5/7/2023 0 Comments Marc edouard vlasic![]() ![]() The Sharks, who fired coach Bob Boughner yesterday, have not made the playoffs since their 2019 run to the Western Conference Final, and this current streak of three consecutive finishes outside of the playoffs is the longest in franchise history. While the San Jose Sharks have been among the most successful franchises in the cap era, recent years have not been kind to them. One way to free cap space is through buyouts, and with buyout season now upon us, we’re taking a look at players who could potentially see their contracts bought out within this year’s window. “He’s up in plays and when you get up in plays, especially for a defenseman, your gap is tighter and it takes time and space away from the offensive players.With free agency nearing, many teams are looking to sort out their salary cap situations before the free-agent market opens on July 13th. “This year, more so than in the last couple of years, he’s joined the rush a little bit. “When (Vlasic) is at his best, he’s such a fluid skater with a great stick defensively,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. He looks faster, anyway, and has been willing to join the rush whenever it’s prudent. Vlasic said he’s still about 210 pounds but that he’s leaner than last season, and that he worked on his skating in the summer. I think he’s got a lot of good hockey ahead of him.” “He’s got a long track record in this league of being a really good player, and I want to give him every opportunity to be the player that he’s capable of being still. “For a guy like (Vlasic), I wanted to make him feel like he was part of the solution and give him every opportunity to prove to me that he couldn’t do it, as opposed to proving that he could. ![]() It’s just everybody does things differently,” Quinn said. Now in his 17th NHL season with the Sharks, Vlasic has clearly benefitted – at least early on – from a fresh start under Quinn. The Sharks this summer elected not to buy out the remaining four years of Vlasic’s eight-year, $56 million contract. “You get what you earn,” Boughner said in May, “and you get what you deserve.” “Considering I had limited minutes, third on the back end in points (14), more physical this year,” Vlasic said after the season, “so imagine if I played more?”īoughner said in May that he thought Vlasic’s game got better in the second half, and that like any coach, he was willing to give players more prominent roles if he felt it was warranted. Vlasic felt he had a better season than his ice time - a career-low 15:23 per game - would indicate. Then, for one of the few times in his NHL career, Vlasic was a healthy scratch, sitting for a Jan. Vlasic was a third-pair defenseman throughout much of last season, and his ice time dipped to an average of 13:39 per game last December. SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 15: San Jose Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) skates with the puck against Chicago Blackhawks’ Caleb Jones (82) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. Vlasic said he had a “great relationship” with members of the Sharks’ former coaching staff, including Bob Boughner, although they clearly disagreed on usage. But if you never give it to me I can never take it.” If you give me that opportunity, I’ll take it. “I never had it, not even from the start. With Vlasic’s increased role, he already eclipsed 20 minutes in ice time two times in his first four games, something that happened only three times in 75 games last season. A year after he was seventh among all Sharks defensemen in shorthanded time on ice, Vlasic, after four games, is now second behind only Mario Ferraro, helping the team kill all 12 penalties they’ve taken so far. ![]() Vlasic, in a second-pairing role, has been on the ice for only one of the 11 even-strength goals the Sharks have allowed so far this season. While Quinn is still waiting for some of his top players to make an impact in what’s been an 0-4-0 start, Vlasic, 35, has provided what Quinn has needed - a steadying presence on a defense corps that underwent some major changes since last season. You’re going to play against up lines, you’re going to kill penalties.” “I don’t know what’s gone on before I got here, but you’re a guy we’re going to lean on. “I said, ‘Listen, you’re part of the solution here,’ ” Quinn said last week. Quinn’s message for Vlasic was clear: The Sharks still need you. David Quinn went to Montreal this summer to meet with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, part of the first-year Sharks coach’s mini-tour of Eastern Canada to personally introduce himself to some of the team’s veteran players. ![]()
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