 The San Jose Sharks may very well be the NHL's poster child for expansion into warm weather cities. As one of the original expansion franchises in the early 1990s, the Sharks have had success on and off of the ice, routinely playing in front of large crowds of boisterous fans at the HP Pavilion, otherwise known as the Shark Tank. The big question facing the Sharks now is whether they can finally get over the hump and into the Stanley Cup Finals. San Jose had the best record in hockey last year. Their mark of 53-18-11 was good for 117 points, and earned the President's Trophy for the Sharks. Led by dynamic centers Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, San Jose finished in the top ten in goals and were among those favored to win the Stanley Cup as the playoffs began. Unfortunately, the Sharks lost were eliminated by the Ducks in the first round and left to gather themselves for this year. San Jose underwent a massive overhaul in the offseason, allowing Marcel Goc, Lukas Kaspar, Travis Moen, Kyle McLaren, Mike Grier, and Brian Boucher, to leave via free agency. The Sharks also bid farewell to retiring veterans Claude Lemieux and Jeremy Roenick, and completed the overhaul by dealing defensemen Brad Lukowich and Christian Erhoff to Vancouver for future draft picks and prospects, largely to alleviate salary cap pressure. In order to offset some of the open roster spots, the Sharks not only acquired Jed Ortmeyer and Scott Nichol up front, but the biggest move of all was the September trade for superstar Dany Heatley, who was acquired in exchange Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek. In acquiring Heatley there is no doubt that the Sharks have acquired one of the league's best goal scorers – an opportunity which could not be passed up. There will be few teams in the NHL which have the ability to match the Sharks' top notch scoring talent; their top six forwards will be Thornton, Heatley, Marleau, Devin Setoguchi, Ryan Clowe, and Joe Pavelski, who combined for 180 goals and 225 assists last season! That is a huge amount of firepower, and San Jose will undoubtedly finish the season among the league's most dangerous offenses, if not at the very top. San Jose's defense is where there may be some challenges. Dan Boyle, Rob Blake, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic provide a solid threesome, but there isn't much depth or experience beyond that point. The Sharks are going to be young at the blue line this season, and may even look to make a deal for some defensive help at some point if the youngsters cannot hold down the fort. The good news for the Sharks is that keeper Evgeni Nabokov is one of the best goalies in hockey, and can be counted on to play a lot of games at the highest level. However, amidst concerns that Nabokov may wear down by playoff time and considering that his backup may likely be a rookie, this may be another position that you may see the Sharks looking to bolster somewhere down the line. All in all, the San Jose Sharks are going to be a very high-scoring and exciting team this season. Join the excitement in the Shark Tank by getting San Jose Sharks tickets now and coming out to watch the team make serious run for Lord Stanley's Cup.
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