How To Fix The Sharks This Offseason With Three Key Decisions
The NHL playoffs are starting, and the San Jose Sharks will watch from home for the first time in 11 years. The franchise has never won a Stanley Cup, but the team has had tremendous success by consistently making the postseason.
After a heart-breaking first round loss to the Los Angeles Kings last year, General Manager Doug Wilson made several head-scratching roster moves that lead to their first poor season in more than a decade.
Here are three key decisions Wilson and the rest of the front office need to make this summer if they wish to turn the franchise around:
3. Does Antti Niemi return in the Sharks net?
The Sharks have a long history of solid netminders dating back to Arturs Irbe and Evgeni Nabokov. Niemi has done a great job in his four years with the Sharks, but he has been inconsistent, and the Sharks may look elsewhere this offseason.
Either way, the front office needs to make a decision and stick to it if they want a consistent goalie in the long run.
2. Who wears the 'C'?
This is perhaps the most pressing from a team standpoint. The Sharks managed to go a whole season without a captain. Sure, they had four alternate captains in Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, but there was a visibly strong lack of leadership in the locker room.
Stripping Thornton of the role last year and not appointing a replacement was a coward's way of going through the process. To make it worse, it was a strong indication the Sharks had little to no direction.
Sharks, do yourself a favor and pick Pavelski.
1. Should Wilson be fired?
Let's be honest, despite owning a previous reputation as a smart and aggressive general manager, Wilson has made some of the worst decisions in Sharks history over the past year. Fans are wanting him fired and far away from this team, but it may be easier said than done for the former captain of the Sharks.
This will be a decision left up for the owners, but it can make or break the franchise.