I read this after we recorded the podcast yesterday, that the Sharks are raising ticket prices, but only for some.  If you sit on the end where the Sharks attack twice, you will pay more than those that sit at the other end of the arena.  Of course this will affect us- we are in the ‘best’ corner, facing the benches and the opposing goalie two out of three periods.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first- the reason ticket prices are raised is because the team believes the market will bear it.  The amount of winning the team does is a minor factor, if at all.  Although running a sports team isn’t exactly the same as running a business (read the great Malcolm Gladwell piece on it and try to ignore the fact that it’s about basketball), the owners are still trying to make money.  I’m sure they considered the public relations fallout, but I imagine the owners know that the price elasticity here is rather low.  In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if they have it calculated to the third decimal point.  This is the only major sports team in San Jose, and while this past season is disappointing, the team overall in the past decade has been very competitive.  The Sharks couldn’t raise the prices by 20% without fallout, but they probably could raise prices more than, say, the Stars, who are in a very competitive sports environment (with hockey probably a distant third or fourth) and not a stellar track record these past few years.

From a fairness perspectice, it’s certainly a supportable argument that the seats at the ‘good’ end are more desirable, and thus worth more.  The problem is who it affects the most.

Me.

Well, that’s true, but not really my point.  As is the case for most teams, the Sharks’ season ticket holders gain seniority the longer they hold their seats, and your appointment to choose new seats, should you choose to do so, is directly tied to your seniority score.  Thus, up until now, it was the most senior fans that had the seats in the best spots. Consequently, this new ticket pricing scheme is directly and disproportionately screwing the people who have held season tickets the longest.

This is not the best public relations strategy.  Many businesses realize that the most loyal customers are the customers that provide the bulk of the revenue to the business, and many times smart businesses make choices that reward repeat and loyal customers, even at the expense of newer or drive-by customers.  This is precisely the opposite of what the Sharks are doing.  I’m not sure what is worse- that the ownership group realized this and doesn’t care, or it didn’t occur to them that the most loyal fans are taking it in the teeth.

In essence, this is the Sharks:

I have yet to decide if I will or won’t.

But the new Santana addition is in.  Despite a lack of sleep, Doug joins on the phone, and the Dudes break down the remaining teams in the playoffs, the pool situation, and more Sharks conjecture.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

No baby yet, so I thought I’d kill some time.

I noticed this release today on the Sharks official website, confirming what we all assumed was Step One in the offseason plan. Doug Wilson’s J-O-B is safe and he will be the point man for the changes this summer.

STATEMENT FROM THE OWNERSHIP GROUP OF SHARKS SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT:

“The on-ice results of our team this season are not acceptable to our fans, our organization or our ownership group. We will not lower our expectation that every San Jose Sharks team we put on the ice is capable of winning the Stanley Cup. Despite the fact that our team has experienced a tremendous amount of success over the past eight seasons, we are not satisfied with those results and neither is Doug. The ownership group has confidence that Doug will make the necessary changes to ensure our club remains among the NHL’s elite franchises.”

So Step #2 we’d all assume is will Doug Wilson continue with T-Mac as the teacher in his hockey classroom? You’ll notice T-Mac did not get the same vote of confidence from the ownership statement.

Mike and I are on record on this weeks podcast that we think it’s time for a change. Despite four years of making the playoffs, the lack of consistency, the brutal drop off on the penalty kill, and the apparent change in winning style in the NHL could steer DW in a different direction – especially if he’s stuck with many of the same players. It certainly will be easier to change the coaching staff than trade some of these contracts (Marleau, Thornton, Niemi) in an unknown CBA climate.

If T-Mac gets thrown overboard, one name I want to throw out is St. Louis Blues assistant coach, Brad Shaw.

Who the hell is Brad Shaw? Well, he’s an assistant coach on a team that whipped the Sharks fannies eight out of nine times this year and we know what a fan Doug Wilson is to paying homage to teams that are successful. Brad Shaw was voted by the 2011-12 NHL Players Association players poll as the assistant who most deserves a Head Coaching job. He played 377 NHL games as a defensemen and was Co-Captain of the Ottawa Senators in their second year in the league, something DW can relate to as a Captain of an expansion team himself. Maybe the most important connection between the two men is they both were dominant defensemen for the Ottawa 67’s under coach Brian Kilrea, a brotherhood that DW appears to take pretty seriously when evaluating hockey talent given his draft history. Maybe he would consider it when looking for another coach…

Nothing to see here yet…but if T-Mac gets canned, I would see if Doug Wilson has Brad Shaw on speed dial.

After more than a week to reflect, Mike and Doug don’t have the raw emotion anymore, but the initial reaction still stands.  The Dudes talk about the coaching staff, T-Mac, the inevitable Patrick Marleau bashing, and other changes that might take place.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Sharks blow a 3rd period leave and exit the playoffs earlier than they ever have, in 5 games.  Mike and Doug provide a instant reaction to the Sharks’ disappointing season, along with knee-jerk reactions about what might happen next.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Sharks win game 1 in double OT, but get beat fairly badly in St. Louis in game 2.  But the Sharks have home ice for games 3 and 4, so Mike and Doug talk about the keys to winning those games.  Also, there is so much good hockey going on, and other Round 1 stories to talk about.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Sharks have made it into the playoff by winning their last four games, the two against the Kings in a wildly entertaining fashion.  But now they face the Blues in the first round, without beating them all year.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

After three good wins, the Sharks manage to lose two critical road games to Anaheim and Phoenix, and they are back out of the playoff picture.  We can go over what they did wrong, how Mike Smith is the second coming of Ken Dryden or whatever, but the fact is this:  if the Sharks can’t beat Dallas and L.A. for the next four games, they don’t deserve to be in the playoffs anyway.  Should they manage to limp in without winning those four games, they will almost certainly get crushed by whomever they face in the first round, playing either St. Louis or Vancouver with no home ice.

Doug and Mike talk about the last three games, all of which the Sharks won, and go over the current playoff picture.  Also, Mike recounts his experience as a fantasy camper at the Shark for a Day event.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

After two terrible games against division opponents this week, the Sharks staunch the bleeding somewhat by edging the defending champs, the Bruins, 2-1.  Just when you think the Sharks are ready to give up the ghost, they come back like a Monty Python sketch.  “But I don’t want to go in the cart!  I’m not dead.”

There are still several signs that are very troubling about this team, mostly in the scoring department.  The last time the Sharks won a game by more than one goal was five weeks ago, against the Caps (thanks Kevin Kurz).  That’s also the last time the Sharks have scored more than three goals in a win.  The last time they scored more than three goals period was also five weeks ago, in a 6-5 loss in OT to the Lightning.  That’s 18 games ago, almost a quarter of the season.  In those 18 games where the Sharks didn’t score more than three, they scored three goals (supposedly the magic number) only four times.  Let’s put that a different context.  In the 55 games previous to that, the Sharks scored 3 or more goals 33 times, or 60% of the time.  That doesn’t include wins like 2-1, 2-0, etc.  Since, the Sharks have scored three or more goals only 22% of the time.  That’s not a decline.  That’s an anvil falling out of the sky.

The good thing about last night is they stayed step for step with the Stanley Cup Champions, and the 4th line was more than just a non-liability.  They were an asset, matching up well with the Bruins very respectable fourth line of Dan Paille, Shawn Thornton and Greg Campbell.  The bad thing is the Sharks still are not scoring in bunches.  They score once, have some good quality chances not go in, then slowly fade.  Whether they hold on or chip in another one seems to be a coin flip at best.  Looking at the stat sheet, another bad thing was the return of Michal Hanzus.  He was -1, and lost 5 of the 7 faceoffs he took.  T.J. Galiardi can’t come back fast enough.

There’s no more time for the Sharks to turn this around.  They have to be going in the right direction now.  Another game or two of disappointing losses will put them in an ugly position to make the playoffs.  Let’s hope the win against Boston was the turn, and now the Sharks are sailing in clear waters and strong wind to the finish line.