First off, let me explain.
Last week I said it was my last week, and I wrote that emotionally fueled Hot Corner column saying goodbye. That was not a lie, as I really am done at Yorkton This Week (my new employer asked for an extra week to prepare so I decided to give YTW an extra week as well).
So that’s why I’m still here right now.
Now, let us get back to the topic at hand. The San Jose Sharks are in the Stanley Cup Finals!
I know, right? Who’d have thunk it at the beginning of the season? Who would have even believed it would happen when the 2016 NHL playoffs started? Honestly, not me. I had them out in the second round (clearly I was wrong).
After all, we’ve seen it many times, where the Sharks put together a strong (sometimes outstanding) regular season, only to flop like a fish out of water when playoffs roll around.
So what makes the 2015/16 San Jose Sharks different from the past Shark teams that couldn’t find success in the post season?
Well for starters it’s one of the last kicks at the can for the ‘old guard’ of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, both of who have seen their fair share of playoff failures as long-time members of the Sharks.
Sure, both Marleau and Thornton have had strong seasons, the latter leading San Jose in scoring with 82 points on 19 goals and 63 assists in the regular season, but truth be told they’re both getting older and are both in the second-to-last year of what could be their final NHL contracts (both are inked with the Sharks until the end of the 2016/17 campaign). They have to believe that this might be their last chance to sip from Lord Stanley’s Silver Grail.
Dainius Zubrus is also nearing the end of his career, and although he hasn’t led the team in an offensive role, the 37-year-old Lithuanian forward has been a role model for the younger Shark players.
Those younger and slightly-older-but-not-too-old Shark players really want to win it all – not just for themselves – but for their veteran leaders.
The second reason that the Sharks have managed to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals is that they finally have a goalie that doesn’t cave under the pressure.
In years past the Sharks has guys like Antti Niemi, Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala. All good goalies, but all with one thing in common: they choke.
San Jose’s current goalie Martin Jones does not (at least not at the professional level).
In fact, Jones wasn’t even expected to be San Jose’s bona fide number one goalie throughout the entire season, but he was because he earned it.
In the 2016 playoffs Jones has excelled, posting a 12-7 record (so far)with a GAA of 2.17 and a save percentage of .919, both slightly better than his regular season numbers (2.27 GAA and .918 save percentage).
What’s the final reason that the San Jose Sharks are in their franchise-first Stanley Cup Finals?
They believe. In previous seasons you could see the Sharks fold their tents, close up shop and quit as soon as things got difficult.
This year, however, you can see that the players truly believe they can win. Sure, that has something to do with having a strong goalie in net, but it also has a lot to do with confidence.
These guys think they can win it all, and they’ll work as hard as they can to accomplish their goal (something previous Sharks teams refused to do).
Good for them of course, but unfortunately I don’t see them hoisting the Stanley Cup when all is said and done. They’ve had a franchise best season, but it all stops in the Finals.
Penguins in six.
