The Year of the Shark

I hate making predictions. Because if I'm wrong, well, I would be put to death. At least that's what happened in the Old Testament times for false prophets. Anyways...Bible aside predictions are still fun to make for entertainment purposes only so I will take a stab at it.

I truly believe this is our last best hope for winning this darn thing. I was talking to a friend and he and I both agreed that we are "getting too old for this". Our time is thin. Lets take a look at our roster.

Blake will be 40 next year. Nabby and Marleau are on the last year of their contracts. I think Thornton has 1 more year left as well. Make no mistake about it. Its Stanley Cup or bust this year.

Some things to look for:

Thornton and Heatley combo/ Seto- Everyone says this could make a deadly duo. I'm not too sure that they have the chemistry quite down just yet. If they do, look for Heater to put in at least 40. Otherwise, don't be suprsied if TM juggles the first and second lines to find the right match. Speaking of mixing and matching, lets hope that Seto does not hit the sophomore slump that NHLers talk about. Remember he is still young and a prolonged slump will shake his confidence.

Ryan Clowe- During the offsesason his name was invovled in trade rumors. He signed a new deal with the Sharks and looks to be ready to go. For the Sharks to do damage, he must play with the passion he did 2 years ago in the playoffs.

McGinn/Malhotra- The signing of Manny Malhotra was under the radar due to the Heatley deal. This guy scored a career best last year and took a 700k contract when he could have took 2 million from Atlanta. This guy wants to win and he can drop the gloves. If he McGinn and Mitchell can develop some chemistry, watch out, this team will be very tough.

Sharks D
Boyle is a stud. Blake will be solid with his big booming shot. Pickles will be adequate (Sorry Grace, he is not that cute or good in my opinion). And Murray is a beast. And that wraps up our summary of Sharks D.... In all fairness, I don't think the coaches, GM, or players will know how the rest of the D will shape up. Huskins has looked slow and terrible in the preseason. Demers is a rookie. If the Sharks have one of their top D to go down, this team could be in trouble. As skilled as forwards we have, we saw during the pre Dan Boyle days that this team can't breakout of their own zone. Our depth on D will be tested more than the forward position and cannot afford any injuries.

The Western Conference

If you were to ask exeperts which Conference has better teams, they would no doubt point to the West. Detroit, Anahiem, Vancouver, Calgary and Chicago are 5 other teams that have a decent chance at winning the Cup. That means any of the six teams in the West counting the Sharks has a shot at this thing. Compared to the East, where you have the usual supsects of Pittsburgh, Washington and maybe Boston, the Sharks have a much tougher road playing in the West.

Last year Anahiem took Detroit all the way to 7 games and were even tied 2-2 with less than 10 minutes left in the third period. They were oh so close to beating the eventual WC representative. A lucky bounce their and Anh could have been bringing home the Cup.

On fighting adversity

Pittsburgh, the eventual champ underwent adversity in the biggest stage and stood up to it, coming back from a 3-2 defecit to become the eventual Cup winner. If you are down 3-2 to a veteran championship team, you don't come back. You die. Tell that to Pitt. They refused to lay down, fought hard and they won. This is something the Sharks need to learn. They will undergo adversity. They have failed the test the past 4 years in a row. Can they finally learn from their mistakes, buck up and suck it up? A heart of a champion does not flame out the way they did last year in the first round.

Here's one Shark fan that is hoping that history does not repeat itself.