vikash1987
Registered User
Just a technicality, perhaps, but since it’s come up a couple times: I wouldn’t lump 2004 into this timeframe when analyzing the Sharks…
* pre-Lockout: Sharks were $10mm below league avg. in payroll in ‘03-‘04, and their roster was full of low-profile players, as well as key guys such as Damphousse and Ricci and Korolyuk who were no longer there post-Lockout. TBH, I see a closer link between 2004 and 2002 (when the Sharks were a game away from the WCF) than between 2004 and 2006.
* pre-Thornton: Cup expectations for the Sharks were very different before vs. after that trade….stating the obvious. In fact, the Sharks were underdogs in ‘04 against St. Louis and a stacked Colorado team.
* new leadership: ‘03-‘04 was the first full season without captain Owen Nolan, and with new coach Ron Wilson and new GM Doug Wilson. The mission, with these new faces, was to turn things around after a dismal season. That narrative didn’t really fit with the later seasons.
* pre-Lockout: Sharks were $10mm below league avg. in payroll in ‘03-‘04, and their roster was full of low-profile players, as well as key guys such as Damphousse and Ricci and Korolyuk who were no longer there post-Lockout. TBH, I see a closer link between 2004 and 2002 (when the Sharks were a game away from the WCF) than between 2004 and 2006.
* pre-Thornton: Cup expectations for the Sharks were very different before vs. after that trade….stating the obvious. In fact, the Sharks were underdogs in ‘04 against St. Louis and a stacked Colorado team.
* new leadership: ‘03-‘04 was the first full season without captain Owen Nolan, and with new coach Ron Wilson and new GM Doug Wilson. The mission, with these new faces, was to turn things around after a dismal season. That narrative didn’t really fit with the later seasons.