Deep Blue Sea: All-Stars and trade rumors

The Sharks aren’t riding high going into this All-Star break, but there is a small comfort in knowing they’ll be buyers at the trade deadline. It’s a reminder that things could always be worse.

Take, for example, the New York Rangers.

Yes, the last team to beat the Sharks is selling everything and the kitchen sink. Though they sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division, playoffs aren’t entirely out of reach for this Rangers squad, who is just one point out of a wild card spot. Deciding to sell at this point is sending a message — things in this organization are going to change.

You can read more about that below. Here’s today Sharks news and notes:

• Defensive play concerning as Sharks head into All-Star break | NBCS Bay Area
  Against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday and the New York Rangers on Thursday, San Jose allowed 11 combined goals. The two-game homestand marked the first time the Sharks gave up five or more goals in consecutive games all season, while Thursday’s loss was the 12th time they’ve let in at least five goals all season.
• Power Rankings: Brent Burns All-Star Moments | NHL.com
  Ranking Brent Burns’s top All-Star moments with the San Jose Sharks.
• The All-Star break finds the Sharks at a crossroads… again
  Joe Thornton’s injury will test the Sharks in ways they weren’t expecting.
• NHL All-Star Game: Five reasons it’ll be worth watching
  Since 2016, the games have largely been competitive and entertaining and it looks like … actual hockey/

Here’s the blood in the water around the league:

• Rangers trade rumors 2018: New York plans to sell at deadline, per report – SBNation.com
  New York is reportedly setting a direction even though it’s still in the playoff mix.
• Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche winger, should be an NHL All-Star
  ST. LOUIS — Second-year Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen doesn’t consider it a snub, because he understands the NHL’s design to have every team represented at this weekend’s All-Star Game in Tampa, Fla.
• Blackhawks rumors 2018: Joel Quenneville ‘could be in trouble’ in Chicago? – Second City Hockey
  This is a 31 Thoughts tidbit we can’t simply ignore.
• The Rangers Already Failed Lundqvist, So Rebuilding Shouldn’t Be Avoided – Blueshirt Banter
  In the world of sports, organizational sins exist like scars. They’re bleeding and fresh at first, but over time they fade; never disappearing, but become harder and harder to see over time. Lundqvist — a generational talent and one of the greatest goaltenders of all time — not winning a Stanley Cup would be an unforgivable sin for everyone involved at every level of the New York Rangers.
• Welcome to the Rasmus Dahlin Draft – Article – TSN
  Ten out of 10 scouts surveyed this week had Dahlin at No. 1, duly noting it was an easy choice. So then what?
• The nine best stories at the NHL all-star break – Sportsnet.ca
  As the NHL goes dark before celebrating its all-star weekend in Tampa Bay, we look at nine of the best stories so far this season.
• Vegas giving NHL Knightmares
  The Week Ahead looks at the tremendous season of the expansionist Vegas Golden Knights as well as notes from the other 30 teams
• NHL – Weekly Reader – The department of player safety has a Brad Marchand problem
  Brad Marchand — like Chris Pronger before him — presents a problem for the Department of Player Safety in meting out fair suspensions. Plus, the coach’s challenge continues to infuriate, Jersey Fouls of the Week, a puck-dropping dog and much more.
• Why the NHL should adopt the IIHF’s goalie interference rule – Sportsnet.ca
  With recent plays by Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid, the NHL’s goalie interference rule and video reviews are in the spotlight again. Paul Romanuk believes a solution for the NHL can be found in the IIHF rulebook.
• NHL – Five ways to make the All-Star Game even more fun
  Our writers have some radical ideas on how to improve the NHL’s midseason classic, such as turning it into a four-team international tourney, pitting the defending Cup champs against the world, restoring the fantasy draft and reuniting Team North America./