Wed Sep 24 14:49:30 2008

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2008-09 San Jose Sharks Preview

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(Sports Network) - After getting bounced out in the second round of the playoffs for the third straight season, can the San Jose Sharks still be considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender?

With the amount of talent peppered throughout the Sharks roster, it's difficult to say no, but at some point the team needs to come through when it counts.

A change may have been in order after the team was ousted in the 2007 postseason and Sharks general manager Doug Wilson nearly did fire Ron Wilson (no relation), but opted instead to give the head coach a last chance in 2007-08. Shortly after San Jose was knocked out in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars last spring, the GM fired Wilson and after a lengthy search selected Todd McLellan as the new bench boss.

McLellan was an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings over the last three years and won a Stanley Cup ring last season with the club. This will be his first head coaching job at the NHL level, but he did win a Calder Cup as the top man with the AHL's Houston Aeros in 2003.

Still, the Sharks players, especially leading-scorer Joe Thornton, are the ones who need to deliver on the ice in the postseason. Perhaps the firing of a popular head coach will get that message across.

FORWARDS - Thornton led the Sharks with 96 points during the 2007-08 regular season, giving him 41 points more than winger Milan Michalek, San Jose's next leading scorer.

That's a troubling sign for any club because it points to an obvious lack of scoring depth. However, San Jose believes it still has enough firepower on its roster to fix the problem, that is, if a few Sharks can rebound from down years last season.

Thornton has been well over a point-per-game player since coming over from Boston in a trade during the 2005-06 campaign. His 29 goals and 67 assists last season gives the 29-year-old a whopping 302 points in just 222 career games with San Jose. He also earned the Hart Trophy as the league MVP in 2006-07 after leading the NHL with 114 points.

Yet, the regular season credentials have not yet resulted in playoff success for the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 draft. It's not that Thornton has been bad in the postseason with the Sharks as he's notched 30 points in 35 games, but he's simply not as prolific.

A big problem for the Sharks has been the drop-off in production for winger Jonathan Cheechoo, who had 56 goals in 2005-06, but just 60 tallies in his next two seasons combined. The 28-year-old Cheechoo, who had 23 goals and 37 points last season, needs to regain his scoring touch for San Jose to be in top form.

Patrick Marleau, team captain and second-line center, also had a down year for the Sharks, recording just 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists) after notching 86 points in 2005-06 and 78 the following year. The 29-year-old also has just seven goals and seven assists in his last 24 postseason contests.

Third-line centerman Joe Pavelski had a promising sophomore NHL campaign last year, posting 19 goals and 40 points and the Sharks hope the 24-year-old continues to improve.

Michalek was the highest-scoring winger for San Jose with his 24 goals and 31 assists, and at just 23 years old, is likely going to get better.

A healthy Ryane Clowe could also go a long way to helping the Sharks with their scoring depth. A knee injury forced Clowe to miss all but 15 games during the 2007-08 regular season, but the left winger rebounded in the playoffs with nine points (5g, 4a) in 13 postseason contests.

San Jose has also brought veteran winger Jeremy Roenick for another campaign after the 38-year-old notched 14 goals and 19 assists a year ago. Roenick, who comes into this year with 509 career goals, has lost a step, but can still come through in the clutch as he proved with 10 game-winning goals last season.

DEFENSE - In addition to the coaching, Wilson made some moves to increase San Jose's defensive depth, which could make a team that ranked third in the NHL in goals allowed (2.28 per game) even stingier.

The Sharks pride themselves on their stable of young blueliners like Marc- Edouard Vlasic (21), Christian Ehrhoff (26) and Douglas Murray (28), but the GM felt adding three defensemen with experience in the offseason was essential to improving in the playoffs.

Dan Boyle was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay this summer and the 32-year- old is known as one of the better offensive blueliners in the game. Boyle scored 20 goals and posted 63 points two seasons ago with the Lightning, but a wrist injury limited him to just 37 games and 25 points (4g, 21a) last year. San Jose expects Boyle to be a boost as the team's power play quarterback, taking over the role from Brian Campbell, who was acquired at last year's trade deadline before signing with Chicago in the offseason.

Brad Lukowich, 32, also came over in the Boyle deal and will add depth and experience. He had seven points in an injury-plagued season with the Lightning last year.

The Sharks also signed Rob Blake to a one-year, $5 million deal. The 38-year- old is not the same player who won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defensemen for the 1997-98 campaign, but still managed to record 31 points (9g, 22a) in 71 games for Los Angeles last year. The 6-4, 225-pound Blake also brings a physical element to the game.

Vlasic, the 35th overall pick in the 2005 draft, has shown glimpses of brilliance, but needs to become more consistent. He had two goals and 12 assists while playing in all 82 games last season.

Ehrhoff had 22 points (1g, 21a) in 2007-08, while Murray added one goal and nine helpers.

GOALTENDING - Evgeni Nabokov had his finest season as an NHL goaltender in 2007-08 and was runner-up to legendary New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur for the Vezina Trophy.

Nabokov posted a career-high 46 wins and his 2.14 goals against average was also a personal best mark. He played well in the postseason, posting a shutout and a 2.18 GAA in 13 games.

The Sharks would like to cut Nabokov's number of starts down this year after the 33-year-old saw action in 77 regular-season games a season ago. San Jose picked up veteran netminder Brian Boucher off waivers from Philadelphia last year and is expected to use him more often in 2008-09.

Boucher played in five games with the Sharks in 2007-08 and was 3-1-1 with a 1.76 GAA and .932 save percentage.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Sharks will contend for the Pacific Division crown as well as the top seed in the Western Conference, but those goals don't mean much if the team can't carry over regular-season success to the playoffs. Fans in San Jose have patiently awaited this team to turn potential into a Stanley Cup title, but the club can't count on their support forever. If the Sharks fail to make a deep postseason run this year, it could be the GM Wilson's turn to take the fall just like his namesake did last season.