These are not the Sharks you are accustomed to seeing. When Doug Wilson decided to revamp his team after yet another terrible playoff performance in 2009, he changed the culture of the team.
Gone are mainstays of skill over grit Matt Carle, Craig Rivet, Milan Mihalek, Brad Stuart, Marcel Goc, Christian Erhoff, Brian Campbell, Tom Preissing, Marco Sturm, Alexander Korolyuk, and most of the other hangers on that were not providing the competitive edginess needed for the playoffs.
Don't get me wrong, most of those players listed are skilled and can help a team win playoff games. The problem is that the Sharks did not have enough of the hard edged players that did the dirty work required to consistently win.
Some things to note that have either changed or evolved about this team.
Marleau is no longer captain.
Significant because captains are expected to lead by example. When your captain refuses to stick his nose in front of the crease while getting slammed by crosschecks, just so you can screen the point shot from the goalie, then you will not inspi ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Pacifica Slug
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