Sorts of Sports

Missing Expectations

Each season, two teams, one from each conference, have the ultimate expectations of winning the Stanley Cup.  However, as the National Hockey League prepares for its Stanley Cup Finals, these two teams will once again be playing golf instead of hockey in June.  The two teams: The Washington Capitals and the San Jose Sharks, have been headaches for their management, heart-attacks for its fans, and choke artists to the rest of the eyes around the league.  They’ve lacked the right kind of character, a quality goaltender, coaching, you name it.  They have tried to change everything except the kitchen sink in both cities, and will need another year to get a Stanley Cup.  However, after watching both teams fall short this playoff year, one team is clearly closer than the other.

So what fan base has more to look forward to next year?  The answer is the San Jose Sharks.  For the first time it felt like the San Jose Sharks belonged in the playoffs.  They wanted to be there and their play showed it.  Their stars for the most part came to play, playing enthusiastic hockey up until the end.  After years of being the playoff failure, the Sharks came within two wins of the Stanley Cup Finals.  On the other hand the Washington Capitals have tried to change their identity of being a failure in the playoffs with a new system, while relying on the same stars.  Once again they dominated the regular season, however, the new defensive style proved short of expectations as well even more so than the offensive style they banished to the wayside a season ago.

So yes, Sharks fans hold your head high, because for once you are not cursing under your breath at Jumbo Joe and his inability to perform come postseason play.   After being criticized for not showing up during the playoffs, Thornton responded with 17 points in 18 games scoring at least five points in each series, while putting up a career high of 48 shots on net during this year’s playoffs.  Even though Vancouver did a good job on Thornton toward the end of the series, the fact the Sharks most dominating player had his best postseason ever is a good sign heading into next season.  Obviously you can point some fingers at Joe Pavelski (10 points) Dany Heatley (3 goals) but the fact that Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dan Boyle all had strong playoff campaigns start to put to rest some of the character questions regarding their stars.  The Sharks also will get another season under the belts for their budding superstar Logan Coutoure who could be the Ryan Kesler that the Sharks missed this season.  Also, their goalie Antti Niemi, gets another year in their system and should play better than he did this year.  Also, Sharks fans need to remember they lost to a better team in the Vancouver Canucks.

There is no question the Sharks have some holes.  For starters, Vancouver killed them on the power play, so the penalty kill will need to be addressed.  Using the big stars on the penalty kill is a good idea, but they need grit out on the penalty kill.   They are still short a defenseman and their role players underachieved, but the stepping stones that have plagued the Sharks for the past few years are behind them.  General Manager Doug Wilson can now focus on those kinds of things instead of contemplating needing a full roster overhaul.  That will be a much easier summer than the summer George McPhee is about to embark upon.  McPhee, the General Manager of the Washington Capitals, has some large decisions on his hand.

After last year’s early round knockouts head coach Bruce Boudreau changed his system in Washington to make the team more focused on the playoffs and playing a defensive brand of hockey.  However, the same result happened this year as they Capitals were swept in the second round by the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The reason why the Capital fans have a lot to be concerned about is the fact that two systems under Boudreau haven’t worked.  Their stars, underperformed in the second round especially Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom.  Defenseman Mike Green, was an offensive power in the old system, however in the new defensive system, Green was only a defensive liability in the playoffs.  Semin and Backstrom were non-existent in the playoffs as were most of the forwards.  The lone bright spot and place where the Capitals don’t need to improve is the goaltending position.  Michael Neuvirth played fine and tried to keep his team in it despite the lackluster performance from the players in front of him.

Now I am not sure how to fix the Capitals, short of a complete overhaul.  They may want to change coaches, although it seems more issues come from the team on the ice.  Semin’s and Backstrom’s disappearance is probably the most concerning for fans, but they need more secondary scoring as well.  The defense needs an overhaul too.  They have a nice young core with Mike Green, John Carlson, and Karl Alzner which is a nice start.  However, in a defensive system Green seems more of a liability than an asset.  You question who is running the team from a leadership standpoint and this is why a lot of people have questioned Boudreau as the coach for next year. That question will need to be answered and then the rest of the questions can begin to be dissected, which will set up an interesting summer for the Capitals, while the Sharks will look to fill in a few missing puzzle pieces in hopes of finally making the Stanley Cup next year.

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