The Associated Press reports that San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson plans on making several changes to his team, and he's more than willing to share his agenda with those who'll listen:
Wilson said Thursday that he told pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Dan Boyle that he will not be re-signed, informed unproductive forward Martin Havlat that he will not be back next season and moved top-line wing Brent Burns back to defense after he had spent more than a year as a forward on captain Joe Thornton's line.
These changes come two weeks after the Sharks became the fourth team in NHL history to lose a best-of-seven series after winning the first three games.
Wilson spent the past two weeks meeting with coaches and players to help determine what went wrong in the final four games against Los Angeles and how to get a team that has been one of the best in the regular season the past decade over the playoff hump.
"You want to be careful not to change too many things, but you better be really careful that you're not just avoiding what really needs to take place," Wilson said. "There's two sides to that. I think what we need to do is much more drastic than just putting a Band-Aid on it."
The AP continues, and notes the following (and NHL.com's Eric Gilmore, the Sharks' website and the Mercury News's David Pollak have more news)...
Assistant coach Larry Robinson will be back but could have an expanded role that includes some front-office duties. ... Wilson said talks have already begun to keep backup G Alex Stalock, who can be an unrestricted free agent. ... Pavelski (shoulder) and F Raffi Torres (knee) had operations after the season.
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