It's becoming dangerous to swim with these Sharks

Sporting News, The, August 23, 1999 by Larry Wigge

Avalanche captain Joe Sakic let out a huge sigh of relief shortly after teammate Milan Hejduk scored the clinching goal against San Jose in overtime of Game 6 in the first round of the playoffs. "The Sharks were a tough opponent," he said, still breathing heavily from a tough series. "They're a team no one really likes to play because of their gritty style. And with the kids they have brought into their system, along with the acquisition of Vincent Damphousse, they are one or two players away from being a serious threat."

One or two players away. That's a cliche we hear far too often, especially when most teams wouldn't be close to joining the elite level even if those one or two players were Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr.

But in the case of the Sharks, re-signing Damphousse, a free agent, and acquiring Niklas Sundstrom in a trade from Tampa Bay gives San Jose a depth this franchise has never had. And getting Gary Suter back from an elbow injury that sidelined him for all but one game last season makes San Jose one of the league's most improved teams.

At the very least, Damphousse, Sundstrom and Suter will ensure the Sharks their first winning season.

But coach Darryl Sutter has good reason to want more. "I see us getting at least 90 points," Sutter says. "That gives us a shot at being in the top four teams in our conference."

But before the Sharks can join the likes of Dallas and Detroit, they will have to avoid the slow starts that have plagued the franchise--including last season's 0-6-2 start.

What punctuates Sutter's defense-first system is that he has a roster that can execute his game plan--and an exciting group of young forwards unmatched in the NHL with Jeff Friesen, Marco Sturm, Patrick Marleau, Alexander Korolyuk and Sundstrom.

With 196 goals, the Sharks were the second-lowest-scoring playoff qualifier since Minnesota collected 191 in the 78-game 1970-71 season. Yet San Jose boasts three solid lines that can produce offensively.

Damphousse was energized after coming to San Jose from Montreal at the trading deadline. He sent shockwaves into the offense-which went from 2.2 goals per game to 3.3. And Sundstrom could do for the Sharks what quality two-way forward Jere Lehtinen has done for Stanley Cup champion Dallas.

Look for Sutter to use Damphousse between Friesen and Sundstrom. And look for Friesen to have a breakthrough season, surpassing his career high of 31 goals. "With Vinnie next to me the whole season," Friesen says, "I'll score 40."

A bold remark, but possible given the all-out effort Friesen brings to the rink each night.

All of which gives Sutter the option to use Marleau between Owen Nolan and Korolyuk on the second line and still have Mike Ricci, Sturm and Tony Granato and perhaps free agent Joe Murphy to create a strong third line.

Another key for the offense is what Suter can provide on the power play, which struggled to a franchise-low 13.3 percent efficiency.

"Gary's the key," Sutter says, "because of the way he works the power play and how well he works the puck up the ice."

Suter also combines with Marcus Ragnarsson and Jeff Norton to give the defense mobility along with grit, which is most often delivered by Bryan Marchment, Bob Rouse and Mike Rathje.

And it's all backstopped well by goaltenders Mike Vernon and Steve Shields.

"The Sharks have definitely taken on the Sutter mentality of never quitting," Avalanche right winger Claude Lemieux says. "They are in your face all the time."

And they are no longer in need of one or two players to be a legitimate contender.

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FRONT OFFICE RUMBLINGS AND LOCKER ROOM WHISPERS FROM LARRY WIGGE

Looking at the Avalanche roster that will open the new Pepsi Center in Denver is a lot like walking through Kmart after a half-price clearance. The shelves look all picked over. Gone from the team that made it to the Western Conference finals are Theo Fleury, Valeri Kamensky, Sylvain Lefebvre and backup goalie Craig Billington, not to mention Peter Forsberg for at least the first month of the season following shoulder surgery. G.M. Pierre Lacroix is counting on defenseman Martin Skoula and center Alex Tanguay, first-round picks in 1998, to provide competition at training camp. And there's another problem: The Avs play 10 of their first 12 games on the road.... Once Mario Lemieux finalizes his purchase of the Penguins, look for the first link with the old team to be the return of free-agent defenseman Ulf Samuelsson..... The Hurricanes upped their offer to center Keith Primeau to just short of the $5 million a year they gave to free agent Ron Francis last summer--and they say its their final offer Primeau's response: No sale. Look for this stalemate to continue into the season--and if there's no movement, Primeau will force a trade to either Honda or Chicago.... The Maple Leafs are still the leading candidates to sign defenseman Mark Tinordi and left winger Pat Verbeek as soon as the price for the free agents gets more reasonable.... Blackhawks G.M. Bob Murray points to the success teams had last season waiting to sign a second-tier free agent-Tampa Bay signed Wendel Clark and he finished with 32 goals, Toronto signed Steve Thomas (28 goals) and St. Louis signed Scott Young (24 goals)--in comparing how much better he feels about having Clark vs. the $4.25 million the Rangers spent on Kamensky in July. "Check the number of goals Wendel's scored per game over the past four seasons vs. Kamensky," Murray says. He's right. Clark had 106 goals in 260 games, Kamensky 106 in 289.