Sharks set sights on Stanley Cup Championship..
After early exit, San Jose is ready to bounce back in a loaded Western Conference....
September 14, 2018..
SAN JOSE- The 2017-2018 NHL Season saw a change in the landscape when the Expansion Vegas Golden Knights took the League by storm. Vegas dominated everybody in their inaugural Season and made a run to the Stanley Cup Finals knocking out the Los Angeles Kings in a clean 4 Game sweep. In the Second Round Vegas breezed by San Jose in Six Games to make the Western Conference Finals where they grounded the Winnipeg Jets in Five Games. Vegas was dominated in the Stanley Cup Finals by the red hot Washington Capitals.
For the San Jose Sharks, 2018-2019 will be a Season of redemption and a tough one at that. Throughout the years the Western Conference has been stacked from top to bottom guaranteeing any Franchise to reach the top of the Divisions to be in a dogfight from start to finish.
The 2015-2016 Sharks had their own Cinderella Story under new Head Coach Peter DeBoer as they embarked on a improbable Playoff Run that saw the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in Franchise History. San Jose got past their hated Rivals, the Los Angeles Kings in 5 Games erasing the painful memory of blowing a 3-0 Series lead in 2014. In the Second Round the Sharks outlasted the Nashville Predators in 7 before clinching their first ever trip to the Finals after a Game Six victory at home over the St. Louis Blues.
But the "Fairy Tale" Ending wasn't mean to be as the clock struck midnight on the Sharks with a Game 6 loss to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But what happened next was a nightmare.
The Sharks didn't even make it out of the first Round of the Playoffs after being blown off the Ice in Six Games by the younger faster Edmonton Oilers led by arguably the best Player in the league today, Connor McDavid.
The loss to the Oilers in the First Round showed that the San Jose Sharks needed some youth and speed of their own. It also didn't help that Edmonton was Coached by Todd McLellan. The man who spent so many years behind the bench in Northern California for the Sharks.
With the League changing in how the Game is played it's obvious that the San Jose Sharks will need to adjust. After being blown off the ice thanks to the speedy Penguins and Oilers, and being manhandled by the Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose is in need of dire change.
But it won't be easy in a heavy loaded Western Conference. Pacific Division Rivals, Los Angeles, Anaheim have been making Playoff runs of their own. Vegas is clearly the Team to beat in the Western. Arizona Coyotes have proven to play spoiler, and Canadian Teams like Edmonton and Calgary have also made some noise.
Then in the Central Division we can't forget about the Chicago Blackhawks who had a small Dynasty in the beginning of the 2010's winning 3 Stanley Cups. The Minnesota Wild should be a solid foe for anyone in the Playoffs. Colorado, Winnipeg, and Nashville are all very good entering the Season as well.
Aging Veterans like Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, and Brent Burns are in the midst of their Careers might have limited time in getting to dance with Lord Stanley. Now with the new Season among us, San Jose will look to set their sights on something that's eluded them since 1991.
A Stanley Cup Championship...
