Bodger Hasn’t Forgotten

Finally, Doug Bodger got to play against his old teammates Saturday night.

Bodger, who had missed all three previous games against San Jose this season because of injuries, wanted to get a crack at the Sharks, who had traded him away a year ago.

“It’s just another game . . . “ he began Saturday, then stopped because everybody says that. A cliche is a cliche, in part, because it’s true and his playing against San Jose was hardly just another game.

Nothing against the players, you understand. Bodger and son Ryne spent a bit of Saturday morning renewing acquaintances.

But management, that’s another story.

“Those guys told me that they were going to build with young players around me,” Bodger said. “Then they traded me.

“They change coaches [from Al Sims to Darryl Sutter] and all of a sudden I’ve gone from 30 minutes [of playing time] a game to 10 minutes.”

And then he was gone to New Jersey in December of last season, on his way to the Kings.

“New Jersey did me a favor, sending me here,” he said.

The memories are hard. Bodger enjoyed his time in San Jose after coming there in trade from Buffalo and believed he had a role in the Sharks’ resurgence.

“I think they forgot they were 1-17 when I came there,” he said. “You’d like to be treated with a little more respect than I was.”