With the great pickup of Boedker, good addition of Schlemko, likely addition of Goldobin, and possible addition of Meier, I can't help but see this Sharks team in the WCF next year at least again. Adding the elite speed of Boedker and quickness of Goldobin may help a bit against a Pittsburgh-esque team again?
I'm optimistic about that but what do you think?
I'm optimistic as well but a lot depends on whether Thornton (and also Burns and Pavs) repeats last year's performance or at least comes close to it. We have better depth this year but if Thornton declines substantially, I think we could have problems. Couture would be good at 1C but unless he improves, he's not close to Thornton yet. Burns was also key so we need him to keep his excellent play during the second half of last season and the playoffs (sans the finals, where he didn't play enough with the Joes bc they were babysitting our bottom pairing).
Another factor is who makes the team. If Goldobin and Meier make the team and do well, we've got a great team, at least on paper. Goldobin is an excellent playmaker who can score and Meier is a good goalscorer whose playmaking is improving. That gives us a lot more versatility bc Couture, Marleau, and Hertl aren't the best playmakers, though they're pretty good. Boedker is also good at that. There are some other potential rookies on the team, e.g., Sorensen, Heed who could help too. But none of them may make the team, at least until someone is injured and the Sharks need a fill in.
One of the biggest factors will be injuries. If we can stay healthy, I think this is a deep team that should do well. But one never knows until the games are played. Also, none of the teams' rosters are set so it's hard to say how the Sharks will match up.
Wow, what a ****ing weird post.
