Sharks Fire Head Coach David Quinn

 The Sharks announced today that they have relieved Head Coach David Quinn of his duties after the Sharks finished dead last in the entire league and with one of their worst seasons in franchise history this past season. 

There have been rumblings about David Quinn's future as the Sharks' head coach in question stemming from the GM Mike Grier end-of-season press conference, and the Sharks front office have finally pulled the trigger on Quinn. David Quinn's tenure as Sharks head coach lasted only for two seasons, compiling a 41-98-25 record and missing the playoffs in both years of his tenure. 

In addition, Head Athletic Trainer Ray Tufts will not return to the Sharks next season, and Forwards Kevin Labanc, Alexander Barabanov, and Mike Hoffman will walk in free agency after each of them had disappointing 2023-24 seasons. 

I initially thought that heading into this offseason, David Quinn would stick around for at least another year of the Sharks rebuild, especially since he had one year left on his contract and Grier seemed patient with him. However, plenty of changes were going to be made between now and the start of next season, and all the ones that have been confirmed so far are absolutely necessary. In fact, I am the most satisfied with Head Coach David Quinn getting fired out of all the changes made thus far. Also, I will not miss Labanc, Barabanov, or Hoffman all that much in teal either. GM Mike Grier will be searching for the Sharks' head coaching replacement this offseason, and I believe their next head coach will be better than David Quinn at further developing this team and helping the Sharks rebound from one of their worst seasons ever.

Sources: San Jose Mercury News 

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My 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Predictions

 Now that the 2023-24 NHL regular season has concluded, it's time to pivot towards the greatest and most exciting playoffs in sports, also known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although my Sharks aren't in it, my emotional investment in hockey is still very high, and I am absolutely ready for the playoffs to get underway. Like I have done for the past three years, once the playoff match-ups have been officially determined, I enjoy giving my predictions on each series by participating in the league's playoff bracket challenge in a fun post. I present my bracket-style predictions in two forms: one based on what I want to see happen, and the other based on what I think will happen. Due to the nature of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there will be some upsets and series results that most people won't see coming, and I expect that some of my predictions in this post will be wrong. As always, many of you may notice that I want to see some teams go on deep runs and other teams to not perform so well. No need to get upset at me if I go against your team or if my predictions are different than yours.

Without further ado, presenting my 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket predictions, beginning with who I want to see advance followed by who I think will advance and in how many games: 

 

Who I Want to Advance:

First Round

Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights: Stars

Winnipeg Jets vs. Colorado Avalanche: Avalanche 

Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators: Predators 

Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings: Oilers 

Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Lightning 

Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Bruins 

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals: Rangers 

Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders: Hurricanes 

Second Round

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: Avalanche 

Nashville Predators vs. Edmonton Oilers: Predators 

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins: Lightning 

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Rangers 

Conference Finals 

Colorado Avalanche vs. Nashville Predators: Avalanche 

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Rangers: Rangers 

Cup Final

Colorado Avalanche vs. New York Rangers: Rangers

 

Who I Think will Advance + How Many Games: 

First Round

Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights: Stars in 7

Winnipeg Jets vs. Colorado Avalanche: Avalanche in 6

Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators: Predators in 6

Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings: Oilers in 7

Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Panthers in 7

Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Bruins in 7

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals: Rangers in 5

Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders: Hurricanes in 6

Second Round

Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche: Stars in 7

Nashville Predators vs. Edmonton Oilers: Oilers in 5

Florida Panthers vs. Boston Bruins: Panthers in 7

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Hurricanes in 7

Conference Finals 

Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers: Stars in 6

Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Panthers in 7

Cup Final

Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers: Panthers in 6

Happy Playoffs Season to those who celebrate!

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 82 Recap: Flames 5, Sharks 1 (4/18/24)

 The Sharks conclude their 2023-24 season with a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames. 

Although it didn’t go as terribly as their previous game on Monday in Edmonton, the Sharks were on the wrong side of another one-sided affair in Calgary and were very ready to begin their offseason. The Flames busted the doors wide open to begin both teams’ season finale, scoring five unanswered goals, two in the first period from Adam Klapka and Blake Coleman and three in the second period from Oliver Kylington, Kevin Rooney, and MacKenzie Weegar. After the score became 5-0 Flames early in the second period, Devin Cooley was pulled from the Sharks net in favor of Georgi Romanov for the second consecutive game. Cooley finished his night with 18 saves on 23 shots against, while Romanov stopped all 14 shots he faced in his second-ever NHL game. 

On the flip side, the Sharks narrowly avoided getting shut out with less than ten seconds remaining in regulation, as Fabian Zetterlund scored his team-leading 24th goal of the year, with Mikael Granlund and Collin Graf registering assists on the Sharks’ only goal of this game. With the primary assist on Zetterlund’s 24th goal of the year, Granlund ended his 2023-24 campaign on a 13-game point streak. In addition, Fabian Zetterlund is the only player this season to appear in all 82 games for the Sharks this season, and this game marked the first in NHL history that two Bay Area-native goalies faced off against each other, with the Sharks’ Devin Cooley from Los Gatos and the Flames’ Dustin Wolf from Gilroy. 

In other news, Luke Kunin was named the Sharks’ nominee for the King Clancy Award this season, who has been heavily involved with his LKT1D Foundation benefiting children with Type 1 Diabetes. 

And with that, the Sharks 2023-24 season has finally come to a close, finishing with a 19-54-9 record, good for 47 points and dead last in the entire NHL. I am more relieved than anything that the Sharks’ worst season in recent memory is finally over, and hopefully it all becomes worth it when the Sharks win the draft lottery and the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes next month. Depending on what plays out this offseason for Team Teal, it is only up from here for San Jose hockey. 

Next up, the always thrilling Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday, so expect my yearly fun playoff bracket predictions post on this site no later than Saturday afternoon. Thank you for following CPF Hockey all season long, and see you in October for more Sharks game reviews! 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, Sharks Audio Network, Sharks + SAP Center App, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 81 Recap: Oilers 9, Sharks 2 (4/15/24)

 The Sharks drop their next-to-last game of the season in lopsided fashion, a 9-2 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers. 

 It only took less than a minute into the start of this one for the Oilers to score the first goal by none other than Connor McDavid. Edmonton extended its lead to two about three minutes later on a goal from Adam Henrique. The Oilers weren’t done yet in the first period, scoring two more goals via Warren Foegele and Dylan Holloway to make it 4-0 through one period of play. 

The Sharks scored their first goal of the game early in the second period via Danil Gushchin’s first goal of the year, with the lone assist going to Thomas Bordeleau. The floodgates opened up from there, with the Oilers scoring five more unanswered goals from Warren Foegele, Corey Perry, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard, and Zach Hyman. Once it reached 8-1, Devin Cooley was pulled and finished his night with 14 saves on 22 shots against. Georgi Romanov was inserted in the game in relief for Cooley late in the second period, compiling 14 saves on 15 shots against in his NHL debut. On that ninth Oilers goal by Hyman, Connor McDavid registered his 100th assist of the season, becoming only the fourth player in NHL history to accomplish this feat besides Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, and Mario Lemieux. The Sharks were able to salvage one more goal late in the third period on Fabian Zetterlund’s team-leading 23rd goal of the season during a scramble in the crease to cut their deficit to seven, with assists from William Eklund and Mikael Granlund. This also extends Granlund’s point streak to 12 games, tying a franchise record. 

Prior to this game, the Sharks called up forward Danil Gushchin, defenseman Jack Thompson, and goalie Georgi Romanov from the Barracuda, while Jan Rutta, Kevin Labanc, Mike Hoffman, Filip Zadina, Alexander Barabanov, Jacob MacDonald, and Mackenzie Blackwood didn't travel with the Sharks to Alberta for their final two games of the season due to various injuries, effectively ending their 2023-24 campaigns. In addition, Givani Smith suited up for the Sharks in tonight's game in Edmonton. 

The Sharks travel to Calgary to face the Flames for their final game of the 2023-24 season on Thursday at 6 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 80 Recap: Wild 6, Sharks 2 (4/13/24)

 Three unanswered goals by the Minnesota Wild put this one out of reach for the Sharks, as Team Teal falls 6-2 in its final home game of the 2023-24 season.

The Wild struck first via Matt Boldy early in the opening period, while Jan Rutta evened things up at one for Team Teal about four minutes later, with Mario Ferraro and Mikael Granlund registering assists on Rutta's fifth goal of the year. Nearing the end of the first period, the Wild went ahead 2-1 on a goal from Declan Chisholm, while Liam Ohgren scored to put the Wild up by two late in the second period. Mario Ferraro followed that up with his third goal of the season to put the Sharks within one, with great passing from William Eklund and Mikael Granlund to set up Ferraro on this one. The wheels fell off from here, as the Wild scored three unanswered goals, two of which were scored by Kirill Kaprizov in the final minute of the second period, the first of these two unknowingly pushed into the net by the skate of Mackenzie Blackwood. The Wild added one more goal early in the third period via Marcus Johansson to place an exclamation mark on the Sharks' home finale of their 2023-24 campaign.

Mackenzie Blackwood compiled a total of 32 saves on 38 shots. In addition, since it was the Sharks' final home game of the season, some end-of-season team awards were announced. They are as follows: 

Media Good Guy: Mario Ferraro 

Prospect of the Year: Will Smith 

Rookie of the Year: Henry Thrun

Player of the Year: Mikael Granlund

Lastly, with this defeat, the Sharks have clinched last place in the entire NHL and the best odds to win the draft lottery at 25.5 percent. The tank is now complete, and the Sharks need to have as much luck go in their favor as possible when the draft lottery officially gets underway sometime next month. Team Teal hits the road for its last two games of the season to Western Canada, more specifically the province of Alberta, starting on Monday in Edmonton against the Oilers at 6:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, San Jose Sharks PR 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 79 Recap: Sharks 3, Kraken 1 (4/11/24)

 Team Teal earns its first-ever win in Seattle with a 3-1 victory over the Kraken in the season finale between these two teams.

The Sharks struck first in the opening period via Luke Kunin from Henry Thrun and Klim Kostin, only for Brian Dumoulin to score to even things up at one for the Kraken. Late in the second period, the Sharks scored twice via Kyle Burroughs and Fabian Zetterlund to go ahead 3-1 in what would stand as the game-winning goals. William Eklund assisted on both second-period goals and has now tallied 13 points in the last 11 games. Henry Thrun assisted on the first of the two second-period goals by Burroughs, while Mikael Granlund extended his point streak to ten games with an assist on the second of these two goals by Zetterlund. 

Devin Cooley earned his second NHL win, recording a total of 49 saves on 50 shots against, the second-most saves compiled by a Sharks goalie in a game this season. This also improves Cooley’s save percentage from .887 to .918 for the season. In addition, Jacob MacDonald exited the game early due to an undisclosed injury. 

The Sharks have yet to lock up last place in the NHL this season, but it took them five games and three seasons to get their first win against the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, which remains an important and significant feat in franchise history. Next up the Sharks return home to host the Minnesota Wild in their final home game of the 2023-24 season on Saturday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, San Jose Sharks PR, Curtis Pashelka via X, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 78 Recap: Flames 3, Sharks 2 (OT) (4/9/24)

 As the game progressed, the Flames improved while the Sharks faltered, as San Jose blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Calgary Flames. 

The Sharks struck first in the opening period on a beautiful goal by William Eklund, with his linemates Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund assisting on Eklund’s 16th goal of the season. Team Teal went ahead by two early in the second period on Jacob MacDonald’s seventh goal of the season on a great feed from Mike Hoffman. Later in the middle frame, the Flames scored twice via Rasmus Andersson and Nazem Kadri to even things up at two through two periods of play. The 2-2 tie between these two teams held until the bonus period, Andrei Kuzmenko scored the game-winner to complete the comeback for the Flames. 

Mackenzie Blackwood finished his night with 38 saves on 41 shots against. In addition, the Sharks announced that Filip Zadina is out with a lower-body injury, while Klim Kostin, Mike Hoffman, and Kevin Labanc were back in the lineup for Team Teal against the Flames. 

Stuff like this doesn’t surprise me one bit anymore with this Sharks team. It’s all part of the plan to be in the best position possible to win the draft lottery and land Macklin Celebrini, and I can’t wait for the 2023-24 regular season to finally be over. Next up, the Sharks travel to Seattle to face the Kraken for one last time this season on Thursday at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, Sharks Audio Network, NHL App

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 77 Recap: Coyotes 5, Sharks 2 (4/7/24)

 The Sharks drop the second game of the weekend back-to-back set 5-2 to the Arizona Coyotes. 

The Coyotes scored first early in the opening period via Lawson Crouse, while the Sharks responded soon after on the power play with Henry Thrun’s third goal of the season, with assists from Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund. Later in the opening period, a broken play in which Mackenzie Blackwood had no idea where the puck was led to the Coyotes retaking the lead, with the go-ahead goal going to Liam O’Brien. Luke Kunin scored his tenth goal of the season later in the second period to even things up at two, with assists going to Henry Thrun and Collin Graf, the latter getting his first NHL point in his second NHL game. 

Arizona would score three unanswered goals in the third period to earn the victory Sunday evening, resuming with Dylan Guenther early in the third and followed by one from Clayton Keller later in the period and an empty-netter from Nick Schmaltz to complete this one. 

Mackenzie Blackwood was back in net for Team Teal Sunday afternoon, finishing his day with 23 saves on 27 shots against. In addition, Klim Kostin didn’t suit up for this game due to an illness, with Ryan Carpenter taking his place in the Sharks lineup on Sunday. 

The Sharks begin their final full week of their 2023-24 campaign hosting the Calgary Flames in their next game on Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, Sharks Audio Network 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 76 Recap: Sharks 3, Blues 2 (OT) (3/6/24)

 The Sharks complete the season series sweep of the St. Louis Blues in spectacular fashion, winning 3-2 in overtime in what is easily their best and most memorable home victory of the season.

Besides sweeping the Blues in the season series, there were plenty of other notable feats accomplished in this victory for Team Teal, which we will cover here shortly. Although the first period was rather quiet, near the end of the first period, Calen Addison received a four-minute double-minor penalty, misconduct, and game misconduct for cross-checking and verbally abusing the officials following the penalty call, with Addison's afternoon lasting for about one period. William Eklund scored twice on the power play to get the Sharks going in the second period, with Henry Thrun and Mikael Granlund assisting on the first Eklund goal, and Fabian Zetterlund and Thomas Bordeleau assisting on the second Eklund goal. Early in the third period, Jordan Kyrou got the Blues on the board, while Brayden Schenn evened it up at two with about two-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation to force overtime. With about a minute remaining in OT, William Eklund scored his third goal of the game for the game-winner and his first NHL hat trick, with Luke Kunin assisting on the OT winner. 

A few more firsts occurred in the Sharks 3-2 OT win over the Blues on Saturday. Devin Cooley earned his first NHL win and became the first California-born goalie to earn his first win for any California-based NHL team, stopping 34 of 36 shots against. In addition, Collin Graf made his NHL debut Saturday afternoon in the Sharks’ season series finale against the Blues. 

This season may still be a lost cause for Team Teal, but this is a massive statement win for this Sharks team, and they have played some of their best hockey this season against the Blues, the only team that the Sharks have won two or more games against this season. The Sharks had their straw hat giveaway at this Saturday afternoon game, and with William Eklund scoring his first NHL hat trick, Eklund picked up one of a few straw hats that were thrown onto the ice and wore it on his head, making for a legendary, unforgettable moment. The Sharks are back in action tomorrow, hosting the Arizona Coyotes at 3 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, Darin Stephens via X, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 75 Recap: Kings 2, Sharks 1 (4/4/24)

 The Sharks’ late comeback efforts weren’t enough, as the Kings held off Team Teal with a 2-1 victory Thursday night.

 The Kings jumped out to an early and quick 2-0 lead on goals from Adrian Kempe and Akil Thomas, with the latter of these two being Thomas’ first NHL goal. Although the second period was scoreless, Luke Kunin and Andreas Englund engaged in a bit of a tilt, resulting in both players receiving five-minute majors for fighting along with two-minute minors each for slashing. The 2-0 Kings lead held until just under two minutes remaining in regulation, when Klim Kostin got the Sharks on the board with his eighth goal of the season and fifth as a Shark. Mikael Granlund and William Eklund each collected assists on what would be the Sharks’ lone goal of this game. 

Mackenzie Blackwood performed well in net for the Sharks, but couldn’t get his team the win, recording 25 saves on 27 shots against. In other news, earlier today, the Sharks signed college free agent forward Collin Graf to a three-year, entry-level deal. Graf’s entry-level deal with the Sharks kicks in starting for the remainder of this season. This season with Quinnipiac University, Graf recorded 22 goals and 27 assists for 49 points, leading his school in points and goals, and ranking second on his team in assists. He was also named a Hobey Baker Memorial Award top 10 finalist for the second consecutive year. During the 2022-23 season, Graf led Quinnipiac in all scoring aspects with 21 goals, 38 assists, and 59 points, helping his team win the NCAA National Championship last year. In addition, he was named the ECAC Player of the Year and Gladiator Best Defensive Forward this year. In total, Graf finished his collegiate career with 54 goals and 76 assists for 130 points in 112 games, playing one year at Union College before transferring to Quinnipiac. This may not seem like a huge signing at the moment, but we may be looking at this pickup as a potential steal by the end of his entry-level contract in a few years. 

The Sharks host the St. Louis Blues in their next game on Saturday at 3 pm PT. 

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, Sharks + SAP Center App, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 74 Recap: Kraken 4, Sharks 2 (4/1/24)

 Another slow start and opening period for Team Teal, along with an inability to get the tying goal late in the third, gets the Sharks back to their losing ways in a 4-2 defeat to the Seattle Kraken. 

It only took 29 seconds into the first period for Matty Beniers to score to get the Kraken on the board first. Tye Kartye briefly had the Kraken’s second goal of the game, but the Sharks challenged it for offsides (and possibly goaltender interference), and it was successfully overturned. However, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored to give the Kraken back their two-goal lead later in the first period. The Sharks got on the board a few minutes later via Fabian Zetterlund on the power play, with assists from Mikael Granlund and William Eklund. The Kraken regained their two-goal lead with about three minutes remaining in the first period on Shane Wright’s first goal of the year. 

Early in the second period, the Sharks got within one after Klim Kostin redirected a shot from Marc-Eduoard Vlasic, with the secondary assist going to Fabian Zetterlund. Late in the third period, the Sharks were unable to solve Phillipp Grubauer and tie the game, with Jaren McCann finding the empty net and putting one in off his own rebound to make it 4-2 Kraken. 

Mackenzie Blackwood recorded 28 saves on 31 shots against the Kraken Monday night. In other news, earlier today, the Sharks assigned their 2022 first-round pick, Filip Bystedt, to the Barracuda after finishing his 2023-24 season with Linkoping in the SHL with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 47 games. In addition, Jack Studnicka was recalled from the Barracuda but will likely be inserted into the Sharks lineup later in the week.

The Sharks continue their final homestand of the season with their next game on Thursday, hosting the Los Angeles Kings at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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