How the Mighty Have Fallen: What's Next For The San Jose Sharks?

The San Jose Sharks came to abrupt end on Monday night.

The Anaheim Ducks shockingly eliminated the President Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks from the playoffs in the first round!

Now I needed to give myself a few days to let the dust settle. As a die-hard fan, I’m angry, embarrassed, and shocked—but mostly disgusted.

When you take a look at the core leadership of this team, you really see a group of stand-up men, but most lack the drive, passion and just angry fire to win.

Now we (as Sharks fans) are expected to take the words from Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton as some sort of comfort? They both sounded like defeated babies when interviewed yesterday when it came time to clean out the lockers.

This team is a team led by two players who are easily defeated. Just look at the way Big Joe led his ass to be the first on the bus after game six, avoiding all tough questions and putting it on someone else to answer.

Just look again at the monotone words of the Captain. Can someone, anyone get pissed off that the Ducks beat you in the first round? Can someone flat out say, “Yeah we should be advancing but were not. It’s fucked! And we’re all to blame”?

Can someone say “We should have given JR his cup—this was the team, the year. But we failed. Looking at him in the eyes is one of the hardest things to do. It’s our fault”?

One player has really stepped out and proved he should be the leader of this team. Dan Boyle has been the only out spoken, passionate, and flat-out determined player in Teal. I’m really glad he’s here—and next year he better have the C on his chest. He leads by example. And boy, he has a lot of heart.   

With that said, Doug Wilson addressed the fans, ownership and the media explaining that changes will be made. To me it sounds like big changes are in store for this team. The aforementioned players, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Evgeni Nabokov can be the big moves.

On the back end, Christian Ehrhoff can possibly be on the move as well. Mike Grier, Jeremy Roenick, and Claude Lemieux are also most likely finished as Sharks. That leaves for a lot of room for a lot of new players.

After all is said and done, the San Jose Sharks played, acted and carried themselves like a group who was defeated after the first period of game one.   

It’s going to be an interesting offseason for the San Jose Sharks, and us, the fans. Maybe next year we won’t have these broken hearts. I rather miss the playoffs all together than suffer through this again. I feel for you all out there.  

I will continue to report on all things NHL as the postseason rolls on. Hopefully we get some Sharks news soon.