I can't believe more of you didn't notice that I just stole calgaryballer's post about the Flames and changed it to fit the Sharks. Some parts didn't fit (like the Boyle stuff) but some parts fit perfectly.
Anyway, the Sharks need to get rid of Marleau. He's just way too soft. Or at least strip him of the C and give it to Boyle.
Thornton is not a superstar but he is a good player. It's obvious that he is not a playoff player but he is still the best offensive player on the team. So how do you get rid of your best offensive player?
Nobody on the Sharks played well. Michalek, Pavelski, Clowe, Setoguchi, Marleau, Thornton - none of them generated quality scoring chances and those guys make up our top 2 lines. Our 3rd and 4th lines were completely non-existant sans Torrey Mitchell.
Sharks have too many pretty players. Too many big names, too many old guys. KG, Blake is good for getting shots to the net but that is all he can do. He is too old and too slow to be out there any more. He is a liability in the defensive end because he is out of position and can't make up for it because he is so slow which forces him to take penalties. He lead the team in penalties during the regular season and the guy really is not a physical enforcer out there by any stretch of the imagination so all his penalties were hooking & tripping calls due to his slow and lazy style of play.
Murray was a real bright spot I thought. At times he reminded me of Scott Stevens (don't worry I'm not really comparing him to the great Scott Stevens).
Ehrhoff is so fucking soft I think I could kick his ass.
But like KG said, and I've actually been saying this for quite some time now, the Sharks are not a very good passing team. They had a hell of a time trying to transition the puck up the ice because they couldn't hit teammates in stride. It was left to Boyle or Ehrhoff to just skate it all the way up the ice and into the opposing zone which is just a terrible strategy, especially when it is your only strategy.
At the same time, let's not forget how long it took guys like Steve Yzerman and Ray Bourque to win their first cups. Some of the greatest hockey players of all time received the same criticism that guys like Thornton & Marleau are receiving before they sipped champagne from the cup.
That said, I think they are too soft. I would take 10 Torrey Mitchells over 10 Joe Thorntons any day of the week when it comes to playoff hockey.