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Wilson vs. Thornton: Why the San Jose Sharks are the Best

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The San Jose Sharks have provided LA Kings fans a lot of fond memories over the past four years.

Sure, there have been a lot of Kings wins, but it’s the way that Sharks find new ways to lose and shoot themselves in the foot that makes the memories even greater.

This includes last season’s dramatic seven-game series that ended in a Kings #ReverseSweep win, quite possibly the greatest non-Stanley Cup Final series in Kings history.

SadThornton

Sad Game 7 Joe Thornton forever.

In the wake of #ItWas3toNothing, the Sharks are now providing even more fantastic fodder for Kings fans to enjoy. And now we’re finally seeing what the series did to fracture that team into tiny pieces that will never be repaired.

It all started last offseason when it appeared that the Sharks would attempt to trade their longtime captain Joe Thornton in order to move the team in a younger direction. Everyone agreed this would be a dumb idea. But an even dumber idea would be for General Manager Doug Wilson to say he will shake up the team and then do nothing.

Alas, Wilson decided against the idea of trading Thornton, or more likely, he couldn’t get him to waive his no-move clause, and hung on to his future Hall of Fame center.

Now it was time to mend fences and prepare for the new season with Thornton leading the charge!

…or not.

So the Sharks have muddled their way through the season and now sit outside the playoff picture, which even led to speculation that the team would possibly look to move Thornton at the trade deadline. While not ideal, this would at least allow them to move forward without the distraction of constant speculation regarding Thornton’s future.

Of course.

Well, at least the team could now focus on the final stretch drive of the season. They knew who their teammates would be and this is the team they will be going to battle with on a nightly basis.

The franchise was set and nothing could rock that boat!

…no, no. That could never happen with Wilson in charge.

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson pulled the curtain back Thursday night on the thinking behind the team’s decision last August to take the captaincy away from veteran center Joe Thornton.

The topic was raised in a question-answer session with about 350 season-ticket holders before the Sharks faced the Nashville Predators, and Wilson prefaced his remarks by saying he is a huge Thornton fan.

“He cares about the game so much. The reason we took the ‘C’ off him … Joe carries the weight of the team on his shoulders, and he’s got such a big heart that when stress comes on him, he lashes out at people,” Wilson said, “and it kind of impacts them.

“The pressure and stress, I felt, was getting to Joe,” the general manager said. “And I sat him down and said we need other players to step up and share this. He got it. He didn’t like it, but he got it and he understood it.”

And finally, the most amazingly Sharks thing to ever happen was that Thornton finally had enough.

It’s hard to blame him. I mean, why on Earth would a general manager keep throwing his best player under the bus like this?

Please, never ever stop Shark-ing, Sharks!

PumperNicholl is a lifelong LA Kings fan and actually learned how to speak English from Bob Miller by watching LA Kings games… and the Police Academy movies. You should probably follow PumperNicholl on Twitter @pumpernicholl
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