Sharks need more bite from their new captain
Demoting Marleau makes sense because he couldn't spark team in playoffs
 Jim Mcisaac / Getty Images For the first time since 2004, Patrick Marleau will not be the Sharks' captain. |
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The Sharks also will be looking for new assistant captains. Joe Thornton was one last season, but coach Todd McLellan says it's time for new leadership on a team noted for its regular-season success and dismal postseason play.
McLellan's announcement Monday — "As of now, nobody is our captain," he said — throws the Sharks into the overhaul management couldn't produce with expected offseason personnel changes.
The question now becomes: Who will be captain?
In a conversation with Sporting News' Craig Custance at Team USA Olympic orientation camp, forward Joe Pavelski put forward the names Rob Blake and Dan Boyle. Both make sense. Pavelski is also in the mix, and is viewed as a strong candidate despite being 25 and having three years' experience with the Sharks.
Why? Custance writes: "I would give him a long look. He's won at every level and seems to have a drive and focus that a good captain needs. Believe me, he's still ticked off about the playoff loss."
The Marleau news, which Sharks beat writer David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News broke Monday, comes with another question: Will Marleau be with the Sharks in training camp?
Pollak colleague Mark Purdy sparks the discussion with this: "The answer remains very much up in the air. Rumors still gurgle that Marleau could be traded, perhaps as part of some three-way deal that would bring Ottawa's Dany Heatley to our beloved Los Tiburones."
Demoting Marleau makes sense, because try as he might, he couldn't spark the team in the playoffs. Last spring's failure came despite San Jose being the top seed in the Western Conference and the winner of the Presidents' Trophy for most total points in the NHL.
Boyle would seem a more likely choice than Blake, who has been a captain but will be 40 on Dec. 10. Boyle is 33, so his tenure would be longer.
There's no timetable for naming a captain. McLellan told Pollak he will wait to see who steps forward. "I can walk around town and everybody's giving me a suggestion," he said. "We can talk about it internally — everybody has an opinion. I believe it'll sort itself out."
Marleau's lack of charisma isn't necessarily damning. His inability to motivate — and his inability at times to step up his production — in the playoffs are a bigger concern. True, he has solid playoff stats, with 26 goals and 17 assists in 58 games. But the proof is this: Good as this team has been, as many years as seers have called them a Stanley Cup possibility, the Sharks have yet to advance past the Western Conference finals.
Thornton, too, has been questioned as to his leadership ability. There has been little or no talk of Jumbo Joe being the logical replacement for Marleau.
It will have to be someone with more brass and respect.
Although there also is talk that Marleau could regain the "C," it's more likely McLellan will look for someone with the kind of leadership skills he saw with his previous team, the Detroit Red Wings. Comparisons are made between Marleau and Joe Sakic, whose long captaincy of the Colorado Avalanche was not the rah-rah, fire-in-the-eyes kind. Marleau, we're told, has respect from his teammates.
That new guy likely will be Boyle. He is intense and willing to let teammates know their shortcomings, while also leading by example with his play and work ethic. Those traits emerged after he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning, for whom he was a key part of winning the Stanley Cup in 2004.
Don't dismiss the use of a rotating captaincy, which the Sharks used before naming Marleau full time. Says Pavelski: "Someone will be named the captain, but it's going to be collective. Everybody needs to step up."
No kidding. That's also something McLellan knows from the Red Wings — leadership doesn't come from one man, even if it's Steve Yzerman. It comes from everybody buying into the idea he can pull the team along with the courage to push himself and his teammates to greater success.
Whether it's Boyle or Marleau or a group of guys with "A" stitched above their hearts, the Sharks need to put their playoff failures behind and their hearts on their sleeves. If they're looking for someone to step up, they only need to look in the mirror.
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