San Jose Sharks Approaching Crossroads As A Franchise

The San Jose Sharks have been trying to retool, refresh or transition this franchise ever since the Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. From that point on, it appears general manager Doug Wilson has wanted to move on from the one-two punch of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau in some sort of capacity.

Last season, it was the year-long public spat between Wilson and Thornton after stripping Thornton of the captaincy position. Now both parties said they had made amends and moved forward, but just 15 games into the 2015-16 season, the rumors have already begun, this time centering on Marleau.

The difference in this scenario is it appears Marleau may have been the one to facilitate the trade talk. According to TSN’ Bob McKenzie, it’s more probable that Marleau is pushing for a trade more so than Wilson.

Now this would be a change as Marleau always seemed like someone who wanted to play the entirety of his career in San Jose. Marleau is in the second year of a three-year deal that has a full no-trade clause, so he controls the destination for the most part. The culmination of frustrations has likely weighed on Marleau, and I’m sure he’s tired of being seen as the scapegoat for a franchise that has consistently fallen short.

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For Wilson, this could be his final chance of putting his mark on the Sharks team as it would be hard to foresee him returning if San Jose continues to struggle this year. It’s obvious Wilson has wanted to transition the team over to Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture, and that’s not an unreasonable notion. Pavelski and Couture represent the future of this franchise so putting more on their shoulders make sense.

However, Marleau and Thornton are still valuable pieces of this team and are still playing major roles.  With Marleau seemingly wanting out of San Jose, it’s Wilson’s opportunity to bring in more young talent and also try and recoup a first-round pick for 2016. The luxury for Wilson is he has time to sift through the different scenarios and options that may service. Despite their poor performance of late, the Sharks are right in the middle of a pretty mediocre Pacific Division.

Also, depending on how strongly Marleau wants out, his list of desirable destinations could expand. Right now, everything is still very much in flux, but where there’s smoke there’s usually fire so this won’t be going away any time soon.

Next: Three Potential Suitors Emerge For Patrick Marleau

Regardless, the decision of what to do with Marleau is likely one of the biggest calls for the future for the Sharks. Wilson can ill-afford to mess this up and not receive full value for a player of Marleau’s caliber, and he can’t alienate him in a way where he doesn’t perform if he remains in teal.

It’s a delicate situation, but one that will ultimately help shape the future of the San Jose Sharks.