They do have talent, great goaltending, a good mix of veterans and rookies. They are fast, young, big and HUNGRY after last year.
2007-04-03 19:03:57 · 11 answers · asked by American Dream 1 in Sports ➔ Hockey
ABSOLUTELY!!!
I believe the San Jose Sharks have what it takes to go all the way and win the Stanley Cup this year. They have a solid team with one of the best powerplays and one of the best 1-2 punch players in Marleau and Thornton. Cheech has finally regained his scoring touch and Michalek has been one of the better players in the league this past month. They have 2 starting goaltenders in Nabby and Vesa. They have depth, youth and size. They upgraded their defense by adding experience and leadership with Craig Rivet. They also added another awesome winger in Bill Guerin to add to their arsenal of attacks! They are on a strong winning streak right now with Nabokov just scorching hot, and they will put it all together and be a favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
2007-04-04 05:13:55 · answer #1 · answered by TDK 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, let me disclose that I live in San Jose a few blocks from the HP Pavillion, and that I am a Sharks fan.
Unfortunately, I see too major problems with the Sharks.
1. Too inconsistent, and 2. Not Hungry enough.
The Sharks have not consistently beaten top level teams. Also, maybe it's because Ron Wilson has no personality, but I don't see any fire in the Sharks. Just look a Thornton, he talks like playing in the NHL is a 9-5 job. You need a combination of talent and passion. I think the Sharks lack the latter, but I hope they prove me wrong!
2007-04-03 20:33:35 · answer #2 · answered by zen29sky 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are right they have the mix of veterans, speed, and youth. However, a lot of that youth is their defenseman. If the Sharks have a flaw it is their D at times. Players like Matt Carle, M.E. Vlasic will have to step up and play to their top of their game in the playoffs. There have been games this year where the D gave up 4+ goals to teams like St. Louis, Carolina, and other non playoff teams. That is a red flag to me. But every other aspect of their game is top notch. The offense is lethal. The goaltending duo is the best in the league. Anyone can win the cup, I would say the Sharks will have to fight Anaheim, Detroit, and Nashville in round 2 an onward to get to the final.
2007-04-03 19:09:55 · answer #3 · answered by njdboy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes we do! :)
Hannan, McLaren and Rivet are stong on the D end while you've got Matt Carle, Vlasic and Ehrhoff who are unbelieveable as offensive D. They can score like no other IMO. I heard that if Hannan is given a specific job to do in a game, that's what he will do. When the Sharks played Calgary in the playoffs, his job was to shut down Iginla. That's what he did.
As for the forwards, we've got Joe and Cheech. Yeah, okay so Cheech had a rough start, but lately he's be on a scoring tear. Joe sets him up so nicely. Patty and his line are doing awesome as well. I take that back, all 4 of the lines are doing what they should be doing! If we can just beat the Ducks tonight, we can prove that we are a force to be messed with.
Goaltending has been terrific this year! Both Vesa and Nabby, who would've thought that switching them up would work. But then with Nabby gettng hurt then Vesa. Nabby seems to be the logical choice right now for #1 goalie on SJ. However, if needed we have Vesa, who is JUST AS GOOD as Nabby to fill in.
2007-04-04 03:59:42 · answer #4 · answered by Stefy [San Jose] 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they do, I agree with you completely.
The problem is that you can say the same about at LEAST 5-6 other teams, possibly even ALL 8 teams in the West.
There is a Goaltending issue too --- who is going to start --- Nabokov or Toskala? Not that either is exactly "bad", collectively the Goaltending is just about as good as anyone's -- but YOU CAN'T PLAY THEM BOTH AT ONCE. Take one or the other, and Kiprusoff, Hasek, Giguere or Luongo looks much better.
2007-04-04 08:17:01 · answer #5 · answered by clueless_nerd 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Right now it looks like the Sharks will be on the road and I like their chances, as they have one of the best road records in the league.
Nabokov has been one of the hottest goalies in March and seems he will be the one in goal during the playoffs. If for some reason Nabokov cools off or is injured there is no drop off if they need to go with Toskala in goal.
Anaheim is playing well and has given the Sharks fits during the regular season, if the Sharks can get by them, we'll be watching the Sharks in the finals.
2007-04-03 20:10:52 · answer #6 · answered by Kainoa 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably not. They don't look a whole lot different than they did last year. However, the playoff teams in the west are all good enough to win the cup, so although I'd be disapointed the see the Sharks hoist the cup, I wouldn't be completely shocked. Go Ducks!
2007-04-03 19:47:20 · answer #7 · answered by Bryan F 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its kinda hard to tell with how tight the West is. It looks like they will probably meet Nashville in the 1st round, and that will be a close one. If they make it past that, Anaheim will be their only real competition. Detroit is my team, but if I had to pick one team to be the most capable of beating the Wings, its San Jose. I dont necessarily think the Sharks are the best in the league, but they shouldnt be taken lightly.
2007-04-04 07:27:32 · answer #8 · answered by redwingsrthebest19 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Their goalie needs to show he has the stuff. The playoffs are a whole new season and the referees tend to look the other way on things late in a close game. All in all they have as good a shot as the other 15 teams.
2007-04-04 01:18:03 · answer #9 · answered by PuckDat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes they can and yes they will win it all this year & Zen NO true fan would say their team wont win it all they got plenty of passion. Just wished Kansas City could have landed the Penguins as i now live an hour north of KC and could have seen the Sharks live again
2007-04-04 04:25:50 · answer #10 · answered by barry m 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋