San Jose Sharks Need Emotion: Todd McClellan Not the Man

Since I now live in SoCal chasing my Hollywood dreams, I have tried and tried again to like the teams down here in all the major sports.  As much as I try, it's the Sharks, Giants, and Niners I stay loyal to. 

You can imagine my disgust sitting with my fellow San Fran ex-pats at the Sharks/Ducks game on Sunday, watching the Ducks fly out to a 3-0 lead in the first period.  What was even more disturbing was the way the Sharks responded to it.

You turn on the TV and listen to our broadcasters, for whom I have love for, and all they're selling game in and game out is Todd McClellan's one trick pony strategy to get the puck deep. 

That's all the Sharks did for the first 50 minutes of the game, and we were thoroughly dominated.

All three Ducks' goals were scored on the rush, and sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

When they did finally make a change and start attacking on the fly, the Sharks began to dominate the play, although it was too little, too late.

What was McClellan waiting for?  Was he even paying attention?

We're the Sharks, not the Guppies! 

We should have been furiously attacking the offensive zone in full possession of the puck; keeping the defense on their heels, controlling the puck, and controlling the game. 

It's like McClellan doesn't even change his strategy to match the competition.  It's not too smart to play dump and chase hockey when you are playing again Scott Niedermayer and Lubomir Visnovsky shift in and shift out.

Both of those guys are perennial all-stars when healthy because they are puck controlling defensemen.

Since these players are playing for our biggest rivals, you would think that Todd McC would go into the game with a different strategy.

That's what is disturbing... our coach sits behind the bench, hiding all of his emotions, his hair significantly whiter than this time last year, and he doesn't make any game time changes to adapt to the strategy of the game. 

The whole second period, dump and chase... and not just our third or fourth line... but our skill players!?!?! That doesn't make any f-ing sense!  

What the Sharks need is some fire!  The Sharks would do better with Mike Singletary behind the bench at this point!

I feel the Sharks have gotten all the Todd McC has to give.  I was all for signing him, and he can be a great coach, but he's just not one now, and now is when we need to win it all. 

He's not a brilliant tactician like Mike Babcock, who consistently scores goals with four lines. 

He doesn't have the smarts to win a playoff series like Dan Bylsma, who convinced two of the top offensive talents, Crosby and Malkin, to play a defensive game last year against the Red Wings in the finals to shut down Babcock's troops. 

He's far from the motivator of a Don Cherry, who I would even take in a heartbeat right now.

The Sharks are playing emotionless, uninspired hockey now, and it's because Todd McC is more robot than human. 

I was two hours early to game six last year in Anaheim and saw how stiff and nervous all the players looked before taking the ice.  They play as stiff as McClellan stands behind the bench like the hunchback of playoff failures past.

The Sharks need to start having some fun out there.  Hockey is about passion, and right now we have none. 

Pittsburgh dropped its coach last year before the playoffs and won the cup with Bylsma.

We have the team to win the cup.  McClellan needs to go.