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Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Winning record a realistic goal
By George Johnson
Special to ESPN.com
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There is a faction out there which considers the Sharks a dark horse Stanley Cup candidate. That seems more than a trifle far-fetched, but the Real Teal have enough resources to continue their climb up the league's pecking order.
Last year, they upended the President's Trophy-winning St. Louis Blues in the first round of playoffs, shocking everyone outside – and most people inside – Silicon Valley.
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Wed., Sept. 27
Contract holdouts are a big problem in San Jose. Steve Shields finally signed after missing most of training camp, but Owen Nolan continues to be a holdout. Holdouts are extremely disruptive to a team, and Nolan is the All-Star and go-to player. It reminds me of the Buffalo Sabres, who had a number of holdouts and suffered for it last season. They never got things going. The same thing could happen in San Jose. Players who miss training camp don't get rolling right away and struggle. The Sharks barely made the playoffs last year. They can't struggle at the beginning of the season and start throwing away points. |
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This year, they want more. The goals are simple: Put together their first winning regular season and go deeper into the postseason.
The one big problem remains unsigned captain Owen Nolan, looking to double his $2.75 million salary. And coming off last year, he's got every right to a substantial pay hike: 44 goals, 84 points, 110 penalty minutes, six game-winning goals and 261 shots. He was nothing sort of magnificent, the leader and offensive sparkplug management had envisioned when they first acquired him.
A new dedication to fitness sparked Nolan's breakthrough season, and there is concern that depending upon when he and the Sharks do come to an agreement, it might take him a while to get the engine up to speed. This is a delay the Sharks simply cannot afford, not if they're going to challenge the Coyotes for second in the Pacific.
Team management has been careful to bring in the right sort of veteran to go along with its young guard. That wasn't the case earlier in the franchise's history, when name value alone seemed enough to try and force someone into the mix. Now, compatibility within the framework is of paramount importance – witness Mike Ricci, Vincent Damphousse and Gary Suter. No more is there a caste system within the dressing room. And if coach Darryl Sutter can be a bit aloof and prickly at times, his unbending will to win has rubbed off on the entire organization.
It's a dusty cliché, of course, trotted out by coaches who've run out of things to say, but in this case it's true: The Sharks have good chemistry.
So, while they might not be teetering on the edge of Stanley Cup glory quite yet, the Sharks are more than capable of causing some of the upper-end teams a good amount of trouble and of improving their point total for the fifth consecutive season.
And yes, even reaching the .500 mark for the first time in franchise history.
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Bottom Line on the Sharks
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Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Brad Stuart
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Coaching style
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Owen Nolan
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Steve Shields
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Mix of youth, experience
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SEASON OUTLOOK: Assuming the Sharks get Nolan signed soon, that magical .500 mark is there for the taking. If Patrick Marleau ever steps up the way Nolan, Jeff Friesen and Brad Stuart have, the Shark Tank will really start rocking.
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George Johnson covers the NHL for the Calgary Herald. His NHL National column appears every week during the season on ESPN.com.
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ALSO SEE
Phoenix Coyotes preview
Dallas Stars preview
Anaheim Mighty Ducks preview
Los Angeles Kings preview
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