I debated just posting a really big poo emoji because it seemed like it would be the most appropriate and succinct way to wrap up the season that was. Sure, it wasn’t all bad, but there was a lot of not good, sub par, ok, total meh, and ehhh, could be better mixed in with the bad, and just a small sprinkling of good on top. But it was like that sugar coating baked goods have, where the minute you pick up the item, 3/4 of the sugar falls off onto your shirt and your like WTF pastry?! WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?!
*Ahem*
It started off great, with a win over LA which seemed to signal good things to come. The ghosts of the summer remained though, and the utter lack of right moves during it cost the Sharks their chance to make the playoffs for 11 seasons in a row. Hell, it cost them a chance to win a home game in February. Could a short month be more miserable? (Please, Sharks, don’t answer that.)
A sophomore slump by Hertl didn’t help, neither did Marleau having one of his worst years in history. I think even his Ron Wilson feud season was more productive. (I didn’t actually check this, but it sounds good and I’m tired so I’m sticking with it. You don’t come here for accuracy, do you?) Secondary scoring was wretched in general, and an obvious lack of chemistry on the ice lead to a lot of unsuccessful line juggling in an effort to spark something. Inconsistent D pairings utterly failed to protect the blue line more often that not. Only Vlasic looked good, and the Sharks did everything they could to make him look bad. He was the one good Dman they had, and it was painfully obvious. Nemo was average at best. Stalock had a great chance to step up and win the starter roll from Nemo, but he couldn’t muster much, and once again became the backup. Burns needs to be moved back to forward. He’s a liability on defense and gave up several key turnovers that cost the Sharks games. Games they needed to win.
The stupid Captaincy issue didn’t help. There was far too much drama going on off ice and it clearly hurt player performance. Some very dirty laundry was aired in March, when Doug Wilson spoke, perhaps honestly, but not wisely, at a season ticket holder event. The Sharks handled everything surrounding the removal of the C from Joe Thornton about as poorly as possible, and this event brought that back to the forefront. The only good thing to come out of it was the public realization that Thornton has the room, and no one seems remotely willing to try and take it from him. (save for Doug Wilson, and there’s clearly a lot more to that story than we’ll ever know.)
Speaking of Captaincy drama, can we talk about the Pavelski thing?
Ok, look, Sharks, we all knew Pavelski was next in line for the C after Thornton and Patty retired. It’s been obvious for years now that he’s the best candidate. Most of us were pretty ok with this idea. He’s a great player and he’s brought a lot of great things to San Jose. The way you guys shoved him down our throats though?
Not so nice.
It was the most passive aggressive sell on a captaincy ever. You couldn’t even GIVE HIM the C. Nope. Just spent a lot of time acting like he had it when he didn’t. No one did. That worked out great, don’t you think?
Just pick a damn Captain for next season. If nothing else, it will get people to shut up about it.
Maybe.
I don’t even think I have the energy to recap the stadium series game disappointment again, but it was at that moment that I knew this team wasn’t heading to the post season. The loss was a sign, a beacon, that the post season was not coming. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great event and I would totally go to another one, but to claim I wasn’t disappointed by the outcome would be a lie.
Sounds like we’ll know more about Todd McLellan’s future come Wednesday, when the Sharks meet for one last time to clean out their lockers and speak with the media. I also think Doug Wilson’s future is very much up in the air, as he’s made several public missteps this season, and they’ve been costly. I’m not sure we’ll hear much on that front until after the playoffs end. The Sharks could chose to blow everything up on Wednesday, but they’ve never been flashy so I can’t see them taking the Maple Leaf’s approach to things. Then again, this season has been about as unpredictable as it was awful, so watch me be wrong.
