. He can still sign his name on the back of the portrait, but he needs to keep his hands off the front of the canvas.
Such a move would make sense given the current GM is expected to speak and address issues tomorrow. Maybe he needed a few extra days to work out the details on his “promotion… with Hasso Plattner and allow Todd McLellan to get the confirmation on Team Canada before he officially let him go.
The only concern moving forward with a Wilson-promoted situation is how touchy-feely will he be with the people brought in below him? The risk here is that he can’t let go of the power and his ego takes over. It’s a risk the Sharks have to take, though, because the alternative of him staying as the GM isn’t good. He’s run his course. Enough of that for now, we’ll find out tomorrow (?) what’s happening in Shark-land.
In case you haven't read the first two parts of my fantastic season review, here you go:
Part Three will be up tomorrow, something along the lines of 'Six Flags San Jose'.
Thanks for reading.