May 13, 2008
Cry of the Fishmonger: Blood in the Water
(By hockey correspondent, Ian Evans)
The Sharks third consecutive ouster in second round of the NHL playoffs, despite having a Stanley Cup-worthy team this season, has led to the firing of head coach Ron Wilson on Monday. This last year, the Sharks set records in wins, consecutive wins, and consecutive points. The team also won the Pacific division for the second time in franchise history, and improved their point total for the third season in a row. However, their regular season dominance didn't translate into post-season success.
The Sharks, the number-two seed in the Western Conference, beat the seventh-seeded Calgary Flames in a tough seven game series during the first round. Their second round opponent, the Dallas Stars, handily won the first three games in the best-of-seven series, a hole that only three other teams in the history of the NHL have ever overcome. The Sharks won games four and five, and played an epic game six that saw four sudden-death overtime periods before Dallas captain Brendan Morrow score a power-play goal to end the Sharks season.
Ultimately, the Sharks predictability and slow-starts to games were the cause of Ron Wilson's firing, in this Fishmonger's opinion, along with their well-discussed and whined-about inability to protect leads in playoff series the previous two years. The Sharks never seemed to be in control of their own destiny, despite being skilled, big, and fast (the holy trinity of the New NHL (TM)). Ron Wilson's Sharks often lacked the ability to dictate the pace of the game, and in the playoffs their opponents played as if netting tying or go-ahead goal against the Sharks was inevitable.
Ron Wilson is a very good coach, but it should be clear to everyone that the makeup of this Sharks team is not of a true Stanley Cup contender, despite their winning record. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson and team president Greg Jamison haven't indicated who their potential candidates for replacing Ron Wilson might be, but we at Fishmonger HQ would expect the next coach will emphasize the team's offense more than the previous coaching staff, using the Sharks speed and size to allow more creativity in setting up plays. If the Sharks can re-sign trade deadline acquisition Brian Campbell, they will have the offensive minded defenseman and power-play quarterback they've lacked. Their defense is solid, and their goalie, Evgeni Nabokov, just had an outstanding year. All of that adds up to a good foundation for the incoming coach, but also the expectation of post-season success to go with a winning regular season.
Image credit: Jon Swenson at sharkspage.com
| 
This is rough, because as I said to my friend a couple weeks ago, this will look like a strange firing considering how many team/personal/leagure records the Sharks took a run at this year. That being said, I guess there was some tension in the locker room and Ron didnt have much support amongst the team - something I wasnt aware of until all this started coming out.
The buzz seems to be that the replacement will be a coach a little more agressive offensively, especially when it comes to getting the D more involved in the scoring. I cant count how many times this year I saw a puck dumped low, and I was looking at the far edge of my screen wating to see a defenseman jumping into the play to get the open look. That just didnt happen that often, and it think its more team philosophy than the skill of the guys on the ice.
That being said, part of me is sorry to see Ron go, because on paper this was a pretty amazing seasons for the Sharks. I guess whats key is to make sure that you can keep the players together, before people start looking to be traded away, and sometimes that costs a coach their position.
In any case, my Sharks sweater is on mothballs for another couple of months but Im looking forward to see what acquisitions come in the off-season, both on the ice and the bench!