Jamie Breaks Down This Week's Topics

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Leftovers from the Road

It started February 11th in Columbus. It ended March 25th in Anaheim. “It” was a heinous stretch in the Sharks season that had them playing 15 out of 20 games on the road. I realize that plenty of teams have had less than perfect schedules in this lockout shortened year but the past 6 weeks was a real challenge.

The final tally saw the Sharks go 7-9-4 during the stretch, picking up 18 out of a possible 40 points in the standings. The good news is that they returned home in 8th place in the Western Conference and finished the marathon with a character win over the rival Anaheim Ducks. With 11 of their final 17 games on home ice the Sharks are in a good position to push for a playoff spot.

It was tough to see longtime Shark Douglas Murray leave the team for the Pittsburgh Penguins via trade. Murray wasn’t just popular in the dressing room; he was an all around good guy and would routinely wish even the broadcasters good luck on game nights. With so many teams still in the playoff hunt and the trade deadline approaching next Wednesday, the price is very high for established players.

GM Doug Wilson was able to extract two 2nd round picks from the Penguins for Murray who was originally an 8th round selection back in 1999 and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. While the Sharks will miss Murray’s many talents, the bottom line is that the team must get faster and the trade allows quicker and younger defensemen like Justin Braun, Matt Irwin and Jason Demers the opportunity to develop and compete for more ice time.

Its hard to believe there is only a month left in the regular season. The season has gone by fast so far but we have a long way to go. One of our team goals was to make the playoffs.

We are on the bubble right now so we are really focused to finish the season strong and to have a great last month. Personally, I feel like I have improved a lot as the season has gone on and am looking to contribute to help the team end strong.

Our team is a close knit group. We have a good mix of veterans and young players, with many character guys. This year has been very different from what I have been used to, with the number of changes to our roster during the season.