NHL Playoffs 2012: 4 Sharks Who Need Big Postseasons to Remain in San Jose

The San Jose Sharks were moving closer and closer to a Stanley Cup Championship for years. They went from perennial playoff team to perennial division winner to perennial conference finalist.

They went into this season with a roster so skilled and so balanced that the cup looked like the next step.

Instead, they regressed considerably. They didn't win the Pacific Division for the first time in five years and almost missed the playoffs entirely. They haven't yet failed to reach the Conference Finals, but their chances look slim.

If the Sharks do exit the playoffs early, this will not be another summer for roster tweaks. It will be time to get younger, to take a step backward in order to take a larger step forward. It will be time to break up the team's core—the top six and the top four.

But that doesn't mean it will be time for a fire-sale. While the Sharks will need a major shakeup and roster reworking, they will also need to retain as much talent as possible. Because quite frankly, the talent they have is rare.

With that being said, some of the Sharks' best and longest-tenured players will be out the door this summer unless the team wins the cup. The players in question will likely reveal themselves this postseason, with the following four being placed right beneath the microscope.

Douglas Murray

Douglas Murray is one of the biggest, strongest, toughest players in the NHL. He has led the Sharks in hits for an impressive five straight seasons, and he's always selling out to block shots. He stands people up at the blue line and crushes them behind the net.

And no one can move him an inch.

He also has as little offensive ability as anyone in the NHL today. He has six goals and 56 points in seven NHL seasons and is slowing down. He had zero goals and four assists in 60 games this season.

While Murray's physicality and defensive skill are worth keeping around on the back end, his offensive ineptitude make him a less-than-ideal top-four defenseman. While his defensive skill would make him an elite third pairing d-man, his $2.5 million cap hit suggests otherwise.

The emergence of Justin Braun this season combined with the amazing defensive depth in this year's draft make the 32-year-old Murray worth moving before his contract expires after next season. The only way Murray should be back in San Jose is if he plays like he did in the 2009-10 playoffs (one goal, seven points, minus-one).

Murray played very poorly during last year's playoffs, with just one assist and a minus-seven rating in 18 games. With multiple nagging injuries and his worst regular season in years, don't expect much more this postseason.

Patrick Marleau

No one has played in as many games or scored as many goals in teal as Patrick Marleau. But unless he has a huge postseason, Marleau's days in San Jose may be numbered.

The Sharks will be forced to blow up their team this offseason unless they make it at least to the Conference Finals, if not all the way to the Cup Finals. They have been close for years, but appear to have begun losing ground in their cup pursuit rather than gaining it.

With many of their best players—Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, Martin Havlat—on the wrong side of 30, they need to get younger before they can get better. Out of all of these players, only two have franchise-player market value: Marleau and Thornton.

Out of those two, only one has franchise-player value to San Jose: Thornton.

While Marleau is the greatest Shark of all-time, Joe Thornton is the best player to ever wear teal and is one of the best players of his generation. Without Joe Thornton in the middle, the Sharks would be lost. He wins faceoffs, quarterbacks the power play, forces turnovers and is possibly the best set-up man in the league. He defines the team's approach

Without Marleau, the Sharks would also be a much worse team. But that's precisely why he may get traded: The Sharks have been "without" Marleau for much of this season and stretches in prior seasons and postseasons.

The Sharks rely on Marleau to score momentum-turning goals, to stretch the defense, to come up big despite the insane amount of pressure put on top players during the playoffs.

So if Marleau does what the Sharks need him to do this postseason, he won't be traded. He'll score big goals, make gutsy defensive plays and lead the Sharks very deep, if not all the way.

If Marleau underachieves, like he did for most of the regular season, the Sharks' playoffs will end early, as might Marleau's career as a Shark.

Ryane Clowe

Ryane Clowe has, at times, seemed like the most indispensable player on San Jose's roster. The winger has not only provided the Sharks with goals, hits and fights—he's provided the team with leadership.

Clowe is the most outspoken player in San Jose's locker room and has always been more than willing to give the team the kick in the butt it needs. Clowe's intensity and propensity to stick up for his teammates and step up for his team made him look like the team's future captain.

This season, Clowe's numbers dropped off. While it could be viewed as a down year, some believe he's lost his intensity as well. If this is not the case, Clowe must prove it to the team with a monster postseason (such as the one he had last year).

If Clowe does not play like he's capable of during the playoffs and the Sharks exit early, he certainly isn't going to survive a summer of change. That's not because San Jose GM Doug Wilson thinks Clowe is declining and can't contribute, but because his trade value would remain sky-high even if his value to the Sharks has diminished.

Clowe is simply a one-of-a-kind player. He combines the puck-possession skills of a top-line center, the scoring and playmaking ability of a top-six winger, the defensive toughness of an elite checking line forward and the nastiness of a fourth line enforcer.

This makes him an ever-alluring commodity and means that San Jose would be wise to bring in a king's ransom while Clowe's age (29) remains a neutral factor rather than a deterrent.

Dan Boyle

Despite the cries from many a Sharks fan, Dan Boyle is not on the decline.

Boyle may not find the back of the net as frequently as he used to, but his goal total this season (nine) was the same as in 2003-04, when he won the Cup. He finished eighth in the NHL in points among defenseman, and his plus-10 rating was the second best of his career.

He has also been the Sharks' best postseason performer since coming to San Jose. He has 34 points during his 39 playoff games in San Jose, which ties Joe Thornton for the most in that time.

Remember, he is a defenseman, and Thornton is a forward.

Boyle also plays his best in the biggest games, digging deep and giving more than his all in order to win. The Sharks need more players like him—not fewer—if they want to win a Stanley Cup. 

But every cup contender needs players like Boyle, and if San Jose is no longer a cup contender, they must move Boyle to a team that still is.

Because of his ability to transform a blue line, move the puck and step up in big moments, Boyle could net the Sharks a big return this summer. If they hold onto him, he may actually start to decline, and he certainly won't improve. Since the Sharks aren't a Cup team with the 35-year-old Boyle, why would they become one with 36-year-old Boyle?

Of course, if Boyle has another monster postseason, San Jose makes a deep playoff run and the team makes one of the previously discussed big moves this offseason, the Sharks should keep Boyle around. Because even if he does start to decline, his heart and winning mentality will still be welcome.