I’m Calling Your Bluff Doug Wilson
December 29th, 2008 by cantstopthegrierStep three in the process to bring Claude Lemieux to the San Jose Sharks roster was initiated by Doug Wilson this weekend when he signed the four time Stanley Cup winner to a two-way contract.
Doug Wilson says “don’t just to any conclusions….”. Dougie…baby….I love ya but I’m calling your bluff big guy. Bust out the Teal for Claude - he’s coming folks. As I’ve said before, are the Sharks in the charity business here of resurrecting careers? This isn’t an NHL shelter for wayward veterans who’ve lost their way. This is the Stanley Cup front-runner - and they’re looking for the missing piece - and Claude Lemieux could be part of the equation.
Look at it from this point of view. At the trade deadline, or at any point before then, you can add one of most legendary winners in modern hockey and a player known to terrorize the Detroit Red Wings. Do you think Todd McLellan hasn’t shed any light on this? Come on….he would know the legend of Lemieux from the other side. Doug Wilson can poo-poo this all he wants, but once Lemieux clears waivers on Tuesday, and he will - every other team has had this time to sign him, no one is going to suddenly jump in today and be forced to add Claude to their NHL roster tomorrow, the Sharks have a built in Wing killer in the wings for nothing. No prospects lost, no draft picks given up. Another shrewd move by King DW. He wouldn’t even have bothered to go this far with Lemieux if he didn’t think he was part of the big picture for a Cup run - and that’s what this is all about - a Cup run. Patience will be a virtue here because, as I understand it, once the Sharks bring up who ESPN once called “the most hated man in hockey”, Lemieux’s deal will count against the Sharks cap for the rest of the season because of his age. (Mike our resident cap guru will correct me if I’m wrong). So, I still don’t think we see Claude until late February - for that reason mainly.
Imagine these playoff lines.
Marleau/Thornton/Seto
Clowe/Pavs/Michalek
Cheech/Mitchell/Grier
Shelley/JR/Lemieux
Tee-hee-hee. Now that’s money. With two solid scratches like Goc and Plihal, the Sharks will be looking good heading into any playoff series. Alright, that’s really it I think. I’m sitting at the San Jose Airport waiting to catch my flight and I couldn’t help myself. LEMIEUX WATCH is on…more than ever.
P.S. I am really going to see the Mississippi River Kings play at home against Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs on New Year’s Eve. My first minor league hockey game and I’m looking foward to seeing these CHL (Central Hockey League) foes do battle. They are two of the most penalized teams in the CHL, so some gloves should be dropped. There are four players with 98+ PIM’s….in 26 games. Awesome.
Happy New Year.
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6 Responses to “I’m Calling Your Bluff Doug Wilson”
By Ruben on Dec 29, 2008
If Cheechoo keeps heating up, that might push Michalek or Clowe down to the 3rd line (Milan hasn’t exactly been lighting it up anyways, and Clowe has been doing most of his damage on the PP). I think Clowe on the 3rd line makes a lot of sense, because you can make him a PP specialist, you have Grier and Mitchell as PK specialists, but you can still roll that 3rd line out there for a little grit and hustle. Then you allow Pavelski to take on more of a playmaker role with Cheech and Milan.
Was Seto injured or something last game? Or was McClellan sending a wake up call? I hope it was something going on, because I never been a big fan of putting players in the “doghouse”, even for a period, especially when that player has one of the highest +/- and is #2 on the team in goals.
By bcsteve on Dec 29, 2008
According to the Merc this morning, Seto flew back home following the death of his grandmother. He will miss the Dallas game and meet up with the team in Minnesota.
By Ivan M on Dec 29, 2008
Lemieux will make his debut in teal on January 17th. You heard it here first, folks.
By Ruben on Dec 29, 2008
@bcsteve
That makes sense. I bet Seto’s head wasn’t really in the game (understandably), and McClellan wisely chose to only give him spot duty when it was clear he wasn’t himself.
Is Lemieux at 43 better than, say, Jeff Friesen? At the very least, Lemieux would not be pissed getting 6-8 minutes of ice time a la Jody Shelly, but color me skeptical of Lemieux’s ability to keep up in today’s fast paced game. Then again, he does bring something the Sharks don’t have (though Im not really sure they need it, anyways…). Ehh, better stop before my Friesen fanboy side comes out…
By bcyde on Dec 30, 2008
I believe Setoguchi deserves the spot on the top line more than Cheech, but it’s undeniable that Cheech can produce when paired with Thornton. Then again almost anyone can produce when paired with Thornton.
I’m wondering if having Cheech on the top line and moving Seto on the 2nd and dropping Clowe to the 3rd line would allow for even more scoring threats.
Then again, the Sharks have been doing fine so far so maybe it’s best not to switch up the lines just to jump start Cheech’s stats just because the fans want to see him succeed.
-b