The Agony and the Ecstasy 2 - Electric Boogaloo

The evening could not have started better. Good steaks, beers, the stiffest jack and coke I've ever had, winning a Patrick Marleau-signed souvenir stick- all the makings of a great night. Then the Sharks played.

The atmosphere in the Tank was hyped up in anticipation of a good matchup, and while the game stayed close and well contested, the Sharks were never really in it. The Sharks probably had two, maybe three decent scoring chances. That's besides the "dump it towards Giguere and see what happens" style of chances. No odd-man rushes that I saw, no breakaways, no strong moves in tight. The Sharks just can't create offensively.

The Ducks are the better team. They match up physically with the Sharks, have better scoring threats and better D. They cashed in on two of three breakaways, and that was the game.

With Cheech, JR, and Clowe out, the Sharks are seriously hurting for goals (not that Cheech has really contributed in that department this year). As long as the Sharks are in the 20s in scoring (as of now, they are 23rd out of 30 teams in goals scored) they don't have a prayer in going far in the playoffs. Everything will just get tighter as the season progresses. If Marleau, Cheech, and Michalek catch fire, it all might turn out ok. But unless and until that happens, the Sharks are worse than Dallas, Detroit, and Anaheim in the West. We'd be looking at another 4-5 or 6-3 matchup, which today would mean the Avs or Wild. Then Detroit, then the Ducks. Does anybody honestly think the Sharks could win those three series in a row?

It way too early to really think about that. But Ron Wilson needs to start putting some effort and practice time into putting the biscuit in the basket. If the Sharks still can't do that in a month's time, the other Wilson needs to find some players who can.

P.S. I swear I didn't read this article before I wrote the last post. Synchronicity, eh? It warms the cockles of my hockey heart to see that Carle has such a good attitude about his current predicament, and I'm that much more certain he'll be an impact player in the NHL.

The Agony and the Ecstasy

This is the mostly highly-anticipated game of the season for me. Grier and I plan on eating some steaks, having some drinks, and breaking down the Sharks (yet again) before the game tonight. I'll be wearing my plain Sharks jersey- Carle will likely be a healthy scratch. The game tonight is the ecstasy part.

But Carle is the agony part. I'll be honest- I'm getting a bit worried. I don't really care about the contract extension- I'm not paying the salary. It might put a bit of a crease in the Sharks' payroll plans if Carle doesn't pan out, but my concerns are different. To me, in his first season, Carle showed an insane amount of promise. He was confident with the puck, a good skater, competent passer, and eager to score goals. Those kinds of skills aren't gained once you are in the NHL. On the other hand, the defensive side of the puck often needs to be taught in the bigs. The list of players that turned from solely offensive threats into solid two-way players is long and distinguished.

So I was excited when I saw Carle's offensive upside. Sure, he wasn't exactly Nik Lidstrom in his own zone, but that comes (or can come) with time. Then the sophomore slump hit, and hit hard. The last month, Carle's ice time has become miniscule, with the few minutes he does play riddled with errors and poor judgement. He seems scared to try and create a scoring chance in fear of showing defensive liability. The other times, he sits in the press box.

In one way, Carle's signing to a multimillion dollar, multi-year extension may help him. If Carle was a 7th round draft pick 6 years ago, he would likely be in the minors or on waivers right now. The fact that the Sharks apparently believe (as I do) that Carle could turn into a top defensemen might just get him some more ice time than he rightfully deserves. For his and the Sharks' sake, I hope he can make the best of it. If he doesn't, he may very well become trade bait to a team that's willing to take a flyer. The clock is ticking.

I Just Can't Shut My Trap

What can I say, I get excited about Sharks hockey. And there's only one radio show. Here's my latest... I talk about the Carle contract, Sharks trade ideas, and the Kings matchup last Saturday (before it happened, of course). Don't forget to hear the part where I claim the Kings have "horrible goalie problems", and of course, LaBarbera played great, making 26 saves on 27 shots.

After that loser of a comment, I don't know why they'd want me back, but I'll be taking part in the "roundtable discussion" segment of the show this week, with Dan Rusanowsky (voice of the Sharks on radio). Don't kid yourself- I won't be going in cold, but I can always use help. If you have an interesting topic of discussion, or questions for Mr. Rusanowsky, please leave them in the comments. I'll bring them up if the discussion steers that way.

Great Job Doug Wilson!!!

Resigning Matt Carle is a great way to start the Thanksgiving break. Even though he has been in and out of the doghouse this year, Carle and Vlasic are the future of the Sharks blueline, along with Rivet and Ty Wishart. I think Wilson showed Carle a ton of confidence by making this deal and we could see the results immediately on the stat sheet. I know he got four years - and I'm going to guess he got around 14 million - a similar deal that New Jersey Devils defensemen Paul Martin got in the offseason.

Now Doug has to decide who is next on the list - do you extend Pavelski? Bernier? Do you extend Clowe now or wait and see how he comes back from injury? What does this mean for Ehrhoff and Goc? Well you know my opinion - I think all of these players, except Clowe, are available in trade market for an impact veteran. I think you keep Bernier, especially the way he has recently found out that checking people and standing in front of the net is a good thing for someone his size, and see what kind of impact player Ehrhoff and Pavelski can fetch. I think it could net someone pretty good.

Okay. That's really it from me until after Saturday's game, barring some major news to discuss. Happy Thanksgiving!