What’s It Gonna Take For San Jose?
“This is a guy that you know what he is capable of.”--- GM Doug Wilson

By Barbara Mason 10/04/2010
Bay Area Sports Drive/Raiderdrive.com

How many times will the San Jose Sharks have stellar seasons, make the playoffs and then fall short.  It has happened far too often.  They are
stacked with talent and last season had bragging rights to one of the most talented goalies in the league.

GM Doug Wilson had tough decisions to make after this last season came to an end.   One of the toughest came to pass when goalie Evgeni Nabokov was let go and the search for his replacement got underway.  It was only a few hours after the NHL’s free agency furor got underway that San Jose had their man. Goalie Antero Niittymaki signed a two-year deal that will earn
him a reported $4 million.  “This is a guy you know what he is capable of in a pressure situation,” said Doug Wilson. During this free agency while the Sharks did gain a goalie, they also lost a center as Manny Malhotra moved on to Vancouver signing a three-year contract with them.

It may turn out that while Niittymaki will carry the majority of the load, he will also share some of it with Thomas Greiss or Alex Stalock. 
Nabokov rarely received breathers and it had to be exhausting.  When Antero got the call he couldn’t have been happier.  “Obviously, when they announced they weren’t going to offer Nabokov a new deal, every goalie in the league knew there was an opening,” said Niittymaki.   You can be sure that more than one goalie was hoping for a call from the Sharks but it was the Fin that landed the deal.  He compares his style to former Shark goalies Toskala and Kiprusoff which will make for an exciting new season.

Also re-signed to four-year contracts were crowd favorites; forwards Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski.  “Both players had a tremendous regular
season, excelled on the ice for their respective countries at the Winter Olympics and elevated their game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” said GM
Doug Wilson.  “We are excited to have Joe and Patty back in San Jose to build on what we accomplished last season.” Center Scott Nichol was also re-signed to a one-year deal hoping to cash in on his ultra competitive nature as well as his experience.

The retirement of defenseman Rob Blake after 20 years in the NHL was not unexpected but a loss any way you look at it.  He brought so much class to the ice as well as the years of experience he amassed along the way.  “I was very fortunate to play 20 years in the NHL,” he said.  He earned incredible respect from all of this team mates and he will be sorely missed.  This team captain was another fan favorite.  In fact if you asked a single Shark fan they would probably say that they never met a Shark they didn’t like.  San Jose just seems to land the good ones.

There will be many more comings and goings before next season gets underway.  Doug Wilson will certainly have his hands full, but doesn’t he
always?  San Jose came so painfully close in this year’s playoffs advancing to the conference finals before falling to the eventual champs.
The Sharks have more than paid their dues and their time is close.   I will not venture a guess as to when, but its close so very close.