Say hello Todd McLellan, Rob Blake, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich.

Take Todd McLellan out of that mix and the Sharks still wouldn’t make it past the second round. As it stands now, wouldn’t it be great to see Babs and Babs Jr. face each other in the Western Conference Finals? This should be a really fun season. Can’t wait for October to roll around.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/10/08 at 05:26 PM ET

I agree OlderThanChelios, but I sincerely believe that the Sharks’ biggest problems last year were a)playing a full 60 minutes and b) playing one system that did not fit the players and not adapting throughout games. Wilson’s mix and match lines didn’t help either.  Wilson is a good coach, just not for the Sharks. Hopefully McLellan can help a little bit with his offensive rather than defensive mind. Regardless, this will be one wild season!

Posted by SJ Fan from San Jose on 07/10/08 at 06:19 PM ET

the Sharks aren’t going anywhere until players like Thornton and Marleau visit the Wizard of Oz and are granted hearts; if this team had the character and will to win as some of the organizations’ earlier squads, they would’ve lifted the Cup already. PS, here’s some Sharks’ love: how Nabokov didn’t win the Vezina is beyond me (actually, it’s probably b/c the NHL is embarrassed to award both the Hart and Vezina to Russian players when there were only like 24 in the entire league last season).

Posted by Percy Weaver from New York on 07/10/08 at 07:02 PM ET

the Sharks aren’t going anywhere until players like Thornton and Marleau visit the Wizard of Oz and are granted hearts; if this team had the character and will to win as some of the organizations’ earlier squads, they would’ve lifted the Cup already.

The lasting image of Patrick Marleau that I will probably take with me to my grave is him jumping out of the way of a Mike Modano shot during a playoff game this most recent season (the shot resulted in a goal and there is little doubt that Modano was using Marleau as a screen and Marleau could easily have blocked the shot.  He claimed after the game that he was out of position [apparently being directly in between the shooter and the goal is out of position]).  A Versus commentator referred to it as the “double flamingo”.

how Nabokov didn’t win the Vezina is beyond me

Agreed.  I thought that Brodeur winning it this year was a good example of someone winning an award based on reputation.

Posted by monkey from Waiting for the lambs to stop screaming on 07/10/08 at 08:50 PM ET

I thought that Brodeur winning it this year was a good example of someone winning an award based on reputation.

That is called ‘The Old Boy Network’ and why the HHOF and most awards aren’t even worth the print they generate.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 07/10/08 at 09:48 PM ET

...I sincerely believe that the Sharks’ biggest problems last year were a)playing a full 60 minutes and b) playing one system that did not fit the players and not adapting throughout games.

I guess you’ll find out soon enough, SF, if Todd learned anything from Babs. First, because problem (a) would not happen on a Babcock-style team. Everyone plays at 100% for 100% of the time they’re on the ice...or they don’t play.

As for your second point, the Wings have proven that if you have skilled players, you can teach them to adapt to your system. Just look at Datsyuk. He was little more than a goal scorer when he started with the Wings. Last year, he won the Selke as the best defensive forward. The Wings didn’t adapt to Datsyuk’s style. Pavel adapted to the Wings style...as Stevie Y did before him.

If Todd coaches like Babcock does, there probably will be some unhappy Sharks in the first couple of months of the season. They won’t like backchecking like mad men. They won’t like the pressure they get when trying to hang onto the puck. And they won’t like sitting on the bench when they fight the system.

But, if they give the system a chance and they put the good of the team above themselves, they just might find themselves in the Western Conference playoffs next spring. They’ll lose to the Wings, of course, but at least they’ll make it that far.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/10/08 at 10:33 PM ET

Some of you guys need to let go of the ‘Nabokov wuz robbed’ shtick. The Rangers fan I guess I can understand, to him logic need not apply. But the rest of you may want to read Mirtle on the subject:

James is smart

Posted by shep from california on 07/11/08 at 12:16 AM ET

I’m liking that though...a coach is there to get the players to play at their best, and to play at their best together. The fact is, not everyone is going to like it.  Wilson just dumped and chased all day, and the PP was a one trick pony. When that failed, he threw his arms up and gave up.  If what you’re saying is true, the team is going to be very different, at least offensively.

And about Nabokov, he did get robbed.  But hey, people tend to forget about the hockey teams here on the west coast

Posted by Sj Fan on 07/11/08 at 01:07 AM ET

Pens’ Todd Richards Added to Sharks’ McLellan’s Coaching Staff

The re-tooling continues in SJ.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 07/24/08 at 02:34 PM ET