Five Questions: McLellan clarifies Sharks' 'rebuild'

[J0e Th0rnton]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=728152

 

The San Jose Sharks have had a curious offseason.

There has been talk of a rebuild coming from general manager Doug Wilson despite the fact the Sharks needed one more victory to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season before the Kings could even sniff the Stanley Cup they eventually won.

OK, so the Sharks didn't get it, losing four straight to the Kings in the Western Conference First Round after winning three in a row, but they were close and they were playing without their best defenseman, Marc-Edouard Vlasic. It still prompted Wilson to call them "a tomorrow team."

Wilson's statement was labeled as harsh. It made national headlines. It sparked rumors, though unfounded, of the organization possibly looking to trade Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, who have no-trade clauses and have given zero indication of their willingness to waive them.

The Sharks also showed Dan Boyle, Brad Stuart and Marty Havlat the door out of San Jose, but barely got their toes wet in free agency other than to re-sign some of their own guys and acquire some players for depth purposes at the NHL and American Hockey League levels.

So, yes, curious is an adjective that fits, but only to those outside of the Sharks circle. San Jose coach Todd McLellan offered some clarity to the inner workings of the team's offseason in an interview with NHL.com conducted last week.

Here are Five Questions with … Todd McLellan:

People are curious about what's going on in San Jose when Doug Wilson brings up the term rebuild. Can you explain the philosophy regarding what this offseason is about for the Sharks?

"We want to reset the hierarchy and culture in the organization, and that's really where the term rebuild came from. We feel we have a tremendous talent pool. We feel the players that are with our organization are part of the solution and not the problem now. As a staff, we talked about the ability to push and win as much as we can while we get younger, while we adjust the roles a little bit and give some of the younger players more responsibility. The term or the word used like that can be confusing at times. I think a lot of people, especially in the media, immediately went to, 'Well, they're going to trade Thornton and Marleau.' That's not the case. We believe that those two are part of the solution, not part of the problem. That got a lot of play media-wise. That's not what we were about. We think we have a very good hockey club and we think we need to tinker with a few things and continue to push forward."

You touched on this a bit, but can you see how it would get confusing when the term rebuild is tossed out there?

"Well, you know what, when I hear the term rebuild in the non-hockey world if you will, I think of something that gets torn down and you start rebuilding. I guess there's so many different terminologies that can be used for it. We have a plan. We know what we want to do. And we know who we want to be a part of it. As our team sits right now we'll probably head into training camp and continue working on what that plan is."

When you talk about the hierarchy and the leadership group and giving, I guess, more responsibility to players like Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, does that change anything with the captaincy? Is Thornton still going to be the captain of this team? Is Marleau still going to be an alternate captain? Or do you evolve everything around that?

"Those will be some decisions that we'll make as training camp approaches, as players get back into San Jose and settle in. We'll sit with them and talk about that situation. I think we talked about this at the draft, if there was a new rule that came into the League and there weren't any 'C's and 'A's, would there be a leadership group that took care of the team and would the followers step in and contribute when they needed to contribute? I believe so. So, with that in mind we'll see what we do as move forward."

With Dan Boyle and Brad Stuart gone, do you amp up your excitement level to see what Mirco Mueller can do for you on the blue line?

"For me, excitement isn't a good word; opportunity is. He'll get the same opportunity that Taylor Doherty and Matt Tennyson and some of the young players that have put their time in in the American [Hockey] League over the past three years to come in and earn an opportunity to play on our hockey club. Mirco obviously is a very talented young man. He's grown. He's gotten stronger and there should be some focus put on him, but I would like him to be included with a group of players coming into training camp that have that opportunity. That opportunity has been created through some moves, and when you talk about a rebuild, that can be part of the rebuild itself. But it's not just about Mirco; it's about the individual who comes in and seizes that opportunity. That could very well be him, but it could also be others."

I remember last summer talking to Randy Carlyle and Dave Nonis from the Toronto Maple Leafs about what happened to them in the playoffs against Boston and what you have to do to flush it out of your system. Obviously you guys went through something very difficult in the playoffs last season against the Kings. How do you flush that away? Can you flush that away? Or is it already gone?

"I don't think it's gone. I don't think it will leave. That's a very simple answer for me. I hear the players from a distance talking to different media outlets saying the same thing. I believe that's a good thing. There are a couple of different ways of looking at it. The defeat was and still is, it stings a lot. We have to look at what we did well and didn't do well in that series and also the fact they won three Game 7s on the road against very good teams. So they were the champs. There is absolutely no doubt about it. That could mean we have a group that is close but still has to figure out a way to close the deal."

 

[Irishjim]

i don't see the sharks as re-building...more like re-tooling..if they were rebuilding noway would thorton and marleau get extended like they have

[yave1964]

I see the Sharks as in a must win situation, now or never kind of situation. Maybe a two year window. The ridiculous 100 percent no trade clause given to the sacred cows was absurd, they have never won a damn thing and are being rewarded with a no movement clause, which prevented a rebuild. Instead you move out a Stuart here, bring in a John Scott there and essentially the team remains unchanged.

Can they win as constituted? I truly believe they can. Think about it they had the eventual champs Kings, really they were the only ones who pushed them thru the postseason. One more win, the Sharks may have went on to win it all. That has to haunt them. If they don't do it in the next couple of years they will be like the Flames of several years ago, Iggie and Kipper and the rest aging and slipping, kind of where my Wings are now. The window is closing and Wilson has only himself to blame specifically with the NTC he gave out like candy if he cannot retool. The farm system consistently gets rated in the bottom ten, his drafting is questionable at best, win now or it gets ugly.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Ya, agreed on the re-tooling angle.

 

I don't care what the coaches/FO/marketing people/etc...whomever...says.....this franchise wants to win, and they want to in, like yesterday!

Anything less than a Stanley Cup Finals (and for them, hopefully winning it), I believe would be looked at as falling short yet again.

 

The whole rebuilding talk could have been a way to get the fanbase to relax the expectations a bit for the team, but I think anyone who really knows what's going on, knows full well that, some rosters shifting aside, the team's goal, as it has been for several seasons now, is to win it all.

 

And you know, despite the tough Pacifici Division and the Western Conference in general, if you really look at it, why CAN'T this team win this year?

 

Sure, Anaheim is loaded, but they are still not flawless...as some have pointed out in other threads, a key injury or two here and there could cripple this team some, or at the very least knock them down from the 'eilte' category.

Kings? Defending champs...yep, but there is also that short turnaround from June to October, the fact the team plays a heavy physical style that takes its tolls on not only their opponents but on them as well, plus, the dreaded Stanley Cup hangover.

 

Then you have the rest of the division that will be trying to find themselves.

 

Best case scenario for San Jose:

They win while Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are still productive players, get the monkey off their backs, then continue being competitive with the younger and future faces of the franchise moving forward, maybe grab another Cup as Joe and Patrick are on the way out.

[J0e Th0rnton]

I see the Sharks as in a must win situation, now or never kind of situation. Maybe a two year window. The ridiculous 100 percent no trade clause given to the sacred cows was absurd, they have never won a damn thing and are being rewarded with a no movement clause, which prevented a rebuild. Instead you move out a Stuart here, bring in a John Scott there and essentially the team remains unchanged.

Can they win as constituted? I truly believe they can. Think about it they had the eventual champs Kings, really they were the only ones who pushed them thru the postseason. One more win, the Sharks may have went on to win it all. That has to haunt them. If they don't do it in the next couple of years they will be like the Flames of several years ago, Iggie and Kipper and the rest aging and slipping, kind of where my Wings are now. The window is closing and Wilson has only himself to blame specifically with the NTC he gave out like candy if he cannot retool. The farm system consistently gets rated in the bottom ten, his drafting is questionable at best, win now or it gets ugly.

I don't think they are anywhere near the flames in that respect. The flames had a bunch of guys that were between 30-35.

 

The Sharks corps outside of JT and Patty is pretty young.

 

Couture is 25, Hertl 20(I am sold on him), Vlasic and Braun (Two best Dmen on the team)26, Burns 28, Demers 26(And outplayed Boyle last season). Pavelski is 30, but still 5 years younger than Thornton/Marleau(Who seem to be defying the aging averages). Up and comers Nieto (Love the way he caught on towards the end of the season and started using his speed)and Wingels are 21 and 25. Mueller may be the next Vlasic and Goldobin looks promising. Tierney at the least will be a great defensive checking line center, and has the potential to be more.

 

While I agree they should be in "WIN NOW" mode, I do not foresee us going the route of the flames. Most of the team is young.

[yave1964]

@J0e Th0rnton

Thornton and Marleau are the long term faces of the franchise, and both are getting long in the tooth, albeit still producing. With Kipper and Iggie the Flames had the same situation.

I believe my Wings were where your Sharks are now, about two years ago. Zetterberg and Datsyuk are getting up there and starting to break down, the window is closed or if not closed awfully close. If we had dealt one for say, a top pair right handed d-man two, three years ago the whole situation might be different. Now it is too late, neither is healthy enough to justify a team trading for them and giving up much of anything, and we really have to love with them in the decline phase and while I like our young forwards as well as most anyone in the game, they are nice energetic complimentary players, spear carriers and not the leaders to replace Dats and Z.

I see the Sharks in the same situation. Two years from now, I personally believe that at least one if not both of the old guys will be a fifty game a year guy and it wouldn't surprise me if both are. I like Pavelski (I hate him, but I like him, if you know what I mean) but he is a spear carrier as are your other forwards. I think that the window is now, and like the Wings you are stuck with your aging stars, you just are a year or two behind us in the inevitable aging process.

I still believe that if the Sharks had defeated the Kings, last year was there year. The Hawks weren't quite themselves, they never really developed a second or third line center but now with Richards and Teravainen they are stacked again, the Blues are better, maybe the best team in the game, the Kings are Champs and returned the whole team and the Ducks added Kesler and the Wild and Stars made a push as well. Nonetheless I am not ruling out the Sharks, but this year may be the last best chance for the Sharks as currently assembled. God am I glad the Wings moved out of the West.

[J0e Th0rnton]

@J0e Th0rnton

Thornton and Marleau are the long term faces of the franchise, and both are getting long in the tooth, albeit still producing. With Kipper and Iggie the Flames had the same situation.

I believe my Wings were where your Sharks are now, about two years ago. Zetterberg and Datsyuk are getting up there and starting to break down, the window is closed or if not closed awfully close. If we had dealt one for say, a top pair right handed d-man two, three years ago the whole situation might be different. Now it is too late, neither is healthy enough to justify a team trading for them and giving up much of anything, and we really have to love with them in the decline phase and while I like our young forwards as well as most anyone in the game, they are nice energetic complimentary players, spear carriers and not the leaders to replace Dats and Z.

I see the Sharks in the same situation. Two years from now, I personally believe that at least one if not both of the old guys will be a fifty game a year guy and it wouldn't surprise me if both are. I like Pavelski (I hate him, but I like him, if you know what I mean) but he is a spear carrier as are your other forwards. I think that the window is now, and like the Wings you are stuck with your aging stars, you just are a year or two behind us in the inevitable aging process.

I still believe that if the Sharks had defeated the Kings, last year was there year. The Hawks weren't quite themselves, they never really developed a second or third line center but now with Richards and Teravainen they are stacked again, the Blues are better, maybe the best team in the game, the Kings are Champs and returned the whole team and the Ducks added Kesler and the Wild and Stars made a push as well. Nonetheless I am not ruling out the Sharks, but this year may be the last best chance for the Sharks as currently assembled. God am I glad the Wings moved out of the West.

Large differences though. Couture is arguably the best forward on the team, and Pavelski right there with him. Equals to JT and PM. As well as Vlasic, Burns, Braun, Demers, Hertl, etc etc

 

The flames had little worth mention after Iggy and Kipr who were not over 30. Iginla never had guys capable of being his equal on that team. The Sharks have several.

 

All in all, I agree their best chance to win is right now. But we would still be a playoff team if those two went down with injury. Not like Calgary at all except in the spirit of the faces of the franchise getting older. The core of the team is still young and producing and we have more up and comers in the pipeline

[jammer2]

I still believe that if the Sharks had defeated the Kings, last year was there year.

 

 I was thinking along the same lines. If the Kings don't make that historic comeback, the Sharks could have very well come out of the West. I do think their goaltending would have been exposed eventually, but the forward depth may have made up for a few bad goalie outings. We will never know, but the Hawks were never more vulnerable than they were last year, with no real depth at center and some d-men having uncharacteristically bad playoffs. They have now fixed the center position with the addition of Richards, and I doubt the d-men slump like they did last year for a extended time. Last year was the year to take them out.

[J0e Th0rnton]

 I was thinking along the same lines. If the Kings don't make that historic comeback, the Sharks could have very well come out of the West. I do think their goaltending would have been exposed eventually, but the forward depth may have made up for a few bad goalie outings. We will never know, but the Hawks were never more vulnerable than they were last year, with no real depth at center and some d-men having uncharacteristically bad playoffs. They have now fixed the center position with the addition of Richards, and I doubt the d-men slump like they did last year for a extended time. Last year was the year to take them out.

Chicago has a different sort of problem next year. 7 Players coming off the books in need of extensions or replacements and those dual 10.5 million dollars of contracts for Kane/Toews kicking in. They only have 3.2 million in cap space after those 7 players come off the books, 4 of them defensemen!

 

They need to dump someone this year. but who?

[jammer2]

 

They need to dump someone this year. but who?

 

  It's gotta be Sharp or Hossa, they would fetch the most in return. The gritty part of Hossa's game is really underrated, it's exactly the type of play you need in the playoffs. That's why I'm leaning towards Sharp, who is also on the wrong side of 30.

[J0e Th0rnton]

  It's gotta be Sharp or Hossa, they would fetch the most in return. The gritty part of Hossa's game is really underrated, it's exactly the type of play you need in the playoffs. That's why I'm leaning towards Sharp, who is also on the wrong side of 30.

Hossa is 35, Sharp 32. Hossa is signed until 2021 lol. With a contract very likely to smash those recapture penalties since it was front loaded. Sharp has a No trade clause though. Hossa does not

[jammer2]

@J0e Th0rnton  Ahhh, forgot about that little 2021 tidbit....ha ha. You don't need a no trade with that kind of contract length, nobodies taking that on, not even Garth Snow....lol. Safe to say, Hossa is staying put. Odd to see a non elite player strapped with that kinda contract. He's a steady contributor and all, and does have an above average skill set...but elite, nope...can't say he is that. It's not like he's gonna suddenly step into the top 10 in scoring. What a horrible deal, was it Bowman or Tallon who created that beast of a contract....I'm thinking it was Tallon....geez.

[J0e Th0rnton]

@J0e Th0rnton  Ahhh, forgot about that little 2021 tidbit....ha ha. You don't need a no trade with that kind of contract length, nobodies taking that on, not even Garth Snow....lol. Safe to say, Hossa is staying put. Odd to see a non elite player strapped with that kinda contract. He's a steady contributor and all, and does have an above average skill set...but elite, nope...can't say he is that. It's not like he's gonna suddenly step into the top 10 in scoring. What a horrible deal, was it Bowman or Tallon who created that beast of a contract....I'm thinking it was Tallon....geez.

Well, at the time, recapture penalties for cap circumvention did not exist.

The last 4 years of the contract only cost 1 million dollars a year, and the 2016 year only 4 million. Because of recapture penalties now, it could get ugly lol.

 

Hossa was a very two way player at the time of the contract having just scored 40 goals, etc.

[jammer2]

@J0e Th0rnton  That's what I don't get, if this deal was signed after the new cap circumvention rules came in, it should not be subject to the new stipulations. Why are the Hawks being made to adhere to a set of rules that did not exist when they drew this deal up? It makes no sense to me at all. You should not get to grandfather in a contract like this, it should stand on it's own, a distinct separate entity based on when it was signed.

[J0e Th0rnton]

@J0e Th0rnton  That's what I don't get, if this deal was signed after the new cap circumvention rules came in, it should not be subject to the new stipulations. Why are the Hawks being made to adhere to a set of rules that did not exist when they drew this deal up? It makes no sense to me at all. You should not get to grandfather in a contract like this, it should stand on it's own, a distinct separate entity based on when it was signed.

I suspect it was voted on by owners for the new collective bargaining agreement.