Clearing The Puck

In the wake of the Sharks first-round play-off loss to the Ducks, everyone was so excited to jump on top of the pile that they hardly paused to stop and think about what had happened. The Sharks were victims of their play-off demons once again, or so the thinking went. Too soft, too tight, too poorly built for the play-offs, etc. etc. Nobody seemed to consider the possibility that maybe the Ducks really were just a good team. Oh, everyone said it was a "poor matchup" for the Sharks, but did anybody think the Ducks were going to go on a tear like the Oilers, circa 2006? I didn't. Now, with the Ducks suddenly leading the Red Wings 2-1, that looks like a more realistic possibility. With the simmering frustration over the Sharks early exit fresh, it seemed almost certain that GM Doug Wilson would blow up the team or at least consider doing so. Should the direction the rest of the postseason takes affect his analysis of the Sharks and the moves he makes in the off-season? Let's say the Ducks bow out quietly to the Red Wings in this round. Wilson will almost certainly make major changes to the Sharks. However, what if the Ducks proceed to stun the Red Wings and advance even further? What if they make it to the finals? Win the Cup? I would sincerely doubt that any pundits would be calling for the Red Wings to be blown up if they were to lose this series to the Ducks despite the fact they were neck and neck with the Sharks for the No. 1 seed in the West up until the very end. So if the Ducks make it to the finals or win the Cup, does Wilson chalk up the first round loss to the bad luck of running into a team peaking at just the right time? Perhaps the Sharks don't need a total makeover. Maybe they just need a little luck with their match-ups next year. The Sharks are still an outstanding hockey team. Just because they lost in the first round this year doesn't mean they need to blow the team up. Minor tweaks could push them over the hump, and it's certainly possible that the changes Wilson makes this off season hinge upon how far the Ducks go in the play-offs. In a cruel twist of fate, the Ducks could end up saving the Sharks. How is that for irony?