God...where to begin.
I just got back from San Diego. My sister finally graduated from college! It took her 6 years…and many ups and downs to get there. But finally, after loads of hard work, she finally got to walk across the stage in her cap and gown.
A moment of joy for the family could not overshadow, however, the heartbreak I witnessed on the ice. This team, I was so sure…I was so confident this was our year. I mean all the signs were there! First round, we lost game 1, and everyone says “here we go again.” And game 2, the boys battled back from FIVE STRAIGHT ONE GOAL DEFICITS and won in OT. The boys had shown their toughness. Game 3, the own goal, and we wonder if we’re truly cursed. But no, this was just a catalyst…and the Sharks reeled off 6 straight playoff wins, closing out Colorado, and taking a 3-0 lead on detroit. DETROIT!!! I mean, my god, they had tormented us for years. What, with their being good, and their beating of us relentlessly. And we beat them in 5 games! With Detroit vanquished, surely that mean this was our year! We had beaten the Western Conference Champs! To be the man you have to beat the man, right???
And then this series happened…and game by game…Buttfuglyn goal by Buttfuglyn goal…the dream was shattered. From glory to heartbreak in 4 games. This is not how this narrative was supposed to end. This was not the ending the boys in Teal had worked so hard for. After 4 years of playoff underachievement, and media-dubbed choking, this team was different. This was the team that was perfectly constructed to win in the playoffs, and get the city of San Jose to the promised land. How is it fair that the story ends with a sweep, in the Conference Finals, one round after knocking off the defending conference champs???
But this story is not a sad ending. Hell, this story has not yet ended. This chapter has ended, yes. And it is a sad end to this chapter. But the Sharks proved something to everyone this postseason…these were not the same Sharks. These were not the Sharks that were going to roll over and die at the first hint of distress. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau showed that they do know how to play playoff hockey (something we all knew, but they shut up the haters for now). Joe Pavelski had a coming out party for the first series and a half. As a matter of fact, he was doing awesome, right up until Plank posted his shooting percentage article, and said Pavs was unlikely to sustain that level of scoring (YOU JINXED IT!!!!!!). :-P I kid, of course. Hell, even Logan Couture, up against the best teams in the world, in a pressure cooker of a situation, proved he could be counted on to produce. Up and down the roster, you see a team full of players who believed in one another, and believed in the ultimate goal. That belief will not be deterred.
Now we are at somewhat of a crossroads as an organization. Where to go from here? Honestly, this would have been a much easier question to answer had the Sharks flamed out in the first or second round (blow it up, build a new winner), or if the Sharks had indeed won it all (hand the reins over to the kids, let them grow into a winner of their own). But after coming so close…and yet still being so far…from the promised land, where does Doug take the team from here? I don’t know. Part of it will depend on Pavs’ and Seto’s raises. Part of it will depend on if Blake retires or not. And part of it will depend on if DW will try to “keep the band together” for yet another run at glory with this group, or if some pieces will be free to find homes elsewhere. Either way, those that stay will have a strong bond between them already. They have been to hell and back this postseason, and proven they are strong enough to face what challenges are thrown in their path. They will be ready for war…and they will make sure whoever ends up filling out the roster next season with them are ready for war as well.
Flying back, gazing out over the lights of California as I headed north, I couldn’t help but draw parallels between my sister’s graduation, and the Sharks’ postseason journey over the last 5 years. Sometimes what seems like it should be easy, and the logical next step for some, it really doesn’t end up being the case. My sister was definately smart enough to graduate college in less than 6 years, but for whatever reason, she took longer. But she still got there! Yeah, the Sharks have had the talent to win a Cup by now. But they haven’t. Their journey just has not been completed. They just haven’t gotten there yet!
The Sharks, with this series loss, became only the second NHL team to fail to reach a single Stanley Cup Finals during 4 straight 100+ point seasons. The 1975-1979 New York Islanders were the only other team to do this. You know what happened next for the Islanders? They won 4 Stanley Cups in a row. Not all hope is lost. There is precident for still having hope after 5 straight years of the highest of expectations met with a premature end. Chicago was the better team this year, and you tip your cap to them. But the Sharks will be back, better and more determined than ever.
And I will be here cheering for, bleeding for, and basically losing my shit for them every step of the way.
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