After a year of questionable decisions, Doug Wilson has answered some of his critics by assembling a playoff-caliber squad.
The San Jose Sharks were a disaster last season.
After being one of the model franchises for a decade, San Jose capitulated following their postseason collapse at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
However, following a season where he bickered with his best player, Doug Wilson redeemed himself by assembling perhaps the deepest Sharks team in recent memory.
It all began with reconciling with Joe Thornton at the end of last year and realizing that last year’s team was lacking in many key areas.
So, Wilson’s first order of business was hiring Peter DeBoer to replace Todd McLellan as a fresh voice for this group. DeBoer has been a perfect fit for this group as he’s given the team the necessary rest they’ve needed, while believing in his top-flight players. It’s no surprise that Brent Burns flourished on the blue line under the tutelage of DeBoer.
Wilson’s next task was to upgrade the depth at every level and he was aggressive in doing so. He traded a first-round pick to Boston for goaltender Martin Jones, who’s been rock solid for the Sharks in his first season as a full-time starter.
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Then, he upgraded the blue line by inking Paul Martin to a four-year deal, and the forward ranks by signing Joel Ward to a three-year deal during free agency. While the term on the contracts might not be ideal, both brought in a veteran presence the team was lacking last season.
Martin allowed Burns to go out and be himself on the ice as Martin provided steadying presence, there to help make amends for some of Burns’ mistakes.
Perhaps the most underrated signing of the offseason was Wilson finding a little known player from Finland named Joonas Donskoi who would go on to be named as the Sharks Rookie of the Year after posting 11 goals and 25 assists with a plus-four rating in 76 games this season.
After assembling a deeper squad, Wilson still had to be patient as this team took time to gel after so many new pieces being brought in. Once the calendar turned to 2016, team teal really took off and it’s a testament to Wilson for sticking with these players.
When the group proved that they were going to be a playoff team, Wilson was aggressive again in acquiring even more depth pieces by dealing for Roman Polak, Nick Spaling and James Reimer.
Polak has provided a physical presence on the blue line and should be perfectly suited to playoff hockey. Spaling can play up-and-down the lineup and gives the Sharks another adept penalty-killer.
And then there’s Reimer who’s been spectacular in his eight starts, winning six of them including three shutouts. By acquiring Reimer, it allowed Jones to get some more rest down the stretch in order to be fresh and ready for the postseason.
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Now that the postseason is upon us, it’s time to see if the building Wilson has done will finally pay off for San Jose. It’s only fitting that the Sharks will be tested right away against the Kings to see if they can avenge their devastating collapse from two years ago. That’s the biggest question remaining for team teal: things may be different, but will the results still be the same?
The answers will begin to come tomorrow night, but you have to give some credit to Wilson for helping to orchestrate this turnaround for the Sharks this season.