Sharks Biting Problem

The San Jose Sharks have been an enigma wrapped inside a conundrum stuffed inside riddle for the better part of a decade now. This is a team laden with talent and yet they can't seem to find a way to get the job done come playoff time. Much like the Ottawa Senators teams of the early 2000's the Sharks have had a lot or regular season success only to be found dead in the water come playoff time. Ottawa was eventually able to at least get to the finals, losing to Anaheim in 2007, but the Sharks have never made it past the western conference finals and unless there is dramatic improvement this year, it's a long shot. Guys like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski have all put up good number (and killed more than one of my playoff pools) in the regular season but haven't got the job done when it matters. Those of us who used to believe they had what it takes, have now abandoned the notion that this is a championship team, once bitten right? They still have the like of Martin Havlat, Ryan Clowe and Logan Couture to help out the big guns but the fact is there isn't a whole lot of depth in the organization beyond these guys. No real up and comers. Dan Boyle is a proven winner winning a cup with Tampa Bay and gold at the 2010 Olympics with Canada, along with Marleau and Thornton, but he's not getting any younger. In the playoffs it's been the like of Clowe with his hard-nosed game that has put up numbers while the others have been spotty at best. If this had one been a one or two year occurrence it wouldn't be as troublesome as it is because of the consistency of it. While it's true the Sharks made it to the western conference finals two years in a row, where they did lose to good teams in Chicago (who went on the win the Stanley Cup) and Vancouver, they were unceremoniously bounced by St. Louis in the first round last year and haven't exactly played consistent enough to think they'll make a long run in the very difficult western conference this year. Their torrid 7-0 start was followed by a 1-4-3 stretch that left many asking those same old questions. Their is no doubt they have talent but the window of opportunity may have closed on this group and decision have to be made moving forward as to who Doug Wilson will keep or trade. It may be time to rebuild and trading proven stars for assets may be the only way to go. Whatever the case the Sharks will either sink or swim based on the decisions made in the next few months.