Sharks Do Next to Nothing to Improve Roster

The San Jose Sharks were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs this past season after having been one of the top teams in the Western Conference all during the regular season.

The club promises changes but it seems things have only become stranger as the off-season wears on.

There has been speculation about the future of Joe Thornton with San Jose. If he is not traded, which would be a big change in the plans from the Thornton camp, then it might be a change in his leadership role.

On this particular day, Thornton is the captain of San Jose, but Todd McLellan the team’s head coach has proposed a change for the upcoming season.

McLellan asked what would take place if no one wore the “C” on their uniform this season. He said the team would still be the Sharks and we would all lead as a group.

McLellan said being a captain is a decision made as organization and one that his coaching staff would take part in deciding, but his comments lead one to believe San Jose is open to making a change in player leadership.

McLellan however did say that Thornton remains the captain for now but some decisions will be made going forward.

The Sharks entered the offseason with change on their mind and that included trading Patrick Marleau or Thornton or both, find a new goalie and turnover 50% of the roster. Doug Wilson the GM wanted to start from the bottom and work up with a new set of players.

However, the only thing the Sharks have done thus far in the offseason is – NOTHING. Not quite completely nothing, they signed Michael Haley and John Scott two enforcers, but still very close to NOTHING.

The team did part ways with Drew Remenda the popular analyst on television who was in the broadcast booth for all Sharks games.

The Sharks organization may have overreacted to their loss to Los Angeles in the postseason, as the club remains a very talented team.

The team likely does not need any form of rebuilding from the bottom up or top down, just because they were defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions in seven games.

However, the front office made it quite clear they wanted big change, but then they just sign two enforcers and Marleau and Thornton remain in Sharks uniforms.

Of course, both have no-trade clauses in their contracts, making it harder to deal them, but that was known to Wilson before he started talking about making wholesale changes to the roster.

The Sharks remain a talented team but the players and coaches and quite possibly the front office do not know where the team is headed or what plans are on the horizon.

This has definitely caused some to label San Jose as having made the strangest offseason decisions in the NHL.

Of course, things could change including trading away Marleau and Thornton, but that likelihood is remote.

What is likely to happen is Thornton will remain in a Sharks’ uniform with the “C” on his jersey and the team will once again have a strong regular season.