[When it comes time to talk San Jose Sharks hockey, it’s time to Jump the Shark(ie). A column based on my thoughts, observations, and commentary on my favorite NHL franchise - and named in homage to one really crappy episode of Happy Days that more or less, signified the coming of the end ]

You know, I’m trying to keep this as positive as possible, but this was just a really bad way to end such a great season. The Sharks dominated the entire NHL for more than a month and then struggled to stay alive as long as they did in the playoffs.Obviously the team peaked way too soon, and either the magic ran out of other teams learned how to attack/ defend us by the time the playoffs hit. It also didn’t help any that we drew two teams in Calgary and Dallas that were quite familiar with the Sharks. So rather than start pining over the playoffs specifically, let’s take a quick look at what went wrong this year and what the Sharks need to do to address this in the offseason.

Offseason Goals

The offseason goals are just that: goals… more of them. I see two problems with the Sharks when it comes to goal scoring: 1. The Sharks were 19th in the regular season in goals scored, and 2. The Sharks top goal scorer (Big Joe Thornton) only had 29 goals. The second may not seem obviously a problem, but only ten teams (including the Sharks) had a top scorer with fewer than 30 goals. Of those teams, only 3 teams made it to the Conference Semifinals: the Sharks, Rangers and Avalanche. Needless to say, neither of these teams really did very well - the Sharks were less than ten minutes away from dropping the series 4 games to 1.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that there has to be some sort of correlation between goals scored, not just by a team, but also by their leading scorer. That being said, the Sharks have three options: do nothing (most likely), sign a free agent this offseason, make a trade, or really work with their prospects to make sure that they get production in 2008-09.

Free Agents/Trades

Honestly, when it comes to trades, who knows. It’s really impossible to predict the trades Dougie Wilson makes, so I’m not even going to try, but I will state the obvious: the Sharks traded up to draft Logan Couture who will be blocked by Pat Marleau. That is all I will say. As for free agents that will be available this offseason, there are a few I wouldn’t mind seeing the Sharks pick up… but they probably won’t. As you can tell, I’m picking out the guys who aren’t past their primes (a la Jeremy Roenick).

Bryan Campbell (28 years old)

This one is obvious and needs no analysis; he makes their PP work.

Sean Avery (27 years old)

First, yes, Avery is a huge douchebag. But he’d be our douchebag. In only 57 games this year, the agitator picked up 15 goals and 125 shots on goal. His attitude alone would be a great addition to the team; let’s get our swagger back.

John-Michael Liles (26 years old)

Sure, I’d rather they just find a way to keep Campbell, but if they can’t, Liles has pretty good offensive skills and put 163 shots on goal this year; that was good enough to make him 14th among all defenseman.

Ryan Malone (27 years old)

Ryan is definitely not going to solve anything major, but a one-year contract wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. Malone scored 27 goals this year, and knows what it’s like to play with an elite center.

Marian Hossa (28 years old)

Okay, so this just plain isn’t going to happen. Hossa is arguably the top free agent in this year’s class, and there will be a bidding war for his 35-40 goals a year. I can only imagine though what he could do on a line with Thornton…

Prospecting

The main reason why the Sharks won’t be signing any of the wingers I mentioned above is the fact that they have two forwards in the top 19 prospects in hockey. Both Devin Setoguchi and Logan Couture have the potential to become a second-line forward and first-line forward respectively. If Couture can at least make the leap to the Sharks’ second line next year and put 15-20 goals into the net, that will be a huge boost.As I mentioned earlier, Couture is blocked at his natural position by Marleau, but maybe Marleau can shift to Thornton’s wing full time or Couture can play on Malreau’s wing?

I don’t know, but it seems like before they do anything drastic they need to give this guy a good look. Unfortunately Setoguchi probably tops out as a second line player… as does almost every winger in their organization. Hence, Devin is not the answer, but how about top two lines of Marleau-Thornton-Michalek and Setoguchi-Couture-Cheechoo?

Well, that’s it for now. If the Sharks do anything exciting this offseason of course I’ll have to cover it; otherwise Jumping the Shark(ie) is going on hiatus for a little while…