- San Jose Sharks center Jeremy Roenick fired a
2 under par 70 to lead the first round of the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship last weekend in Lake Tahoe. Roenick registered a 6 over par 78 on
day 2, and a 2 over par on day 3 to finish
9th overall (9 birdies, 14 bogeys, 0 penalty minutes). The official tournament website is available at
tahoecelebritygolf.com. Video of Roenick's birdie put above courtesy of Yahoo's
Greg Wyshynski, who has more on Roenick saving playing partner Tony Romo from a water hazard.
Also getting in on the golf action is new Shark defenseman Dan Boyle, who is competing in the
7th Annual Rautins-House Celebrity Classic held at the Rivermead Golf Club in Ottawa.
- The Sharks announced the signings of centers Marcel Goc, Tom Cavanagh and defenseman turned right wing Brad Staubitz on Monday. Marcel Goc registered 5 goals and 8 points in 53 games played for the Sharks on the checking line last season. In the past he competed for Team Germany in the 2008 World Championships and 2006 Olympics. The Sharks need Marcel Goc to fill out a more of a defensive specialist role, a player who can win key faceoffs and make high percentage plays in his own zone. Right wing Tom Cavanagh signed a 1-year contract after registering 12 goals and 32 assists in 77 games played with the Worcester Sharks last season. Cavanagh earned an assist on a Joe Thornton goal 36 seconds into his only NHL game played last season against Los Angeles. Right wing Brad Staubitz also signed a 1-year contract. "Brad is a big, strong player that has shown improvement in his three
seasons in our organization. We asked him to change from
defense to forward and he has accepted the challenge and is making the
most of it." San Jose Sharks General manager and EVP Doug Wilson said of Staubitz.
- The
box office dropoff for Mike Myers' Love Guru has been precipitous. After opening with a $13+ million weekend, the Guru drew just under $2 million in week 3, and $549,853 in week 4. The number of theaters airing the movie has dropped from 3,012 to 909.
-
Eurohockey.net announced the Worcester Sharks signing of former Worcester Icecats defenseman Brendan Buckley from the Iserlohn Roosters of the Deutscher Eishockey Liga. Prior to his season in Germany, Buckley was the captain of the AHL's Manchester Monarchs in 2006-07. The Worcester Telegram and Gazette's Bill Ballou also
notes that veteran sniper Cory Larose is expected to sign with the Sharks top AHL affilate after the loss of the two top scorers in Mike Iggulden and Graham Mink. The AHL Sharks have holes on defense they will need to fill with the loss of Wishart, Carle and Brennan Evans. Bill Ballou reports that those may be addressed with Matt Kinch and Brett Westgarth.
- An "open source" rumor from
Daniel Sallows that the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens are interested in 39 year old veteran Brendan Shanahan after he turned down the Vancouver Canucks. If he reportedly turned down a $2M offer from Vancouver, how is he rumored to go to a team with less than $1.4M of
cap space with left wing Ryane Clowe still unsigned?
Shanahan's agent Rick Curran
denied the Canucks even made an offer today in the Vancouver Province.
- San Jose Mercury News beat writer David Pollak offered an
update of sorts on the Sharks progress signing restricted free agent Ryane Clowe. Pollak previously reported that Clowe and general manager Doug Wilson had a handshake agreement on a deal, but the length of the contract was still not determined. Pollak contacted Clowe's agent Paul Cobeil, who would not comment on the negotiations.
The situation is compounded by a serious knee injury Clowe suffered in October that needed surgery. He missed 65 games of the regular season, returning to register 2 assists in the final 4 games of the year. Clowe exploded in the first round of the playoffs, scoring 4 goals and 4 assists in the first 5 games of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series against Calgary. He was held to 1 goal in the subsequent 8 playoff games against Calgary and Dallas. Also compounding the situation is a DUI arrest that happened earlier this season, and prior injuries that have limited the rugged Newfoundland power forward to only 126 NHL/AHL games played in the last 3 seasons. Ryane Clowe lead the AHL Cleveland Barons in scoring in 2004-05, but it took time for him to adjust his game to the NHL level. He skated hard in his first callup, but in subsequent seasons he has learned where to skate and how few NHL defenseman can knock him off the puck.
The situation is also compounded on the Sharks side by the lack of cap room available and the fact that Ryane Clowe fills a role that few others in the organization are suited for. Rookie Devin Setoguchi's development mitigated the loss of Steve Bernier, but Bernier and Clowe were the two Sharks most effective setting up in front of the opponent's crease. Without Clowe the Sharks will still have a quick transition game and a dominant power play, but hard nosed goals in front of the net come at a premium in the postseason. With 7 NHL roster defenseman under contract and Clowe expected to fill out the top 12 forwards, more roster maneuvering may still be in the works for general manager Doug Wilson. Worcester RFA's Lukas Kaspar, Mike Morris and Riley Armstrong also remain unsigned.
There was no update on the Clowe negotiations from the Sharks on Monday.
- On the July 10th episode of the Leafs Lunch podcast, available for download free on Itunes, San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson discussed playoff expectations, the recent acquisitions of Dan Boyle and Rob Blake, how the Sharks are looking to initiate offense through the defense, how the core Sharks players are coming into their prime, what the Sharks could expect from new head coach Todd McLellan and what the Toronto Maple Leafs can expect from coach Ron Wilson among other topics.
- Not Sharks related, but there has been another massive round of layoffs in local newspapers and newsrooms. 29 jobs were eliminated by MediaNews in the East Bay, 17 at the San Jose Mercury News, 6 at the Palo Alto Daily News, and 8 for NBC's local KNTV station in San Jose. There were also several recent departures at CBS's channel 5. In southern California the Los Angeles Times announced cuts of 250 employees, 150 from the news department. One small bright spot, a new free daily has launched in the penninsula with the
Palo Alto Daily Post. Created by former Palo Alto Daily News founders Dave Price and Jim Pavelich, the Post focuses on local and national news Monday through Friday.
[Update]
Sharks Ice Supports LIVESTRONG Challenge, Sharks Ice Volunteers Turn Power Stop #2 Into Sharks Territory - SJsharks.com.
[Update2]
Wilson doesn't stand pat after Sharks fall short - retools contending team - CP.
"We played five good playoff games out of 13," Sharks GM Doug Wilson told The Canadian Press on Thursday. "That's not acceptable. We decided to make some changes." Say hello Todd McLellan, Rob Blake, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich. "We've added four people and every one of them has won a Stanley Cup," said Wilson.
The message couldn't be any more clear than being slapped on the head with a two-by-four. Yes, the Sharks have a talented roster led by the likes of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo but the group needed a little push to get over the hump. Blake won a Cup with Colorado in 2001, Boyle and Lukowich with Tampa Bay in 2004 and McLellan sipped champagne last month. They've been there. They know what it takes.
[Update3] The Sharks released the 2008-09 preseason schedule today:
Wednesday, Sept. 24 @ Anaheim
Honda Center 7.00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 26 - Anaheim
HP Pavilion at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 27 - Vancouver
HP Pavilion at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 29 @ Phoenix
Jobing.com Arena, 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 30 - Phoenix
HP Pavili
