commentary...

honestly,this is not sour grapes,but to tell you the truth,i am very tired of hearing about the Sharks being,"the next big powerhouse",in NHL,but in fact they are a very very good team,hate to admit that... i wish they stunk up the joint,but no way... good point is that they got to the Western Conference Finals,and beat Detroit both times,in doing so,for them...... first year,i call that series,"the Paul Devorski,et al Show",meaning simply that the referees just made it impossible for the Red Wings to win,or in other words,it just seemed that the referees "stole" the show...... i will never forget what the referees did throughout that series,especially in game two... last season,the Sharks won a fair,and very close,seven game series(no arguments,there)... the Sharks were built to beat the Red Wings,the last two years... the bad point is that,in the Western Conference Finals,against Chicago(2010),and Vancouver(2011),they won only won one game,against either team(Vancouver),and got steamrolled,by both teams,on the way to summer golf... there are pundits that say that San Jose improved in off-season,to the point that they should get to Stanley Cup Finals,but to me,i really do not see that happening... they added some good players,but until they get past Chicago,Vancouver,and for the third time,Detroit(and you know that Detroit will be aching for revenge),the Sharks are a very good team,but are they going to fight for Stanley Cup,one on one,this season? do not think so... the problem in San Jose is not the players,or the coach,it is in the front office,who simply are,"the gang that can't shoot straight"... they built some teams that won President's Trophy,but got pounded out in first round,a team that has gotten to three Conference Finals series(record:3-12,or something like that),lost in second round,or earlier,five straight years,before getting steamrolled by Chicago,and Vancouver,the last two years,in Western Conference Finals... you may say that they are improving,and that Detroit has not done anything in years... very true,but when Detroit gets to Western Conference Finals,they have won six times,and won Stanley Cup four times,since 1995(most of any NHL team),and have been in playoffs twenty straight years... for your information,the reason that i think that Paul Devorski is the worst NHL referee is simple:game two,2010 second round Sharks/Red Wings... enough said... the Sharks are a very very good team,no doubt,but if they do not get near Stanley Cup this season,the owners will need to "clean house" in front office,because,unlike Detroit,i do not see San Jose getting anywhere near raising Stanley,until they get rid of some dead weight,in the front office,and to tell you the truth,they really are,"the gang that can't shoot straight..."