Game Thread: #35 - San Jose at LA - 7:30PM

[MrFlyingV]

btw, a slump is a slump but the sharks are under .500 over the last 2 months. its not a bad couple weeks, it's a bad 1/4 of a season...

I really wanna see the sharks moving havlat. Eventually torres will be back and havlat has added nothing to the lineup. The sharks are 10-11 since he came back. He is expensive and lazy, and the sharks really need to continue the restock.

Time for the fire sale to begin? If this keeps up....soon.

 

[sjrules99]

Time for the fire sale to begin? If this keeps up....soon.

I dont think they need or will execute a firesale. The big names are not moving. No way dougie can move any of the big three ufas during a year in which the team is likely to make the PO's. Its GM suicide and the fans wouldnt accept it.

Whats needed is a jettisonin of extra pieces. Start with havlat. The sharks probably only need torres healthy and one top pairing Dman to have a full roster. However, I think dougie needs to have a heart to heart with Todd about the team's consistency, or lack thereof. Last year, they started gangbusters, the slacked and barely made the PO's. This year, the started gangbusters, but are sub .500 the past 2 months and are only 6 points (minus one game) from being out of the PO's. If they play the rest of the year the way they are now, there is a very fair chance that they will not make the PO's. Minny, Vancouver and Phoenix are nipping at the heals and only 2 of those 3 can make the PO's. One more 5 game losing streak and the sharks will be outside looking in. Now, part of it is that they have played 20 road games and only 15 at home. Since their hot start, they are 3 games under .500 on the road, but have still been pretty strong at home, so having some home time should help.

I think the issue this year is not necessarily one of the roster but one of work ethic. However, moving forward, the roster will become more of a problem as the aging ones age more. i think dougie needs to start adding sub 25 year olds to the team very quickly. nieto and hertl are promising, and I guess tarasov, tierney, and a few others have an outside chance, but the sharks have dealt much of their depth, so I would love to see them use the bounty they have now (particularly havlat and maybe one of the elder Dmen) and add some better pieces to the franchise.

hell, if nothing else, dealing havlat could at least give the team a little jolt. I suppose the hertl injury makes this much harder to do in the near term, but I would still love to see it.