San Jose Sharks: 5 Reasons Why This is the Year the Sharks Will Finally Win the Stanley Cup

For years experts have been picking the San Jose Sharks to win the Stanley Cup and have continuously been wrong.

Getting knocked out early and “choking” have added pressure for them to bring the cup to Northern California. That pressure is being felt by Doug Wilson, the general manager, who is not satisfied with two consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals and made big changes this offseason.

Why is this year different from the past?

Here are 5 reasons why this is the year the Sharks will finally win the Stanley Cup.

1: Two-way Players: The offseason additions of Brent Burns and Martin Halvat will pay off and make General Manager Doug Wilson look like a genius at the season’s end. Not only is Burns a great defender and Havlat a great winger but they both are great on the other end of the ice.

Brent Burns is another Dan Boyle type defenseman who can move the puck into the offensive zone and create scoring chances, resulting in less pressure on the forwards to score. Having Boyle on the same line as Marc-Edouard Vlasic gives the Sharks the luxury of pairing Burns with Douglas Murray and allows them to have two offensive minded defenseman on the ice for the majority of the game.

Martin Havlat has been a nice fit for the Sharks so far, starting his career in teal with a four game point streak and tallying 8 points in his first 11 games.  Havlat should finish with 20 goals and 40 assists, but he could show how valuable he really is on the defensive end, where he has been stellar thus far.

He uses his speed on both ends of the ice and knows where to be at all times, helping create chances on offense from his solid defense.

2: Blue line depth: This is the best set of defenders the Sharks have ever had on their roster. The top four of Dan Boyle, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Brent Burns and Douglas Murray are as good as any in the NHL but the talent does not stop there.

The young talent of Jason Demers, who had an impressive postseason last year before hurting his ankle, and Justin Braun to go along with the two veteran free agent acquisitions of Colin White and Jim Vandermeer give them depth to overcome an injury or two and allow them to stay fresh for a long playoff run.

3: Versatility: The Sharks have the privilege of being able to shuffle lines to create a match up nightmare with any team in the NHL. Opening night their top line included three centers: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski.

Add sophomore stud Logan Couture and you have 4 quality centers which you can insert on any of the top three lines, giving an opposing team a tough task to match up with that kind of depth.  They can also match up with any team in the NHL given their size and speed.

4: Young talent: Once in the playoffs the Sharks will not need to rely on the big names of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle anymore.

They have Joe Pavelski who has played like a superstar in the last two postseasons to go along with Logan Couture, who looks to build off his outstanding rookie season.

These two players can create scoring chances and help the big guys put points on the board, bringing offense from the second and third lines.

5: The pieces of the puzzle connect: The Sharks finally have a team with no weaknesses. They have a good defense, plenty of firepower on offense, a Stanley Cup winning goaltender, a power play that can be lethal and a solid penalty kill unit.

They also have room for a move at the trade deadline if they need to add another piece to the puzzle. According to CapGeek.com, they have just over $1.8 million in salary cap space which could come in handy if anyone on the current roster gets hurt.

In the past their defense has been soft at times, hurting them in the playoffs but Brent Burns helps solve that problem.  Another new face, Martin Havlat, adds a player to the roster that has had career postseason success which should be an upgrade from Dany Heatley, who battled injuries in the last two postseasons causing him to play at a sub-par level.

The captain, Joe Thornton, was a monster in the playoffs last year, raising his game to a level which it has never been at before. 

With the addition of two-way players, improved blue line, versatility, young talent, cap space and a determined captain the Sharks will take their turn hoisting the Cup in 2012.

By: Michael Christie

Follow me on twitter @christiemichael

San Jose Sharks - Quick Glimpse of the 3-0 Road Trip

Every season, a team can go on a streak, either for winning or for losing…the sharks hit a small one at the beginning. For having such a talented team like San Jose, it does not sit well for fans as the Sharks enter a road trip going 1-3-0 anchored at the bottom of the division. But road trips can give surprising results, as the San Jose Sharks are now 4-3-0, on a 3 game winning streak, its seems a little trip was just what the team needed to jump start what was called a struggling offense.

Before the road trip had started the Sharks had faced the ducks, twice, and the St. Louis Blues. Each a different goalie that decided to “stand on their head” as the Sharks peppered each goaltender with more than 30 shots each, taking 3 losses in that span.

Now it seems the Sharks have conquered the so called “hot goaltender curse” and have been loving to play against the “big name” goaltenders, as they have beaten out All Stars such as Tim Thomas and Pekka Rinne!

In their first game against the Devils the Sharks were being shut out 2-0 by their goaltending replacement in Johan Hedberg. Big Joe Thornton decided to show why he is has been playing in 1000 games, as he scored the first goal for the Sharks.  Then the goal scoring machine “jump started,” as clutch goals were scored by Ryane Clowe with 4 minutes left in the 3^rd to bring the Sharks closer to tying the 3-2 game. This is when Joe Pavelski, with 33 seconds left in regulation, decided  to show why he such an important piece to the top 6 by scoring the game tying 3^rd goal and bringing the game to the shootout where Michal Handzus and Ryane Clowe sealed the game with shoot out goals, ultimately winning the game 4-3.

After a clutch game against the Devils, one would think San Jose would be ecstatic but a little tired as they faced the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. Yet the Sharks controlled the pace for the first 2 periods holding the Bruins to 0 goals and having Joe Pavelski score the first goal and Logan Couture scoring the second (his first). In the 3^rd period, Milan Lucic capitalized on defensive lapses by Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray to score one passed Niemi to make 2-1. The scoring did no end there; in less than a minute the Bruins scored again as Tyler Seguin caught a pass from Lucic and beat Niemi to tie up the game at 2-2. Thomas was holding down his fort as the Sharks tried to put more pressure back on in 3^rd period and finally Massachusetts Native Benn Ferriero scored off of a nice rebound to score the game winning goal. In the end the Sharks would win 4-2, scoring another as Patrick Marleau scored his first of the year on an empty net.

The Sharks were given a day off to rest before facing the Predators and everything seemed great as they sat on a 2 game win streak. The offense was working, Niemi is playing great, the defense was doing well…all great for the Sharks and their fans. The bad news hit when Nashville announced they would have Mike Fisher back and Francis Boullion. Mike Fisher is an excellent 2 way player and an expert on faceoffs while Boullion is a good strong Defenseman who is returning from a concussion. This game was going to be emotional for the Preds.

Last year each game was won by a 1 goal margin. This game was going to be a hard fought defensive grind it out type of game, which is the Predator style. In the beginning the pairing of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter were sent out, shutting down the Sharks top line. It was not until a penalty against Justin Braun, where a goal was finally scored. Logan Couture caught a nifty pass from Marty Havlat, who is on a point per game pace, and scored short handed! There were puck battles and hits but no goals were scored again until the 3^rd period. The Predators had a weak power play, but this did not stop the youngster, Craig Smith, from scoring on it. The game was tied 1-1 and Joe Pavelski again decided he would be the Sharks go to guy and scored the next 2 goals to win the game 3-1 and with assists from Thornton on both goals. Big Joe now joined an elite class with 700 career assists!

There are ups and downs in a season. Thankfully the Sharks are on the upside for this road trip with a 3 game win streak. San Jose’s next game is against Detroit, who is itching to get back at the Sharks for bouncing them from the play offs 2 years in a row.

This will be a game to watch!

-Justin Stefani

Thornton's Thick Head Nearly Costs Perron His

You have got to admire San Jose Shark Joe Thornton for his persistance and stubbornness, which are both clearly beyond reproach. On Thursday night, no sooner does he get out of the box for a boarding call on Saint Louis Blue T.J. Oshie does he take out Oshie's teammate David Perron.

Clearly his determination to get a game misconduct last night was surpassed only by his career-long desire to eventually win a Stanley Cup. Well, at least he got one of them. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were him on the other, especially when he's got the mental capacity of a slow-witted goldfish to learn from his mistakes.

No Blues were injured during the filming of this clip. Perron eventually scored the team's second goal in what would be a 2-0 victory. If only there had been some way for the Sharks to boost their offensive output, like not have their leading scorer leave the game early following a boneheaded play of the bush-league variety.

Feeding Frenzy in San Jose Inevitable after Thornton Named Captain

Joe Thornton was named captain of the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Reasons why? If his well-documented inability to win come crunch time wasn't enough, clearly it's because his toughness is beyond reproach. As you can see in this reinactment of David and Goliath, the Sharks' new capitain clearly lost to someone three feet shorter and two-hundred pounds lighter.The ironic part is that these two street fighters are now teammates, It might be a leap, but I'm guessing Scott Nichol didn't vote for Jumbo Joe. But, if it doesn't work out, the Sharks still have a competent leader in assistant Patrick Marleau to fall back on... oh, wait...