San Jose Sharks Season Wrap-Up: The Good, Bad and Ugly of 2011-12

What do you say after a team with that much hype and that much talent fails to make a dent in the NHL playoffs?


Changes are coming in San Jose, and only a couple players are untouchable.


The 2011 offseason gave San Jose reason for hope, in terms of overcoming the hurdle that is the Western Conference Finals.

San Jose Sharks: Who Pays the Price If the Sharks Do Not Make the Playoffs?

Whether or not the San Jose Sharks make the playoffs this season, things are about to drastically change in San Jose.

It has simply been a weird year for the franchise. GM Doug Wilson trades away scorers Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi in

San Jose Sharks: Antti Niemi to Flyers Trade Rumor Only Makes Matters Worse

As previously mentioned in a more recent article, the San Jose Sharks were not far off from adding goalie Antti Niemi to the list of possible movers on NHL Trade Deadline Day.

Early Monday morning, Niemi was mentioned in a trade that would send him to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for young left winger James Van Riemsdyk.  The Flyers rejected the trade on

San Jose Sharks: Emotions Aside, Galiardi and Winnik Make Team Stronger

It was quite an emotional day in San Jose on Monday.  The Sharks were still in the air flying home from one of the worst road stretches in recent memory not knowing what trade deadline deals were ongoing for the team, Rick Nash-related or not.

It turned out that Jamie McGinn was the odd man out, but not in a Nash deal.  McGinn had been traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for left wingers T.J. Galiardi and Daniel Winnik.

NHL Trade Rumors: Predictions For the San Jose Sharks' Before the Trade Deadline

With so many rumors headed San Jose's way this past week, it is important to understand the logistics of the Sharks' trading situation and what the odds are that GM Doug Wilson comes through in the clutch and solidifies this team for a playoff push.

This weekend can go two ways for the San Jose Sharks.  Wilson can make a change on the top two lines

With the San Jose Sharks Struggling, Is Trading Antti Niemi a Possibility?

The San Jose Sharks' nine-game road trip has taken a turn for the worst with the loss to the last place Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday night, and it brings up a strong argument that maybe trading goalie Antti Niemi would benefit this team.

NHL Trade Deadline: San Jose Sharks Acquire Dominic Moore; What It Means

The pubic received updates all day via Twitter, Facebook, etc. on San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson's interaction with Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman before the game on Thursday night.

What to Watch For: Sharks Tested on the Road and Dwight Howard Interested in the Warriors?

What a weekend we had in the Bay Area. Even without the most popular San Francisco Giants and 49ers in full-season stride, the area can still manage to entertain a sports fan and keep them on the edge of their seat in the meantime.

Bay Area Sports Talk did that covering the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am throughout the entire week, most notably Sunday when Phil Mickelson bullied Tiger Woods to a final round 64 and the victory.

In other Bay Area news......

NHL Trade Rumors: Updating the San Jose Sharks' List of Possible Targets

'Tis the season for trade rumors aplenty and San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson seems to always be at the forefront of trade deadline deals. It has become customary for Wilson to seemingly improve his team's playoff chances with a pick-up at the end of February to help boost their specific weakness at the time.

San Jose Sharks: 5 Trade Scenarios Involving Antero Niittymaki

The Antero Niittymaki era in San Jose has come to an end. Er, kind of. I am not even sure there was an era, just a mediocre stint for the Sharks in which he started 22 games over two seasons. Mix that with a slew of injuries and a lost back-up role, and you should have a pretty disgruntled goaltender.

And that is exactly what they have.

San Jose Sharks: Injuries, Power Play Plaguing Team in January

If it is not one thing, it is another for the San Jose Sharks this month.

After an up-and-down December 2011, the team finally got back on the winning track, claiming victories in seven of their first nine games of 2012. That was soon followed

NHL Trade Speculation: 3 Players the San Jose Sharks Will Inquire About

San Jose Sharks' GM Doug Wilson always seems to come alive this time of year. With a little over a month before the NHL Trade Deadline, rumors of Wilson on the trade prowl have crept into the Twitterfeeds, blogs and rumor mills of Hockey Nation.

San Jose Sharks: The Best Way To Replace Martin Havlat is to Not

Martin Havlat, the speed and offensive skill the San Jose Sharks traded for during the offseason, is out for good portion of the upcoming few months. As far as we know, he will be sidelined 6-8 weeks, but we can bet on the 2 month range looking like a probable timetable for his return.

San Jose Sharks: 5 Teams That Could Use Antero Niittymaki

It has been a tough break for Antero Niittymaki since becoming a San Jose Shark, especially in the last year.

Injuries have kept him down, and now with Thomas Greiss playing excellent in net in relief of Antti Niemi, it would seem that Niittymaki's days in teal are numbered.

San Jose Sharks Not Shy in Big Games This Season

It is hard to call any games "big" this early in the 2011-12 NHL season, but for the sake of the argument the San Jose Sharks have had a few, and won nearly all of them.

What defines a big game?

San Jose Sharks: Top Prospects in Their System

The San Jose Sharks have made their mark in the NHL as a Western Conference powerhouse that is inches away from getting over that hurdle and into the Stanley Cup Finals.

NHL Free Agency: Ranking the New Players That Will Help the San Jose Sharks Make the Stanley Cup Finals

The San Jose Sharks made some deals this offseason, to say the least. GM Doug Wilson traded in offensive prowess for speed and bulky defense, giving this San Jose team a whole different look and feel heading into this season.

On paper, the Sharks look to be at the top of the Western Conference yet again. Even more, they have turned their biggest weakness into possibly its greatest asset.

San Jose Sharks: Training Camp Starts September 17; Kyle Wellwood Still On the Market

San Jose Sharks training camp starts at Sharks Ice in nine days, and yet the current roster seems incomplete. Maybe it is wishful thinking, but it still feels that the Sharks are one player away from being complete as a team.

The position that needs to be filled is a third or fourth line player, preferably a winger. Currently, San Jose will start the season with Torrey Mitchell, Michal Handzus and Jamie McGinn on the third line, and any combination of Andrew Murray, James Sheppard, Andrew Desjardins and Benn Ferriero on the fourth line.

San Jose Sharks: 5 Players That Could Surprise in 2011-12

It is almost that time of the year again. With training camp set to drop the puck on Saturday, September 17, many are excited to see what this new-look San Jose team has to offer.

Maybe "new-look" is a bad term. The team still has the same core of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle. They even have the same young stars like Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture.

However, the average Sharks fan may not know who the rest of the supporting players on the roster are, with all the moves that have happened this offseason.

San Jose Sharks' Focus Should Be On Antti Niemi and the Third, Fourth Lines

There is no hiding the fact that the San Jose Sharks were busy this offseason. The dealings between San Jose and the newly befriended Minnesota Wild have been well-documented, as have both teams' chances at their respective runs in the playoffs next season.

For the Sharks, they needed to address two problems they encountered last season: Speed and defense.