Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear. And it shows them pearly whites. -Bobby Darin
Public Service Announcement: Ok, here we go! Hockey Krishnas rejoice! Hockey, hockey. Krishna, Krishna. That’s right, hockey talk. San Jose Sharks talk. Todd McLellan talk.
How ’bout them Sharks? Them red hot Sharks. Them chaud rouge Sharks. Them chaud rouge Sharks are 16-3-1 for the most wins in hockey. Them chaud rouge Sharks have thirty-three points for the highest total in hockey. Only the 1929-30 Boston Bruins and the 2005-6 Ottawa Senators were better twenty games into a season. Yes, yes, they had the second best record in all of hockey last year. But something’s different. You don’t look different, but you have changed. I’m looking through you, you’re not the same.
You wanna know what’s different? Huh? Do ya? Todd McLellan is different. Over the summer, General Manager Doug Wilson hired McLellan to replace Ron Wilson. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. This week, Nashville’s Barry Trotz said, “I look at them as the Detroit Red Wings except super-sized.” Bingo Bango Bongo. By George, I think he’s got it.
Todd McLellan is an offensive genius. Todd McLellan last imparted his offensive genius as assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. Todd McLellan’s philosophy is all offense all the time. Think Mike D’Antoni on skates. Now McLellan is imparting that genius on the Sharks.
- Since McLellan’s arrival, Patrick Marleau has doubled his offensive output.
- Since McLellan’s arrival, Devin Setoguchi has become a lean, mean goal scoring machine.
- Since McLellan’s arrival, all of the Sharks’ top six forwards, except Joe Thornton, are on pace to surpass their point totals from last season.
- Last season, Brian Campbell was the only Shark among the NHL’s top twenty-five scoring defensemen. Entering play Thursday, the Sharks had three defensemen among the top twenty-five. Dan Boyle and Christian Ehrhoff are second only to Nashville’s Shea Weber.
- Since McLellan’s arrival, the San Jose Sharks have been outshooting everyone. The rootinist tootenist gunslingers in the West. The rootinist tootenist gunslingers in all of hockey. They’ve set a franchise record with forty or more shots in nine games. They’ve outshot opponents in fifteen of their twenty games.
Last year, with McLellan on board, the Detroit Redwings won the cup. They won it with wheels up the middle. They won it by attacking the net. They won it with defensemen getting in on the action. They won it putting up a ton of shots. A plethora of shots. A slew of shots. A gaggle of shots. And that’s just how the Sharks will win it this year.
Public Spectacle:
Peace out homies. Six Two and Even!
Need More? NHL, San Jose Sharks, Todd McLellan
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