Sharks News & Notes (5/11/22)

More significant Sharks headlines occurred Tuesday, specifically a big announcement and draft lottery results. Let's dive into them:

• Patrick Marleau has officially announced his retirement after 23 seasons in the NHL. 21 of his 23 seasons were spent with the Sharks during three separate stints with the team. Most notably, Marleau holds the NHL all-time games played record with 1,779 games under his belt and is 23rd on the all-time goals list with 566. He also holds the Sharks' franchise records in games played, goals, and points, and is second in assists behind Joe Thornton. Marleau is currently 42 and last played during the 2020-21 season, tallying four goals and five assists for nine points for the Sharks that year. Unfortunately, the only major thing missing from his hall-of-fame resume is a Stanley Cup. The best chance Patty had to win a Cup was the Sharks' first and only Cup Final appearance in 2016, in which the Sharks lost to the Penguins in six games. In addition, the Sharks announced that they would retire Patrick Marleau's jersey number and raise it up to the rafters at SAP Center sometime next season. Regardless, Patty had an amazing playing career with many records broken and is one of the greatest ever. I wish him nothing but the best in retirement. 

• The results from the draft lottery are in, and the draft order for this coming NHL Draft has been determined. To the surprise of no one, the Sharks stayed put in the initial draft projections and will be drafting 11th overall this year. This will be the second time in franchise history that the Sharks will be drafting 11th overall, the first being in 1994 when they drafted Jeff Friesen with that specific pick. The only team that moved up in the draft lottery was the New Jersey Devils, who will be selecting second overall and often gets incredibly lucky with the draft lottery in general. The 2022 NHL Draft will be taking place July 7 & 8 in Montreal, and it's only fitting that the Canadiens will be drafting first overall this year.  

Stay tuned to CPF Hockey for more news and updates throughout the offseason. 

Sources: ESPN, NHL App

Sharks News & Notes (5/9/22)

 Despite the Stanley Cup Playoffs getting all the attention in the hockey world right now and the Sharks in their offseason, there are a few noteworthy headlines surrounding the Sharks that occurred within the past week that are worth discussing. Let's get into them: 

• The Sharks announced that they have re-signed both pending UFAs Alexander Barabanov and Jaycob Megna to two-year contracts. Barabanov's contract carries an AAV of $2.5 million, while Megna's deal has an AAV of $762.5k. As for Barabanov, this was a deal that needed to get done since he was one of the Sharks' top forwards this past season, scoring 39 points in 70 games. On the other hand, Megna is an up-and-coming defenseman that showed flashes of brilliance this past season, recording eight points in 44 games. In addition, both of these new contracts are team-friendly, so they're a win-win for everyone involved. 

• Matt Nieto was named the Sharks' finalist for the King Clancy Trophy, which is given every year to the player who best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice.  

Lastly, Patrick Marleau is expected to make an announcement tomorrow regarding the future of his hockey career, so stay tuned for coverage on that announcement very soon.

Sources: Multiple sources via Twitter

My 2022 Stanley Cup Playoff Brackets

 The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tomorrow, and before the playoffs get underway, the NHL has released the bracket challenge for the playoffs. I have filled out two brackets: one based on who I want to see win and advance, and one based on who I think will win and advance. Both are different but intertwined at the same time. Some of you may notice a pattern or trend of teams and players I tend to favor and not favor in these brackets. 

Let's first begin with the who I want bracket, followed by the who I think bracket: 

Who I Want: 

First Round: 

Lightning vs. Maple Leafs: Lightning in 6 

Rangers vs. Penguins: Rangers in 7

Bruins vs. Hurricanes: Bruins in 7

Panthers vs. Capitals: Capitals in 7

Wild vs. Blues: Wild in 7

Flames vs. Stars: Stars in 6

Avalanche vs. Predators: Avalanche in 6

Oilers vs. Kings: Oilers in 6

Second Round: 

Capitals vs. Lightning: Lightning 

Bruins vs. Rangers: Rangers 

Avalanche vs. Wild: Avalanche 

Stars vs. Oilers: Stars

Conference Finals:

Lightning vs. Rangers: Lightning 

Avalanche vs. Stars: Avalanche

Cup Final: 

Lightning vs. Avalanche: Lightning

Who I Think: 

First Round:

Lightning vs. Maple Leafs: Lightning in 6 

Rangers vs. Penguins: Rangers in 7

Bruins vs. Hurricanes: Hurricanes in 5

Panthers vs. Capitals: Panthers in 5

Wild vs. Blues: Blues in 6

Flames vs. Stars: Stars in 6

Avalanche vs. Predators: Avalanche in 6

Oilers vs. Kings: Oilers in 6

Second Round: 

Panthers vs. Lightning: Panthers

Hurricanes vs. Rangers: Rangers 

Avalanche vs. Blues: Avalanche 

Stars vs. Oilers: Stars

Conference Finals: 

 Panthers vs. Rangers: Panthers

Avalanche vs. Stars: Avalanche

Cup Final: 

 Panthers vs. Avalanche: Avalanche 

I'll try to watch as many playoff games as I can, but I know I won't be able to watch every game due to other priorities in life. Good luck to everyone in the playoffs!