Holiday Wish List for the San Jose Sharks in 2014-15

The holiday season is upon us, and with it, everybody has a list of what would make the perfect gift, even NHL teams like the San Jose Sharks. This is a list of perfect holiday gifts for members of the Sharks' organization.

Keep in mind that this list is what people truly need, not always necessarily what they want. In the long run, however, these gifts are the best things for the organization. This list includes players, coaches and members of the front office.

Feel free to comment on any of the items on this list or to add one of your own. As always, please indicate why you feel the way you do.

Todd McLellan

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Todd McLellan would love some job security.

Head coach Todd McLellan could use a little job security for the holidays.

After the team got off to a shaky start, there was some serious speculation about whether McLellan would lose his job.

McLellan is a well-respected coach who has taken the Sharks to the playoffs in each of his six previous seasons. He has also led the team to the Western Conference Final twice and guided Team Teal to more than 100 points in a season four times.

The Sharks have problems, but McLellan is not one of them. If the Sharks let him go, there is little doubt he would not be unemployed very long.

Coach McLellan needs some job security for the holidays, and he deserves it.

Doug Wilson

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Doug Wilson has built the Sharks into a great regular season team.

General manager Doug Wilson announced that changes were coming to the Sharks last summer. Unfortunately, the fact that some players had no-movement clauses in their contracts prevented significant changes from taking place.

The Sharks are probably the only NHL team with two of their own former captains on their roster. Both Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have no-movement clauses, and they indicated over the summer they wanted to remain in San Jose.

The time to trade one of these two former captains is now while they are still productive and can get the Sharks a solid return.

Wilson's holiday gift would be that one of these former captains agrees to waive his no-movement clause and allows the team to change its leadership structure to accelerate the GM's rebuilding plan.

Alex Stalock

Associated Press

Alex Stalock needs more goal support.

Before this season started, Alex Stalock was supposed to battle veteran Antti Niemi to be the starting goaltender.

Unfortunately, after an early-season mini-slump, Stalock was injured and did not play between November 8 and December 7.

When he's played, Stalock has put up better statistics than Niemi. Stalock's GAA is 2.12, while Niemi's is 2.42. Stalock's save percentage is .926, better than Niemi's .919.

But Stalock doesn't get the goal support his counterpart does. In his four losses, the Sharks have scored a total of five goals. Three of those came in one game against the New York Islanders.

For the holidays, Stalock needs the Sharks to score more goals when he's between the pipes. Staying healthy would be a nice gift for Stalock as well.

Brent Burns

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Brent Burns needs more defensive consistency.

This past summer, the Sharks announced that Brent Burns was moving back to play defense after spending the past few seasons at forward.

Burns has been remarkably productive offensively, especially early in the season. As of now, he still leads all San Jose defensemen with nine goals and 24 points through 32 games.

But he has struggled in his own zone. His defensive play has been uneven and at times has hurt the club.

"There’s nights that have been really positive, and there have been other nights that have not been so good,” head coach Todd McLellan told Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea.com. “Throughout his career he’s had to work hard in that area. He went away from it for two years, so now he’s starting to gather it all up again and proceed with it.”

The ideal holiday gift for Burns is improved defensive play to go along with his outstanding offensive skills.

Tomas Hertl

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Tomas Hertl needs to regain his scoring touch.

Tomas Hertl was the talk of the league early last season. His outstanding offensive skills were featured in highlight shows throughout North America.

Hertl was extremely productive. He scored four goals in one game against the New York Rangers including one tally on a move so bold that most players wouldn't even try it in a shootout.

In 37 games as a rookie, he scored 15 goals and accumulated 25 points.

This season, the Czech native has not kept up with his previous production. In 32 games, Hertl has just seven goals and 14 points despite spending a good part of the season on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski.

The perfect holiday gift for Hertl is an end to his sophomore slump and a return to the offensive production he displayed as a rookie.

Justin Braun

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Justin Braun deserves more respect.

Defenseman Justin Braun has played well this season. He is second among San Jose defensemen with 12 points in 32 games. He has also played consistent defense and is a plus-eight, which is the second best mark on the team.

Prior to the start of the season, the Sharks signed Braun to a five-year, $19 million contract extension.

As reported in The San Jose Mercury News, general manager Doug Wilson released a statement at the time of the signing, explaining, "Justin has emerged as one of our most well-rounded and dependable defensemen. He's an excellent skater who excels in matching up against the opponents top players on a nightly basis and fits in well with our core group of younger players."

Braun has lived up to the expectations the team had when it signed him and then some, but outside of San Jose, he gets precious little respect. The perfect holiday gift for the Minneapolis native is some attention and recognition for his consistent play.

Todd McLellan (Part 2)

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Todd McLellan needs more than one gift.

Another gift that head coach Todd McLellan needs this holiday season is some consistent offensive production from his bottom-six forwards.

Unfortunately, the Sharks have had a revolving door on the third and fourth lines in part due to injuries and in part because of a lack of production.

Matt Nieto, Tyler Kennedy, John Scott, Adam Burish, Tye McGinn, Chris Tierney, Melker Karlsson and Eriah Hayes are among the many players who have played on the third and fourth lines without even providing the threat of some offensive production.

The perfect second holiday gift for McLellan would be some consistent scoring from the third and fourth lines in the second half of the season.

Joe Thornton

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Like most great passers, Joe Thornton has been underappreciated.

Former captain Joe Thornton remains a bit underappreciated over the course of his career. It's the curse of players who are outstanding passers but don't necessarily score a lot of goals (see Oates, Adam). Everybody seems to love goal scorers, but guys who pile up assists don't seem to capture the imagination of fans.

In 1,239 career games, Jumbo Joe has 1,222 points. Only Jaromir Jagr has more points among active NHL players.

Thornton has won an Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points and the Hart Trophy as league MVP. Three times, he was named to a postseason All-Star team, and three times he topped 100 points in a season, which is an impressive achievement in the dead-puck era.

Thornton is still one of the best passers in the NHL and he deserves to be appreciated as such. Even if he may be better off leaving San Jose for other reasons (i.e., leadership and age), the perfect holiday gift for Thornton would be some appreciation for his many accomplishments during his career.

Tyler Kennedy and Raffi Torres

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Raffi Torres and Tyler Kennedy can't stay on the ice.

For Raffi Torres and Tyler Kennedy, the best holiday gift is a simple one: staying healthy enough to remain in the lineup.

These two players would give the Sharks some of the depth on the third and fourth lines that they have been lacking this season.

Torres has yet to play this season after suffering a setback on his previous knee injury. When he is in the lineup, he gives the Sharks grit and aggressiveness that they often lack. He adds sandpaper to the San Jose lineup and makes the Sharks tougher to play against.

Kennedy has only played in 13 games this season and has three goals and five points. He has been in and out of the lineup this season with an assortment of injuries. When healthy, he can score 15 goals over a season and at least provide the threat of offense on the third and fourth lines.

Getting healthy for the second half of the season is the perfect holiday gift for both Kennedy and Torres.

The Team

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This picture features two former Sharks' captains.

The best holiday gift for the Sharks and their fans would be some new and improved leadership. For whatever reason, Thornton, Marleau and the other leaders this team has had over the previous decade have been unable to get the team to raise their game in clutch situations.

The Sharks have qualified for the playoffs for the last 10 seasons and have often been considered among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, but San Jose has yet to reach the Stanley Cup Final. 

Last year was the most frustrating loss of all. The Sharks became only the fourth team in NHL history to lose a series after leading 3-0.

The team could really use a Steve Yzerman or Mark Messier, but those are once-in-a-generation leaders. Still, a change in leadership is needed, whether it comes from one of the team's younger stars or via a trade.