For Heaven's Sake, Rest the Olympians!

by orestes on Mar 9, 2010 9:39 AM PST Comment 10 comments

With the Sharks assured of at least a no. 2 seed in the playoffs, why isn't Todd McClellan resting the Olympians, and reducing minutes for Rob Blake, so all are in top form for the playoffs. This should be done now, giving players 1-2 games off on a rotating basis, with all back to full time for a week before the playoffs to get any rust off. An added advantage would be to get an intense look at the younger players on the cusp of the playoff roster.

Don't sacrifice the playoffs for another President's Cup!

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The roster can only carry so many players.

We have 8 Olympians. Worcester is in it’s own playoff battle. We’d love to spread the minutes around, but that means contributions from lower line players, which isn’t quite where we want it to be. If Brad Staubitz can stay out of the box, we can roll the 4th line.

Players like Joe, Patty and Heater miss very few games. Joe has never missed a game in Teal. They play every night. That’s who they are.

The team, as a whole, isn’t quite clicking the way it could be. MAYBE rest is the answer (it’s just as likely more playing time would do everyone good), but the team did schedule this near full week off after the Olympics for a reason.

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

by ElvisVF101 on Mar 9, 2010 10:42 AM PST reply actions

Yeah, at this point, I doubt Joe Thornton will miss a game unless he’s either dead or dying. He takes pride in his status as an ironman.

"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Proud member of the "Re-Sign Marleau" Club
Fools and Sages

by mymclife on Mar 9, 2010 10:53 AM PST up reply actions

Resting Olympians

To me, continuing to play the Olympians is just stupid. There isn’t much to be gained, and if Joe can’t sit a few days for the team, he just hasn’t thought this through. To me, Thornton looked like he was dragging a little bit the last game. We can’t afford that in the playoffs.

by orestes on Mar 9, 2010 11:01 AM PST reply actions

You cant rest those guys

If you leave them out of a game, their salary still counts towards the cap. 4 of our highest paid players no less.

"iaT"S FUCKINGE LIEK CONICO DO MAYO!!!!!111"
Mr. K. 5/5/2009

by Morti on Mar 9, 2010 12:48 PM PST up reply actions

So we should play games with a roster of less than 20 players? Are we trying to injure other guys before the playoffs?

"Douglas Murray is a humongous human being." – Drew Remenda

by Evilducks on Mar 11, 2010 6:03 PM PST up reply actions

Momentum is the main thing heading into the playoffs for me. Last year the sharks stumbled in and well we all know how well that worked out. The main thing this year will be heading into the playoffs with some sort of momentum. The olympians are the core of this team and they need to head into these playoffs on a hot streak. Plus long breaks and the sharks have never mixed well in the past. They always seem to come out flat after an extended period of time off. If we rest the olympians we risk them opening the playoffs flat footed and another early exit. Also i really dont want to see Staubitz playing more minutes than he is now. I might kill someone.

"Thats a lot of hoopage"- Randy Hahn 2/4/10

by Krishna on Mar 9, 2010 11:04 AM PST reply actions

We're stuck with Staubitz for the year

He’s making $500K on a one way contract. I doubt Doug Wilson risks waiving him this close to the playoffs. He’s shown that he has decent hands, and if he stops taking penalties, we get a legit look at the 4th line.

I imagine he doesn’t get resigned next season, at least not on a one way contract (I don’t even know if he can be offered a 2 way anymore, someone who knows something about the CBA would have to enlighten me here). Frazer McLaren has shown promise in his stints up here and I think management might consider him “ready to go.”

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

by ElvisVF101 on Mar 9, 2010 12:46 PM PST up reply actions