BREAKING NEWS - New NHL Schedule for next year!

The NHL Board of Governors finally approved a new schedule for next year, dumping the much maligned 32 divisional games per year. Sorry Phoenix & LA, I guess I won't have a chance to catch you 8 times a year!

The breakdown goes like this:

• 24 divisional games - We'll see LA, Anaheim, Dallas, & Phoenix 6 times per year
  
• 40 conference games - Detroit, Nashville, Minn etc. 4 times per year
• 18 opposing conference games - 1 game against each Eastern Conference team, plus 3 extra on the slate to create 3 home-and-home series

The schedule really isn't that drastic of a change - 8 less intra-divisional games, 8 more opposing conference games. But our chances of seeing other superstars has jumped dramatically. Crosby, Ovechkin, even old mates like Toskala will now have a 60% chance of visiting the Shark Tank in a given year, as opposed to the current 33% chance.

Mic'd Up

Top 10 Mic moments in pro sports. And wouldn't you know it, our very own geriatric blabber makes the list. The #1 is fantastic, too:

Pacific Wrap-Up, Rant

The Sharks finished their first tour through the Pacific and much like the team, the results look somewhat positive, but muddled and disappointing at the same time.

The team notched a 6-3-3 record, for a total of 15 points and 62.5% percentage of points. If that sounds familiar, that's because, statistically, it's exactly the same as they were doing a month ago.

How did they fare versus each Pacific team?
Dallas: 2-1
Anaheim: 0-0-2
Phoenix: 3-0
Los Angeles: 1-2-1

What can we draw from that? We still can't beat Anaheim, we can still beat Phoenix, and I don't know what the fuck is wrong with us and Los Angeles. Except for that LA part, this is exactly the same as a year ago.

What did Ron Wilson have to say about last night's game and the year in general? " 'I want to see more players upset with what our record is and, as individuals, what their numbers are,' Sharks Coach Ron Wilson said. 'It's just not acceptable.' " Does this sound familiar? This is exactly what we always hear from the coaching staff - that the players need to accept more responsibility, never the coaching staff.

First it was the long road trip to start the season, then it was a minor case of the injury bug, then it was Marleau and Cheechoo underperforming, then it was a schedule that was too busy, then it was a week-long layoff. Excuses, excuses, excuses.

From top to bottom, the Sharks organization has given us nothing but excuses, denials, and finger-pointing ever since the Detroit flame out this past May. Two consecutive home losses to the second-worst team in the NHL must be a wake-up call to the Wilsons.

• Neidermeyer is returning to Anaheim.
  
• Phoenix acquired Bryzgalov.
  
• Cammalleri and Kopitar will only improve for Los Angeles.
  
• Dallas leads the division and just came off a 6-game regulation win streak.

I spoke a month ago that the Sharks needed to sink or swim through this patch of the schedule. They still tread water, and we're all getting tired of it.

Tyson-esque

Except Downey's a southpaw. In related news, we play the Stars 12/5:

Well That's Reassuring

"If you're asking for a plan," Wilson said Monday, "there is no plan."

-Ron Wilson, on when Nabokov will have a night off, or how to score on the shootout, or how to beat Detroit and Anaheim, or how to get Marleau more involved...

Early All-Star Exit Polls

Or, proof I know more about hockey than the average NHL fan.

ESPN features the early numbers from NHL All-Star fan balloting today, in an easy-to-read, statistically relevant format. Or not.


Not too many surprises at the top, with Zetterberg and Iginla nabbing the top two spots for Western Conference forwards. But there are some familiar faces, further down the list. Here's a list of how the forwards rank in the fan voting, then their rank in points as compared with other Western Conference forwards:

1	.	Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit, 58,074;	1
2	.	Jarome Iginla, Calgary, 42,552;	2
3	.	Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit, 39,041;	7
4	.	Joe Sakic, Colorado, 33,307;	23
5	.	Mike Cammalleri, Los Angeles, 32,650;	18
6	.	Joe Thornton, San Jose, 28,117;	6
7	.	Paul Stastny, Colorado, 25,408;	4
8	.	Jonathan Cheechoo, San Jose, 23,802;	103
9	.	Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim, 20,546;	4
10	.	Marian Gaborik, Minnesota, 20,539;	28
11	.	Rick Nash, Columbus, 20,508;	3
12	.	Jason Arnott, Nashville, 19,015;	28
13	.	Mike Modano, Dallas, 17,753;	48
14	.	Paul Kariya, Saint Louis, 13,994;	10
15	.	Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles, 13,203;	18
16	.	Ales Hemsky, Edmonton, 11,122;	28
17	.	Shane Doan, Phoenix, 10,787;	28
18	.	Ryan Smyth, Colorado, 10,634;	52
19	.	Martin Havlat, Chicago, 8,948;	N/A
20	.	Milan Hejduk, Colorado, 8,832;	63
21	.	Andy McDonald, Anaheim, 6,965;	57
22	.	Brian Rolston, Minnesota, 6,774;	48
23	.	Patrick Marleau, San Jose, 6,289;	68
24	.	Daymond Langkow, Calgary, 6,175;	15
25	.	Keith Tkachuk, Saint Louis, 5,801;	37

That's right! Our very own marginally acceptable, marginally popular Jonathan Cheechoo is 8th in fan balloting, while ranking 9th on his own team in points. Even more shocking? Our captain receiving just 26% of Cheech's votes. That means 3 out of 4 Sharks fans voting picked Thornton and Cheechoo, but not Marleau. Huh?

In all honesty, those 2 should not even be on the ballot. Roenick and Mihalek are having incredible years and are more deserving of ballot space. JR's even has a write-in campaign going on myspace.

The other sore thumb on that list? Martin Havlat's injured shoulder, which has kept him out of all but ONE GAME this year, but not the top 20 in All-Star balloting. The NHL - where literally no one's watching!

Hot Carle Drops A Load... In The Bank

The Internets is reporting today Matt Carle signed a 4-year extension. In keeping with club policy, I had to do 5 minutes of research to find out the terms - $14 million.

You can read here a bunch of euro-gibberish. You can also find out His Hotness will receive $2.95, $3.5, $3.5, and $3.8 million for each of the next four years.

At first I was OK with the extension - we've got a young prospect that has a lot of time to develop and work with some veterans, and we'd only be paying him about $2.5 million per year. Wait, we're not paying him $2.5 per year? Oh, well, fuck that.

This will all work out OK if Carle turns into a top-15 defenseman by the time that 4th year rolls around. If he continues his torrid pace towards 5 goals and 27 points... Let's just hope he's spending a lot of time with Oz these days.

So....thirsty....

Phoenix, AZ - Inside Jobing.com Arena for a Coyote Home Game

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I swear I have a good reason - there's no f'ing Sharks hockey. Now, while this current week stretch without a game is annoying and unbearable (those Canadians really need Thursday off), I personally have been hit harder than anyone else.

For you see, I was trapped in the 7th-circle known as Downtown Los Angeles from the 12th to the 17th. Add on the fact I missed the game on Saturday the 10th (can't remember why, so probably drinking) - this indicates the last Sharks hockey I've seen was a shootout loss to the Ducks, and a shootout loss to the Ducks. Somethings never change.

All told, the period from November 9th to November 24th has seen me watch all of 2 periods and an overtime of the Sharks. That's an average of 3 minutes of play per day.

In any case, I'm committed to writing some new material. The blue line in particular has been fascinating with Ozolinch tearing shit up and Douglas Murray as one of the top 3 defensemen in the league (how's that for a teaser?).

La La Land

The San Jose Sharks won a shootout...

Against the best shootout team in the league...

In Dallas...

To win 3 consecutive games?

I must be in a different world.

Stop The Ride Please

...I think I'm gonna be sick.