Trade dealine is past, time for Sharks to man up

The NHL’s trade deadline is now behind us and again this year the Sharks were active participants.
They sent young winger Jaime McGinn to Colorado for Daniel Winnik and TJ Galiardi
I don’t fullly understand the logic behind this deal.
Galiardi is a downgrade offensively for what Mcginn was providing.
Winnik is a decent penalty killing grinder who plays a very gritty game.
But it seems to me between Handzus, Mitchell , Wingels, Ferriero, Winchester, and oh yeah, Jaime McGinn, the Sharks already had plenty of guys who can grind and bang the body.
McGinn is having far and away his best year in the NHL on both ends of the rink and I looked at him as a possible wild card factor in the playoffs.
It just seems like GM Doug Wilson made a trade just to “shake things up”.
But what this team desperately needed was another winger who can play on the top two lines.
I did however like the acquisition of Dominic Moore from Tampa however and once he gets healthy, he should fit in nicely.
And clearly that is what Doug Wilson is counting on from Martin Havlat who has resumed skating. the hope is that he can return to the lineup by the postseason and fill out the 2nd line.
That is if they make it that far.
Monday night they were back home and ready to turn the page from the 9 game roadie. They came into the tilt with the Flyers having lost 6 of 7.
And through it all, they made a Ryane Clowe goal 90 seconds into the game stand up for a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Getting a win and getting the team back on track was the ONLY thing that mattered last night.
It turned out to be even more critical when the Coyotes won again, extending their lead temporarily in the pacific Division to 4 points. Phoenix absolutely refuses to lose lately. But usually once a streak like that ends, a team will hit the wall for a bit. The Sharks can only hope the Coyotes have that in their future. The Kings and even the Stars will also be nipping at heels for a playoff spot down the stretch. The Sharks more than have their work cut out for them to win the Pacific.
And winning the Pacific is probably the difference between a #3 seed hosting a #6 seed or having to play at Vancouver or Detroit in Round 1. Which do you think sounds better? Yeah, go Sharks, go get that Pacific Title!
A few nice things to take from the Flyers game:
They did it without Todd McLellan who was still out after being hit in the head with a stick in Minnesota and was still experiencing concussion-like symptoms.
. And they did it without All Star forward, Logan Couture who is day to day with a lower body injury.
But they did it with defense and spectacular goaltending. Lately those two facets of their game have been lacking mightily.
Down the stretch last night the Sharks and the Flyers battled it out. Both teams had great chances to score, both teams were physical and both goaltenders made some spectacular plays.
Oh yeah, Anti Niemi was fantabulous. His 5th shutout of the year couldn’t have come at a better time. You could tell everyone was happy for him. Doug Wilson believes in Niemi, after all he won it all with Chitown in 2010.
Newcomers Galiardi and Winnik played decent, I saw some good sides of both of their games. But neither player has ever demonstrated they are more than 3rd and 4th line wingers as their most natural role. Only time will tell, but right now I am confused why those two are an upgrade over Jaime McGinn and whoever else got bumped from the lineup to make room for them both. Sharks back home tonight. I won’t bother calling this one a big game. Let’s face it, they are all big from here on out. If Nemo can get hot and the team can get healthy, they should have the group to at the very least win the Pacific Division. This is where the NHL gets fun!