Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The San Jose Sharks Changed Their Identity On The Fly

03/18/2014 at 9:10am EDT

from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

The seeds of the San Jose Sharks' six-game winning streak, their 8-1-1 record since the Olympic break and ascent to a tie with the Ducks atop the Pacific Division were planted at last season's trading deadline, when Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson and his staff realized their plodding team needed a new identity and a major infusion of youth.

"We did the reset/refresh, where we clarified how we wanted to play. We wanted to be a much faster team," Wilson said.

He had a head start with strength down the middle in Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau, so Wilson mostly reconfigured the wingers and defense. That meant unloading Ryane Clowe, Douglas Murray and Michal Handzus and giving chances to Tommy Wingels, Tomas Hertl and Matt Nieto. "It has allowed us to play the way we wanted to play," Wilson said Monday.

continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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