2013-2014 San Jose Sharks...

i have pounded on the San Jose Sharks for years,because their roster has been rebuilt a number of times,and they keep on saying that they are going to make a run at the Stanley Cup,every year,and yet,they have come up short... they have the second longest current NHL streak of playoff appearances,at nine years,behind Red Wings' current 22 year streak of making the playoffs... that is the good news... the bad news is that in the last five years of their last playoff series,that year,the record that they have is a very,very paltry 7-20,against the opponents that booted them out of the playoffs,those seasons... they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks,and the Vancouver Canucks,in back to back years,in the Western Conference finals,winning only one game,between those two years... Chicago won the Stanley Cup,in 2010,and Vancouver lost to the Boston Bruins,in seven weird games,in 2011... in the last four complete NHL seasons,they have declined every year,in total points,from 117,in 2008-2009,to 96,in 2011-2012,and have dropped from first,in the Pacific Division,in 2008-2009,to third,last season(2013 NHL season)... their best player just signed a five year contract extension,in Logan Couture,but i believe the problems that the Sharks face are three-fold:1)their roster has not changed that much,since 2008-2009,and 2)the mental state of the team during the Stanley Cup playoffs,because the team has had some very good,sometimes superior,regular seasons,but some spectacular playoff collapses,and 3)their static front office that seems not to have a clue to build,or rebuild,a team that is going nowhere fast... they have talent to make the Stanley Cup playoffs,but the stars on the team are getting older,and their American Hockey League affiliate,in Worcester,Mass. needs to step up to restock their team... Joe Thornton,Patrick Marleau,and Couture bolster their team offensive core,but Thornton,and Marleau are getting older,and they are almost predictable in the way they play their games,which is not always a bad idea for a team,but with a team that has some stars who are long in the tooth that may not be that good... Brad Stuart heads a team defense that may give too many shots,in the games that they played,last season... Antti Niemi is one of the NHL best goaltenders,period,but facing too many pucks,may be the team's downfall,but again,Niemi is one of the best goaltenders,in the NHL,so it will be interesting to see them play,in a reconfigured Pacific Division,with the Vancouver Canucks,the Calgary Flames,the Edmonton Oilers,the Phoenix Coyotes,the Anaheim Ducks,and the Los Angeles Kings...