Bittersweet Symphony: The 2009-10 San Jose Sharks

All of the Bay Area has gone into rain-filled slumber as the beloved San Jose Sharks 2009-2010 season is over.There is a bittersweet taste in the mouths of Sharks fans world-wide.Though the team exorcised it’s playoff demons by advancing to the Western Conference Finals, they ultimately fell short of their goal of winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Following a disappointing playoff exit last season, GM Doug Wilson assembled arguably the best Sharks roster to date. No group was better equipped for a long playoff run than this one.

Wilson put the pieces in place, head coach Todd McLellan had to create the strategy to help them succeed.

Regular Season

The difference between this team and past teams was evident from the opening face-off.

New captain Rob Blake was the veteran voice of reason. Through the ups and down’s of both the regular and post season, Blake’s presence provided the guidance to step up and meet the challenges head on.

Alongside Blake a new emergence of leadership came from some unsung players rather than the group of stars. Blake, Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe, and Douglas Murray were all mentioned at the end of the season for showing improved leadership.

The grit and tenacity of players like Scott Nichol and Jed Ortmeyer provided a toughness not seen for many years. Teams no longer came away from games against San Jose unscathed. Sharks fans even got the pleasure of seeing Marc-Edouard Vlasic fight.

Ortmeyer’s individual story is inspiring in itself. It earned him a nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy given to a player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

Manny Malhotra played the ultimate wild-card. As a training camp invitee, the Sharks got more than a bargain out of all the elements Malhotra brought to the team.

Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Dany Heatley formed one of the most daunting lines in recent memory. They carried their play into the Olympics as a group.

Evgeni Nabokov carried the Sharks through multiple games and once again provided the x-factor for victories. Nabby became only the second goalie to record three straight 40-win seasons.

The impact of rookies like Jason Demers, Logan Couture, Thomas Greiss and Jamie McGinn couldn’t have gone better.

San Jose was represented in full-colors at the Olympics by eight members. Five of those players played in the championship game between the US and Canada with four coming away with gold medals.

They returned to the top of the podium in the Western Conference, locking up the number one seed. But none of that really meant anything at that point.

Playoffs

The real season began with a first-round match-up against the Colorado Avalanche. This round featured one knee-buckler after another.

After a crippling defeat in game 1′s final minute, the Sharks battled to tie game 2 in the waning seconds and eventually win in overtime. With clear momentum on their side in game 3, the Sharks were dismantled by Boyle putting a puck behind his own net-minder to give the Av’s an overtime victory and 2-1 series lead. This is the highlight that will most likely be most-ingrained in everyone’s memory:

That was the turning point of the entire playoffs, and the separator from past playoff failures.

However the most exemplary moment of the Sharks post-season is what unfolded in game 4. Boyle scored the first goal of the game early. In a situation that would have unraveled past Sharks teams, they pulled through with a victory lead by Boyle and Pavelski.

Throughout the series it was the presence of San Jose’s second line of Pavelski, Clowe and Devin Setoguchi that provided the extra lift to get the win.

In the second round the Sharks battled through the Detroit Red Wings in an impressive five games. There was no getting by the Wings without the best players leading the way. That’s exactly what they did. No goal was bigger than Marleau’s overtime winner in game 3:

The volume at the Shark Tank for game 5 was on a whole other level. Someone cranked it up to 11 for that game as the fans knew what could result from a win. The 2-1 victory officially crushed the label of playoff chokers while simultaneously threatening the disappearance reputation of the teams stars in the playoffs.

Unfortunately their luck run out after that.

Most experts predicted the Western Conference Finals coming down to the Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks and that’s exactly what it was. Though the games were close, hard-fought battles the Sharks were never able to solve Antti Niemi or have an answer for Dustin Byfuglien.

If there’s any minor consolation in losing this deep in the playoffs, for the first time in around five years the Sharks lost to a better team they weren’t legitimately suppose to beat.

This post-season fans saw the Sharks players elevate their games when if counted for the first time in who knows how long.

Off-season

Once again the Sharks will face some difficult off-season decisions. Wilson will decide whether he just wants to tinker with this team or dramatically change the culture of it.

Both Nabokov and Marleau are unrestricted free agents. So is Blake, Nichol and Malhotra. Add in the restricted free agent status’ of Pavelski and Setoguchi and there’s reason to believe next years team will look very different.

Recap

The outcome isn’t where they wanted to be, but the Sharks have every reason to be proud of this season. Everyone involved played a part in getting them this far. Next year the bar will be set higher.

Now fans wade through another tumultuous summer hoping for mediocrity from the other Bay Area sports franchises. All the while waiting for the encore to one of the San Jose Sharks’ best seasons in franchise history.