Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride

I put off writing this all day. My original intention was to simmer overnight and have this up in the morning, but as I got to work I realized that I still couldn't do it. So here I am, the evening after finally putting words to 'paper'.

I thought long and hard all day about how I was going to recap last nights Game 6 of the first round. I had a lot of ideas that I rejected as fast as they popped up. During all that I realized it doesn't matter. If you watched the game then you know how it played out and picking at a fresh wound is just painful. If you didn't there is only one word that can describe last night: choke.

Instead of rehashing the questionable play put forth by yet another bested Sharks squad I'm going to take a look back at how we got here. What happened? How in God's Name did the best team in the NHL lose to an 8^th seeded team in round one? Once again I have a single word: culture. We'll come full circle, but I'm gonna Tarantino this a bit and go way, way back.

Not too far back that it isn't still a touch fresh, though. To just after the lockout. That's really when the trend started. Quickly getting up to speed shouldn't be too hard. The Sharks have averaged 107 points per season since the lockout. 117 points in the '08-'09 season earned a President's Cup (albeit a backed into one). Those are great numbers and have led to division titles. Excellent! But who cares? I don't. We all know the real season starts after all 30 teams have played all 82 games.

Let's quickly review the post-seasons since the lockout:

2006

Playoffs would find San Jose in a fifth seed spot and advancing as far as round two. After gaining a 2 games to none lead over the Edmonton Oilers the Sharks dropped four straight to start their golf season.

2007

This year was supposed to be different. You could feel it. It was going to be a good playoff run. 107Pts in the regular season, a number five seed and changes were made that seemed exciting. Guerin was added as the critical piece to bring a Cup home. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. The Sharks made it to round two once again only to blow it against Detroit. With less than a minute to play in game 4 and the potential to take a 3-1 series lead captain Marleau made a critical error that allowed the Wings to tie the game, win in overtime and prevent San Jose from winning another series game.

2007 allowed the Sharks to try darts and horseshoes.

2008

2008! Once again changes abound. Key pieces were added at the trade deadline and San Jose was finally ready for the long haul to The Cup. Enter Calgary. San Jose had to fight through seven nasty games to barely make it out of that series and their only reward was to face Dallas. A collapse in the second round allowed Dallas to advance. Once again Joe, Nabby, Seto, JR and the gang hit the links.

That brings us up to pace. I hope, dear reader that you see a trend developing and it disturbs you. It certainly disturbs me. Doug Wilson is brilliant, he really is. Critical moves at just the right time and the development of young talent is a game that no one in the NHL can rival Mr. Wilson at. The problem though is that it just continues to not work.

Rivet, Campbell, Guerin... it's a long list of names that were the 'critical pieces'. The final bits of the puzzle to finally bring a Cup home. They couldn't get the job done so Wilson found others that maybe could. Blake, Boiler, Lukowich, Moen... even digging deep and giving an aging Lemieux a chance. Anything to get that needed experience and finally show the NHL that San Jose is no one-trick pony.

Not a single one of those pieces made the impact that was promised. Not a single one performed in a playoff series to the extent that the Sharks needed. Zero impact from key deadline trades. Maybe the formula just isn't working, Mr. Wilson.

It isn't fair to blame those guys, though. They were hired to come in and do a job and they did most of it. Great regular season play, contributions not only on the ice but off. Experience that just wasn't there before. That does make a difference. It just never materialized into the right difference.

I know it's trite and seems to be the trend, but I'm gonna go ahead and put this squarely on Jumbo Joe's shoulders. Stick Patty up on top with cotton candy in hand and I think you find the real problem. Neither one made an impact that, as leaders would have been more critical than anything else another member of the 23 man squad could have done. Thornton had a paltry 5 points to finish a -3 in the slaughtering that was handed out by Anaheim. Yeah, a fight at the faceoff of game 6 should have done something, but it didn't. Too little, too late. Marleau wasn't much better. Perennial playoff dropouts.

I'm not going to let Nabokov off the hook, either. Don't think I forgot about him. Nabby managed stats that anyone would be embarassed of – 2.82 goals against and an .890 save percentage. Utterly tragic. The Nabokov of the regular season is a stellar, stand-on-his-head nightly type of goalie. One of the elite. The playoffs often find him looking like a dumb-struck kid fresh out of high school that suddenly finds himself tending net in the NHL. Amazing when it doesn't matter and utter bollocks when it does.

Back to what I said about 23 men. It takes them all, this is true. The blame has to go somewhere though and those three men named above deserve to shoulder more than their fair share. The crux of the problem, in this humble man's opinion lays with those three. Sort it out, boys because I think at least one of you doesn't return next year. Here's a stick, have fun.

GM Doug Wilson fired coach Ron Wilson after he failed to advance the team yet again last season. Well, Doug I think it's safe to say that coaching wasn't really the problem. Sure, the new system works. McClellan is doing a great job, getting guys to produce in the regular stretch and looked poised to bring the ship back upright. The end result was the same though. Where does that leave us? Was Ron Wilson really the problem or not? We may never know, but I for one think not.

GM Doug Wilson has also made strategically brilliant moves to gain key players in the off season and at the trade deadline. Every one of those players has failed to make the impact that was expected. Pressure dictating performance? Maybe a little. Lack of desire? Doubtful. Leadership? There it is again, isn't it. So are the trades to blame? No way, Jose! Look at the core. Just like any healthy body there is a healthy core behind it. Get production from the leaders and the rest of the gang follows along. It worked all regular season. The playoffs only reinforce my belief by producing Nada. Zip. Zilch.

San Jose is in the record books for yet another reason after the 2009 playoffs – they've managed to become just the second team since the lockout to win a President's Trophy and take a first round exit. There may be a silver lining to that, however. When Detroit did it they rallied back the following year to make the finals and snagged a Cup in 2008. Maybe that's really what's going on in San Jose. I'm not convinced, but I'm willing to pretend.

So where do we go? If I'm Doug Wilson I move the Captain and Joe. Keep Nabby because we know he's solid during regular season play. Shuffle some pieces. Mix things up. Look to developing talent. Keep some of those draft picks for the organization instead of trading them on broken promises and rentals. Is it going to hurt? In the short-term it's going to feel like a slow death, but in the long term I think the payoff far outweighs the heartache.

Culture: I told you we'd make it back here. Every team has a culture. It's what they're built on, believe in and preach day in and day out. San Jose has built a very solid one that has lasted quite a while. Unfortunately, it's a culture of failure. The Sharks are so ingrained with it no amount of scrubbing will clean it off. The only way to change it is to rebuild from the inside out and kick to the curb the garbage. I know some won't agree with that assessment and that's fine. I stand by it. At the end of the day it matters not how you got there, but where you ended up. I'll take an 8^th seed in round one and a Cup over a President's Trophy and golf lessons any day.

Leaders are born, not made and that is becoming more and more obvious in San Jose.

Photo credit - AP Photo/Henry DiRocco