Future Looks Bright for San Jose Sharks & Fans

After what has been one of the most successful regular season campaigns for the San Jose Sharks the fans have much to look forward to in the upcoming season. In the 2006-2007 regular season the San Jose Sharks put up a franchise record with 107 points finishing 2^nd overall in the Pacific Division and 5^th overall in the entire league. It should be noted that both the Dallas Stars and the New Jersey Devils both finished with 107 points however San Jose had more wins. San Jose finished with 51 wins in the regular season which was also a franchise record.

Despite losing Scott Hannan on defense in the off-season San Jose re-signed Craig Rivet and Rob Davison. With the emergence of youthful defenseman such as Matt Carle, Christian Ehrhoff and Marc-Edouard Vlasic San Jose will have young core of defenseman heading into the 2007-2008 season. Kyle McLaren and Doug Murray will round out the roster. It will be interesting to see as the season progresses if they can handle the task ahead of them or if the Sharks will need more defensive teeth via trade.

The fact that overall the Sharks are a younger team compared to the rest of the NHL and that there have been very few personnel changes gives hope for a successful run to the ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup for at least the next few seasons. With more success in the Draft in recent years as opposed to when the team first broke in the league, players like Patrick Marleau and Milan Michalek have definitely panned out. It will be interesting to see what other players are inserted into the lineup this season as there are definitely prospects who can make the team this season. Also with the departure of backup goaltender Vesa Toskala via trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs it will be exciting to see who San Jose has in the system to back up tried, tested and proven starting goaltender Evgeni Nabakov should he need a rest or sustain an injury.