San Jose Sharks
Sharks Locker Room: ‘Big Bad Vegas’ Sets Standard for San Jose To Follow
Big Bad Vegas.
There’s a reason why San Jose Sharks’ fan favorite Tomas Hertl chose to waive his No-Movement Clause to join the Vegas Golden Knights last Trade Deadline.
They’ve been the class of the Pacific Division since their expansion campaign, challenged in recent years by really just the Edmonton Oilers, one Stanley Cup, another Final appearance, and two Semi-Finals in just seven seasons.
Vegas proved once again to be the standard that San Jose falls well short of, after a dominating 4-2 victory at SAP Center on Tuesday.
“They’re the best team in the league right now,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky admitted. “Extremely structured. They do things shift after shift after shift, game after game, that’s extremely consistent.”
San Jose, on the other hand, is a young team that is still searching far-and-wide for consistency.
After back-to-back victories over Eastern Conference powers Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils, the Sharks were “like a whole different team almost” against the Golden Knights, according to Warsofsky.
They were dominated in every area of the game, except the power play and goaltending: William Eklund and Timothy Liljegren scored on the man advantage, and Alexandar Georgiev made 38 saves.
“They’ve been kind of a measuring stick in a lot of ways these last couple years,” Warsofsky said.
This is the Sharks’ seventh-straight loss to the Golden Knights, their second consecutive season that they’ve been swept by their once-bitter rivals.
Since San Jose toppled Vegas in the 2019 playoffs, the Sharks’ last post-season appearance, Team Teal has managed just a 4-19-3 record and a -51 Goal Differential against the Golden Knights.
That’s going to change one day. Such is the cyclical nature of sports.
But for now? Vegas’ skill, forecheck, defensive detail, structure, compete, consistency, you name it…that’s the standard for San Jose to get to.
Hopefully, the younger Sharks — like 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, stripped by Selke Trophy candidate Mark Stone here — are taking notes.
Empty net goal for… the former #SJShark Hertl.#VegasBorn 4 #TheFutureIsTeal 2 pic.twitter.com/q7ucc35F0v
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) January 8, 2025
Ryan Warsofsky
Warsofsky, on how the San Jose Sharks could’ve changed momentum against Vegas:
Be ready to start from puck drop. Puck play was soft. We didn’t execute. We were soft to play against in front of our net. Just not physical enough.
Warsofsky says Vegas is "the best team in the league right now":
"That top line with Eichel and Stone, we had no answer for it tonight…Extremely structured. They do things shift after shift after shift, game after game, that's extremely consistent."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 8, 2025
Warsofsky, on missing the compete and heart that the Sharks played with in their previous two wins:
It was not there. It was like a whole different team almost.
Warsofsky, on Georgiev’s game:
Made some huge saves, first period. Could have got really out of control. A couple tips, he makes some really late saves there, the breakaway on Eichel in the third. Go down the list.
Warsofsky, on the energy that the Celebrini line provided at times: "We shouldn't need to have an 18-year-old be our energy line. We need him and the rest of our guys to be energy lines. We need to play with energy every single time we're on the ice."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 8, 2025
Warsofsky, on what went right for a struggling power play tonight:
Won some 50-50 pucks. Executed. Were ready to make plays. Puck was moving. We had some attack to it, obviously some shooting to it.
Collin Graf
Graf, on if his 200-foot game is his biggest improvement from last year:
I think that’s one of them. I’d say the biggest thing is just the pace of play, just playing faster.
Graf, on playing Jack Eichel:
He’s really good. I had the chance to skate with him a couple times in the summer. Even when you see it in the skills and stuff, you see it out there, he’s just in control of the puck, in control of the game the whole time.
Alexander Georgiev
Georgiev, on what he’s been working on with San Jose Sharks goaltending coach Thomas Speer:
A little bit more technical right now, we’re focusing on some basic stuff. A lot of movement, just being square to the puck, little taller, more narrow stance, just small things. He’s a great goalie coach.
Timothy Liljegren
Liljegren, on what he’s improved in his game since his healthy scratch:
I just move my legs a little bit more.
Before, I was kind of looking around, not moving my feet, guys closed on me, and I can’t make plays. Biggest thing was moving my legs, staying engaged.
The gap in play was bigger than the gap on the scoreboard.
Simply talking the Sharks do not make any progress at all. It’s been almost 4 years now, and besides number of trades, good and bad, nothing else is happening. Blaming Georgiev for bad team performance is a poor and unprofessional excuse. If there really was such problem management would take care of pretty quickly
Personal bias: I can’t stand anything about FV, they were gifted everything by the NHL.
That said, this isn’t a rivalry, this is ownage. I just hope I live long enough to be there when the roles are reversed & they are in the gutter & the Sharks are stomping their ass.
This won’t be fun. Remember Game 7? That was fun. Both teams were good and the win felt elating. Beating down a weak team is meh. Let’s hope they stay great and Sharks will beat them anyway. Like in the Game 7.
Nah Vegas is one team I’d really enjoy the Sharks smacking the heck out of game after game. I don’t need or want them to be great, like ever.
My favorite teams are The Sharks, and whomever is playing FV. I want them to lose every game they play and cry to their wives. .
Warsofsky, on missing the compete and heart that the Sharks played with in their previous two wins: It was not there. It was like a whole different team almost. Duh. As I mentioned in another thread, the team does not play hard for Georgiev because they KNOW he will let in softies like the first 2 goals. On the other hand, when Asky is in net, they play much better because, again the team KNOWS, Asky will battle & not let in any softies. Unfortunately the Sharks are stuck with Georgiev. Every time he starts, it will be L because… Read more »
Georgiev played quite well actually. Vegas had 42 shots to the Sharks 22. Georgiev saved nearly 93% of those shots. He had one soft goal. The other is arguable. But if the Sharks are only putting up 22 shots then the issue is not the goaltending. Can’t lay this loss at his feet.
You cannot blame poor Sharks game on Georgiev. Sharks played poorly from drop of the puck till the end. If they played good from the start, and then Georgiev allowed 2 very soft goals, that could be the reason for their poor play, lack of heart, etc. but not from the start. IMO, it’s an inferiority complex that lives rent free in the Sharks heads, and they need a psychologist to talk to them. Also, does anybody remember Warso ever take any blame, even the smallest one, for Sharks poor play? Quinn wasn’t great coach but, on a few occasions,… Read more »
In time the youngsters will learn (coach included)
On Warsofsky taking blame, I don’t remember the situation, but he did earlier this year with something. If I can remember it, I’ll find you the quote.
FWIW, dealing with him on a near-daily basis, he is not a guy who strikes me as holier-than-thou, not even close.
Vegas can beat us as many times as they want, when you’re playing under a different set of rules and have been since day one of the franchise, none of your success actually counts.
(I know this is a childish and goofy argument, but Vegas fans haven’t earned a fucking thing and their penance should be to deal with idiots like me every time their cup win is brought up).
As far as Vegas being a standard, a couple of thoughts (and Vegas being gifted a winning team at their outset is now irrelevant). Vegas has been up against the cap and managed it very well, brilliantly, actually. They’ve got real high-end talent, guys they’ve brought in to replace other players and really made the right decisions. Drew noted the Eichel deal, getting him from Buffalo and dealing with his medical problem (neck). That’s a good example of good management decision-making. Getting Hertl, another. Pietrangelo, another. Oh, yeah, also that ugly guy, Stone. The other thing about Vegas is that… Read more »
I do think the gift of the immediate winning team does continue to pay dividends. They’re a winning program, so good players want to play there. Guys will waive NTCs to go there, which means some arrive with salary retained like Hertl. Those plug and play guys you mentioned will take less than market value to play there for a season or two, hoping for a shot at the cup. It’s hard to see their whole model as replicable for anyone else, because it’s built on advantages no other team in league history has received.
in addition to the winning team, don’t forget the Nevada taxes and nightlife. A pretty attractive place to play.
The one place where I’d disagree w/ you on this is that things could well have gone south very quickly for Vegas. They were gifted a good team (other GM’s have some responsibility for letting Vegas get quality players), but that team could have aged out (remember James Neal? – the numerical age isn’t always an indicator of the skill/body condition, ask Cheechoo), their draft position was not great, etc. Look where our lousy draft position got us? That Vegas avoided that is owing to good decisions.
I hate Vegas as much as you do, but I’m less optimistic about their medium-term sustainability. Hertl, Stone, Karlsson, Pietrangelo, and McNabb are all over 30. The first 2 guys on the list have significant injury history. Vegas has done a lot of things well – the expansion draft, insanely aggressive team building, and playing well on the ice. What many people forget is they’ve also had a TON of good fortune to get to this point. Eichel’s surgery is a great example – everybody calls it a good bet because it worked. But what if it didn’t? (Going off… Read more »
Stone has missed a lot of games. I don’t keep track of a lot of the details, but that one I know. I’m pretty sure that somewhere on the internet there’s a chart that shows each team’s history of games missed by its players, so if I wanted to spend the time, that info is available. Also, don’t assume I “hate” Vegas. I can’t stand what the city represents, but as for the teams I root for, I root for the Sharks because I live here. I feel I know the players as they’re the ones I see. If I… Read more »