San Jose Sharks

With three dominant Western teams and another on the rise, the Pacific division is not an easy place to play. As San Jose, Anaheim, and Dallas looks to punish the rest of the West, Phoenix will be pushing for a playoff position after a six-year absence. The Kings, on the other hand, will have to endure another re-building season. San Jose Sharks 07-08 Record: 49-23-10 (108 points) General Manager: Doug Wilson Coach: Todd McLellan Important Additions: D Dan Boyle, D Rob Blake, D Brad Lukowich Key Departures: D Brian Campbell, D Matt Carle, D Craig Rivet Crease Critique: You can’t go wrong with Vezina ... Read Full Story

The Sharks are making all the right moves to pushing the team in to Cup position. Today they acquired defencemen Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich from the Lightning in exchange for Matt Carle (he's pretty good too, and Tampa needed to clear cap space) as well as prospect Ty Wishart, a first round pick in 2009, and a 4th round pick in 2010. Keep in mind that sure, the Sabres let Brian Campbell go to free agency (and he recieved a deal worth over $7 million with the Hawks) and Boyle signed a 6-year deal last season that pays him $6.67 million per season. ... Read Full Story

One of the NHL’s top young offensive forwards inadvertently jabs his stick into the eye of an emerging American star. Does that sound horribly familiar? It’s what happened when Marian Hossa’s follow-through clipped Bryan Berard in an Ottawa Senators-New York Islanders game on March 11, 2000. It’s also what happened when Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby had his stick lifted by Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek and saw the blade poke through goalie Rick DiPietro’s cage during New York’s 3-2 win on Saturday. Fortunately, it appears that DiPietro’s injury is less serious than that of Berard, who endured multiple eye surgeries and missed an entire season before ... Read Full Story

The biggest German moment in NHL history was Uwe Krupp’s triple overtime, Stanley Cup-winning goal for Colorado in Game Four of the 1996 Stanley Cup finals versus Florida. But Krupp, currently coaching his country’s national team, could see his “title” challenged if the San Jose Sharks win their first Cup in 2008, as many pundits expect. With a German backup goalie (Dimitri Patzold), defenseman (Christian Ehrhoff), and forward (Marcel Goc), the Bay Area franchise boasts more Teutonic flavor than any of its league rivals. Ehrhoff, in his fourth NHL campaign, is expected to play the biggest role of the three. The 6-2, 205-pound Moers ... Read Full Story

So much for a pre-game. That Flyers/Capitals Game 7 overtime match cut it too close. We have, nonetheless, dropped the puck here at the HP Pavillion Shark Tank. Brad Watson and Dan O'Halloran are wearing the stripes. I said it here that this series would be the grudge match of the first round. And Owen Nolan and the Calgary Flames intend to take no chum from the San Jose Sharks. One thing that surprised me about this series is that I imagined the Sharks would come out and feast on the Flames, leaving Calgary to work from behind. Not at all the case as ... Read Full Story

Quick Hits: -Salary is $1,375,000 -Drafted with San Jose's 4th round choice, 90th overall, in 1995 -Was Aquired From the Sharks with Mark Bell for the Leafs 1st Round Pick in 2007, a second round pick in 2007 and a fourth round pick in 2009. -5'10 195 lbs -Born in Tampere, Finland on 20 May '77 -04-Jul-07: Re-signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs to a two-year contract extension. STATS GP W L T Min GA SA SO GAA Sv% 4 1 3 0 240.93 18 147 0 4.48 .878 Toskala has had a medicore to horrible preseason but of course its just preseason and ... Read Full Story

Quick Hits: -Salary is $1,375,000 -Drafted with San Jose's 4th round choice, 90th overall, in 1995 -Was Aquired From the Sharks with Mark Bell for the Leafs 1st Round Pick in 2007, a second round pick in 2007 and a fourth round pick in 2009. -5'10 195 lbs -Born in Tampere, Finland on 20 May '77 -04-Jul-07: Re-signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs to a two-year contract extension. STATS GP W L T Min GA SA SO GAA Sv% 4 1 3 0 240.93 18 147 0 4.48 .878 Toskala has had a medicore to horrible preseason but of course its just preseason and ... Read Full Story