(San Jose, Calif.) It’s nothing against Andreas Johnsson or Fabian Zetterlund, who are due to meet their new teammates on Tuesday morning, just in time to face the Canadian in the evening.
But the mood wasn’t exactly festive on Monday in the San Jose Sharks locker room. Not the great depression either, but rather a kind of cautious curiosity about the sequence of events.
The previous day, the Sharks traded star offensive star Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils for two first-round picks, prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin and the aforementioned Zetterlund and Johnson. Defender Scott Harrington has also left California. And something like 145 draft picks and minor league players were added to the deal.
In the short term, the Sharks will undoubtedly come out of this operation weakened. Meier is heading for a 40-45 goal season. “Maybe he’ll score 60 on his new team,” Sharks head coach David Quinn said candidly after his team’s practice.
Management, obviously, is at the heart of a recovery that will (still) take time. This spring, we will miss the playoffs for the fourth time in a row.
“I wish we had kept him,” Quinn admitted. 26-year-old power forwards are not easy to find. He’s quite a player. »
Although he knew that the news would come sooner or later, “with all the rumors going around”, captain Logan Couture finds it “difficult” to see Meier leave. He is nevertheless happy for his teammate who became a friend, who “seemed excited and relieved that it was over”. “We wish him good luck for the rest of the season,” he added.
Erik Karlsson was less magnanimous. If it weren’t for his monstrous contract, he probably would already be a member of another organization. In all likelihood, the rest of his career, for now anyway, will go through San Jose. Under these circumstances, it is difficult for him to see the loss of Meier in a positive light.
“I understand the business and how it works,” said the defender. I’ve been in the league for a long time. You have to go through it. It’s just a shame that it’s happening at this point in my career. »
Pride
So much for the current situation. However, life goes on, and the leaders of the team appeal to the “pride” of the soldiers who remain.
David Quinn has gathered his men for a pre-training meeting on Monday. His expectations will not change for the effort, he warned.
“The players have to realize that they are constantly being evaluated,” the coach later told reporters. We are looking for competitors, winners. And it’s not just us who evaluate them, it’s also those who come to see them play. So I expect us to keep the same passion and commitment. »
Himself a possible bargaining chip, given his contract is coming to an end soon, James Reimer called for resilience in this period when “anything can happen”. He refuses to speculate on the management’s plans. “What I do know is that they [les gestionnaires] have this city and this organization at heart. They want a winning team. That’s what they have in mind when they make decisions, ”said the friendly goalkeeper.
Marc-Édouard Vlasic is also campaigning for confidence in general manager Mike Grier, who himself played for the Sharks from 2006 to 2009, at a prosperous time in the organization’s history. Consequently, “he still has in mind to want a good team every year,” said Vlasic.
The Quebecer does not believe that his team will vegetate too long in the bottom of the rankings. “We still have stars like Erik Karlsson, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, he recalled. With young people, you can find a good mix and be competitive. »
He is also delighted to have seen his teammates show a lot of aggressiveness since the start of the season. The chemistry is evident, much more than last year, according to him. It was then “the total mess”, he says, without going into details.
In the club’s current situation, veterans like him, he believes, must lead by example more than ever.
“We want to prove that we are still good. It’s up to us to take the team to the next level. »
Karlsson doesn’t expect to be traded
PHOTO JESS RAPFOGEL, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Erik Karlsson
Despite the rumors that have swirled about him over the past few months, Erik Karlsson doesn’t expect to be traded. There were hints that the Edmonton Oilers would try to acquire him, but that still hasn’t happened. It must be said that with four more seasons to go on a contract with an annual value of 11.5 million, acquiring the defender is not an easy decision for an organization. Over the weekend, GM Mike Grier said he expects Karlsson to finish the season in San Jose. The Swede has the same impression. His boss has yet to approach him about lifting his no-move clause, he revealed. “I think it would be weird [qu’il le fasse] three days before the deadline for exchanges. He had plenty of time to do it before that,” an unenthusiastic Karlsson told reporters. Grier, meanwhile, hasn’t ruled out finding a buyer over the summer.