| | The San Jose Sharks are poised to have the franchise's best season, but not everybody is happy. Goalie Mike Vernon wants to play more. If he doesn't accept his role, trouble could brew in the locker room. Also, the message to Rangers management should be clearly stated: Don't fire coach John Muckler.
Medium pressure: Sharks goalie Mike Vernon
Vernon has won two Stanley Cups with two teams. He's been a No. 1 guy his whole career. He's a very confident guy who knows he's at the end of his career. No one picks when to start the downside, but his recent complaints regarding his playing time and situation with the team are ill-timed.
|  | | Vernon hasn't been pleased with his role this season. |
Coaches need to go with the goalie who has the hot hand. That's what Sharks coach Darryl Sutter is doing. Steve Shields paid his dues and has shown he's an up-and-coming goalie. He deserves ice time. The team plays well in front of him.
Vernon should know that a team needs two goalies. With a team that has been in first and is a big surprise, it's understandable that he wants to play and wants to keep his edge -- he doesn't want to lose it. But he needs to sit back and wait and be a smart veteran. The time will come when the team will need him for a boost. This is not the time to be pulling things apart.
It may have been blown out of proportion -- with writers, things can get that way -- but he obviously said something; and it's not the time for that. This is a team that has been built carefully, and he needs to be patient and wait for his time.
One of the comments he made was that Sutter hasn't talked to him much. That's just the way it is with Darryl, but Sutter should give him the benefit of the doubt and sit down with Vernon. Sutter owes it to everyone to talk to Vernon. This needs to be settled before it causes any more aggravation.
High pressure: Muckler and getting the boot
In any hard-core hockey town -- New York and Philadelphia, for instance -- they tear everything apart. Muckler is one of the smartest guys in the game. He's been a coach, a GM and just about everything else. He's been around a long time. This is not the time to fire the coach.
ESPN's Barry Melrose said it well: A coach's job is to take every excuse out of the way until the team just plays. This is just another excuse for the players. They don't do it on purpose, but it's baloney. It isn't Muckler's fault, and the franchise should ride it out, stay with Muckler and just play.
Signing guys with character doesn't guarantee good team chemistry. You can't just throw 20 guys together and just expect instant results. People constantly underestimate how important it is for a player to feel comfortable in a role. Vancouver got rid of some good guys this offseason because they just didn't fit. Now, they're winning.
Management and Muckler are now applying more pressure. When losing, pressure is applied, and they're doing that. They already are finding out who is dealing with it. Firing Muckler is only going to make things worse, giving players more time to flounder with an excuse. GM Neil Smith should come out and say they're staying with Muckler. Management has to stay intact. A new coach brings a totally new feel, new system. Smith should tell the press to back off and say, "Yeah, we're bad right now, but we'll get there."
If they fire Muckler, it would be a disaster. Maybe a few key guys get traded, or they change their system a little. But Smith and Muckler aren't dumb; they know what they're doing.
Brian Engblom is a hockey analyst for ESPN, and he played 11 seasons in the NHL. | |
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