Can We Please Trade Nabokov? Please?

The 2007 NHL Entry Draft is rapidly approaching. This is a very exciting time for beings of my ilk that are in dire love with The Hockey, because it signals a time when teams gear up for the years ahead and do a lot of exciting wheeling and dealing to shape their franchises immediate success. My beloved San Jose Sharks don’t own a first round pick, which isn’t a big deal… they tend to kick ass in the middle and later rounds.

What is a big deal is the current state of goaltending in San Jose. Rumour (Canadian spelling) has it the Sharks will move one of their goaltenders, either Evgeni Nabokov or Vesa Toskala, to a team looking for a starting goalie. I am largely in favor of trading away Mr. Nabokov due to the simple fact that he has self-destructed in every playoff series he has ever appeared in and has cost the team a decent shot at the Stanley Cup more than once. However, I seem to be the only person in the known universe that acknowledges this fact and would move Nabokov at the drop of a hat, were I in the shoes of Sharks GM Doug Wilson and coach Ron Wilson (no relation).

Moving Nabokov would probably disillusion a lot of Sharks faithful and season ticket holders. I get that. To move him may not make business sense. His hefty contract and no-trade clause make him difficult to move. His play is erratic, he either looks like one of the best goalies in the world or he looks awful. Moving him would not be easy for a lot of reasons.

A lot of folks seem be all over the idea of the Sharks moving captain Patrick Marleau after his less-than-stellar second round performance vs. Detroit this year (0-0-0 in 5 games). Sharks fans seem to forget that Marleau was absolutely stellar in round one vs. the Predators (3-3-6 in 6 games) and was a big reason they made it out of the first round. He was also amazing last year when it really counted (9-5-14 in 11 games), even though the Sharks came up short again.

I know a lot of Sharks fans are nostalgic about Nabokov. He did win Rookie of the Year in 2001 and endear himself to Sharks faithful everywhere. We finally felt like they had the goalie that could take them to the next level. Everything looked on the up and up, but you only need to see he makes key mistakes at critical times that costs his team wins.

To be frank, Nabokov seems to have all the ability in the world to be a stellar goaltender. He has all the skill and ability to make a difference. However, he seems to suffer concentration lapses at key times, which is ultimately costly, especially in the playoffs. I watch a ton of Sharks games. I don’t expect Nabokov to stop every single shot that comes his way. I do expect him to concentrate and mitigate the soft goals he lets in. He’s a professional with a large price tag and a no-trade clause and needs to play like he deserves both.

The Sharks need a puck moving defenseman in a big way to help with their transition game. Nabokov would be great trade bait for such a defenseman. Toskala could start. Patzold could take the backup spot. Life could be good again.

But then maybe 31 NHL GMs not working for San Jose know what I know and won’t pull the trigger. I can only hope somehow that GM Wilson offers and someone bites…

Sharks gameplan for the next two weeks:

1. Trade Nabokov
2. Acquire puck-moving defenseman
3. Sign Chris Drury when Free Agency starts
4. Win Stanley Cup

Life would be so awesome. 

I did say please. Twice.

Get Ready for Awesome

Boredom has reached an all time high… or is that low? TIME TO BLOG.

I’ve been pondering this endeavor for a while and have had a series of starts and interruptions and plan old forgetfulness that precluded me from making a serious effort. But those days are in the past, dear reader. Oh yeah, Juan will blog.

And what will Juan blog about? Only the things most important in life*:

• Comic books
• Hockey
• Movies
• Awesome

*not listed in order

Much like Ant-Man, pictured above and in the header, I’ll be punching stuff in the face via the power of Teh Interwebs. No Weak Sauce here. Get ready for awesome.

(Ant-Man is property of Marvel Comics, artwork by Phil Hester… props where props are due… don’t sue me, I’m straight out of Low Cash)