San Jose Sharks Say Goodbye to Mike Grier and others. posted by Dan Vado

It’s July 1st and the NHL Free Agent season has begun. Our home team San Jose Sharks have begun the process of addition with a little subtraction letting several players go to make room for the player who will become the latest in a long string of players who will get the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Below is my look at the recent departures and whether I think the Sharks are Gonne Miss ‘Em (G) or Not Gonna Miss ‘Em (NG).

Marcel Goc (C): A former first round pick, Goc was one of several German players on the Sharks, Goc got off to a good start career-wise when, after spending the entire 03/04 season in Cleveland he was called up during the Sharks  2004 playoffs where he assisted on a clinching goal in the St. Louis series and scored the series-clinching goal against the Avalanche in the conference semi-finals. But, that seems to have been the high-point for Goc who never really had anything other than a mediocre regular season after that and has been particularly absent in the last two playoffs as he put up zero points in those last two Stanley Cup campaigns. Goc is a guy who really needs a change of scenery at this point, he is a good kid though so on a personal level he’s a G, but on the ice, particularly in the playoffs he’s an NG. 

Thomas Plihal (LW) - Given opportunities to make an impression, Plihal never did. He may end up back in the Sharks minor league system at some point as I do not see many NHL teams taking him other than to fill a roster spot. Sometimes it seemed like Plihal forgot to look for his on switch. NG

Detroit Red Wings say Bye bye to Chris Chelios posted by Dan Vado

The Detroit Red Wings announced that they would not be offering 47 year old D-Man Chris Chelios a new contract, ending his run with that team.

Watching Chelios in the last couple of years was amazing, here is a guy, virtually my age, banging away with the best and the youngest of them in the NHL. I am sure that, if he wanted to, he could find a slot on another team, but should he? I think no.

Chelios has a chance to go out virtually on top. While the Wings did not win the Stanley Cup this year, he still played a decent number of minutes and proved what a person could do when motivated and driven to stay in shape. He is an inspiration  to not just athletes, but to anyone approaching or just past middle-age who thinks getting out of the bed in the morning counts as a sit-up.

 He truly has nothing left to prove, so winding up playing on the third line in Tampa or Los Angeles would just put a black mark on his illustrious career. Chelios has a lot to offer hockey and he should find a way to stick around, but not as a player.

 But, who am I to say. 

San Jose Sharks Captains, look back and look forward. posted by Dan Vado

There is no equivalent to the NHL Captain in any other major US professional sport. The man who has a "C" on his sweater has a unique position, both in terms of rules and expectations. The team captain in hockey is the only player who is allowed to discuss penalties with a referee and he becomes the on-ice representative of the coach and the entire team, thus he is identified with the C (or an A for alternate captains who serve as sort of co-captains and can speak to the officials in place of the regular captain). You see these guys standing in front of the scorers tables waiting for the official to sort out penalties.
But the job also dictates that the Captain become the locker room leader of the team. Calling people out when they are not playing up to their abilities and making sure everyone is focused on the jobs and tasks at hand. The Sharks have had some interesting choices in terms of people who have had that C on their chest.
Doug Wilson, 1991–93No brainer here. The team brought Wilson into give the Sharks some leadership and legitmacy. Tough spot to come into, being the captain on an expansion team. Nobody expects much from the team and sometimes the players do not expect much from themselves. The thing I remember about the first Sharks teams was that they played with heart and passion, which I think was a reflection of their Captains influence. Wilson is now the GM and needs to find a way to ignite his team the way he did. I say he puts on his skates and gets out there with the boys and shows what a motivated player is capable of doing. Bob Errey, 1993–95Errey was an inspired choice, just as the trade to get him said "we mean to start winning" so did putting the C on his sweater serve notice to all the players on the team that it was time to have a winning attitude. Sharks make the playoffs for the first time under his watch. His 16 keys to playoff success should be read by the entire current Sharks roster, especially #11: Play Bigger. Jeff Odgers, 1995–96Odgers was a logical choice after Errey from an emotional point of view. He was a gamer, hard-nosed, respected by his teammates and good in the locker room. But, sometimes you need your captain to put the team on his shoulders, and he was not up to that task. Had he stuck around he probably would have wound up being a healthy scratch most of the time, and you can't have your Captain up in the pressbox. Still, even THAt would have been an improvement over what followed.
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Western Conference Rolls Along! posted by Joshua Tarkoff

I have a confession to make. I love the Canucks. I really have loved them ever since the worst trade in NHL history when my beloved Panthers gave Luongo away for nothing. I know he is great and that team has a ton of fast guys with a lot of talent. For some reason, I really want them to win. What a job they did last night finishing off the Blues. Hey some big time people picked the Blues to win, since they were so hot coming down the stretch. So,no prediction is even needed for Vancouver. All I know is, I do not know of any team that wants to face the Canucks in the 2nd round.

Onto the series that are still going on...Sharks/Ducks. What a series this is. I think this is the best one we have going (no disrespect to NJ/CAR). It is a bit tough in Florida to be able to watch all of this series, but every second that I have seen has been awesome. Huge hits, I mean huge and every goal has been hard fought. I think this series will come down to who makes the least number of mistakes. That was especially true last night. Both teams are solid and the difference is going to be very small. I have to go with SJ here, they did not win President's trophy for nothing. 7 games, but this will take its toll on whoever ends up winning here.

Detroit is quietly doing its championship thing as usual. They really are an amazing organization. For years I know I have thought they were too old, but somehow they keep on doing it. Hossa this year has been a huge add on and he continues to shine in the playoffs. The series with the Bluejackets will not last much longer, although I must give them a hand for making it into the playoffs this year. It is just unfortunate that they ran into Detroit. 

Blues are Surging in Wild, Wild West posted by Jeff Ponder

Just a few weeks ago, the St. Louis Blues could not find a way to win when it was needed, and were considered to be out of the playoff picture by almost everyone.  But a recent rush by this young team has proven otherwise.  After wins against Los Angeles, Vancouver and two huge wins against Columbus in a home-and-home series, this team looks serious about a playoff push.  They are now clinging to the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.

There are many factors as to why this team has been rejuvenated as of late.  “The Kid Line,” consisting of youngsters David Perron, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, has terrified opposing goaltenders night in and night out, the defense has stepped up their play and Chris Mason has been stellar between the pipes.  The most important reason for the success of this team has been the damaging team play.  Every line is finally clicking and every player is contributing in their own way.

The Kid Line has been the offensive force driving the Blues right now.  This line has been broken up many different times this season due to poor fore-checking and the inability to connect on passes.  But they seem to have brought it all together, scoring nineteen points in their last four games between all three players.  T.J. Oshie provided possibly the goal of the year against Vancouver last Thursday, when he beat many defenders singlehandedly, then roofed it over a sprawled Roberto Luongo.  Perron scored on the game-clinching fourth shootout round against Columbus Saturday night in St. Louis.  Berglund provided the Blues’ big fourth goal against Columbus on Sunday, slamming a backhand against standout rookie goalie Steve Mason. All three players have been spectacular, and are expected to stay that way in the Blues’ last six games of the regular season.
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Sharks decline to extend offers to 3 forwards

The San Jose Sharks are beginning a roster makeover by declining to make qualifying offers to forwards Marcel Goc, Tomas Plihal and Lukas Kaspar.All three forwards played much of last season for the Sharks, who finished with the NHL's best regular-season record before losing their first-round playoff series to Anaheim.Goc, a first-round draft choice by San Jose in 2001, scored 11 points in 55 games with the Sharks last season. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for NHL

Sharks move to cut ties with 3 forwards (AP)

The San Jose Sharks are beginning a roster makeover by declining to make qualifying offers to forwards Marcel Goc, Tomas Plihal and Lukas Kaspar. All three forwards played much of last season for the Sharks, who finished with the NHL's best regular-season record before losing their first-round playoff series to Anaheim. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Claude Lemieux becomes American citizen (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports