Young Sharks Hungry to Meet Expectations

In their dismal early years, the San Jose Sharks had a lot to live down. After assembling an array of young talent that some observers believe may carry them to the Western Conference finals, the Sharks have a lot to live up to.

“Expectations should be high,” said Doug Wilson, the Sharks’ director of pro development. “I’m not sure we were ready to win last year in the playoffs against Colorado, but I’m proud our guys came in this year at their highest fitness level ever. The greatest motivation is competition.

“Our kids have two years’ playoff experience and they should be motivated. With [Niklas] Sundstrom and [Gary] Suter in the lineup, we have people in the proper roles. We can put players in a position to succeed and not throw them into jobs by default.”

The Sharks have never had a .500 season or a .500 record in October. Their 5-3 loss to the Mighty Ducks on Monday at the Arrowhead Pond ended a franchise-best 3-1 start, but that young nucleus figures to carry them to new heights this season.

The kids weren’t to blame for the Ducks’ power-play goals late in the first period: veterans Mike Ricci, Owen Nolan and Vincent Damphousse took three consecutive penalties. The youngsters performed well, as 23-year-old right wing Alexander Korolyuk scored his second goal of the game in the Sharks’ failed comeback attempt.

Despite the loss the Sharks are still ahead of where they were a year ago. Distracted by holdouts and fatigued by a season-opening trip to Japan, they were 0-6-2 and struggled offensively; this season they had no contract squabbles and have the depth to average four goals a game. Nolan’s five-game point-scoring streak puts him among the NHL leaders with six goals and 10 points, with Damphousse (one goal, seven points) and Jeff Friesen (three goals, six points) close behind. Defenseman Brad Stuart shares the rookie scoring lead with five points and has won raves for his poise and skill.

“It would be nice to get off to a .500 start or exceed that,” assistant general manager Wayne Thomas said. “At this point, we haven’t been away from home, so I’d like to see what we look like.

“We have the reputation since Darryl [Sutter, the Sharks’ coach] has been here of having a good work ethic. So far we’ve been winning on talent, and if we can combine talent, work ethic and details, we have a good chance of being over .500. When you go on the road for five or six games you’re not going to get away with just using your talent.”

NET RESULT BAD FOR ALL

The Bruins’ early struggles apparently haven’t softened their stance toward goalie Byron Dafoe, an unsigned restricted free agent. They’re making do with John Grahame (son of former NHL and King goalie Ron Grahame) and Rob Tallas, but they’re off to their worst start in 30 years.

Dafoe had an outstanding season in 1998-99, compiling a 1.99 goals-against average with a league-leading 10 shutouts. He was a runner-up to Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek for the Vezina Trophy, supporting his request for a pay increase to $4 million a season. Bruin General Manager Harry Sinden, however, hasn’t budged above $3 million.

Dafoe could have filed for salary arbitration last summer but chose not to. “We thought we could negotiate with the Bruins,” said his agent, Ron Salcer. “Byron was the MVP of the team the last two years and had a great season. But they made no efforts to negotiate. It’s been a take-it-or-leave-it situation.

“As far as the team goes, what they’ve shown to us is winning definitely is not their number one concern. They don’t care about their players and they don’t care about their fans. Their attitude is cynical. Their attitude is, ‘As long as fans keep coming, we don’t have to spend more money.’

“I went in [to see Sinden] with Byron. Harry has said, ‘If you show why we should pay you the money, we will.’ Byron was a Vezina candidate and a second-team all-star. He’s up there. Harry said, ‘You’re justified in asking what you’re asking. Other teams will pay that, but this is the Boston Bruins.’ Last season they were 21st in payroll and he’s pleading poverty. . . . They’re making more than any team in the league. I can understand if some other teams cried poverty.”

After hearing that, Dafoe requested a trade. “Originally [Sinden] said, ‘All right, we’ll trade you,’ but then he backed off and said he would do what’s best for the team,” Salcer said.

It’s not good for anybody, especially long-suffering Bruin fans.

SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE

Dafoe is unsigned, but several other restricted free agents straggled back into the fold last week.

Rugged winger Darren McCarty re-signed with Detroit for $5.4 million over three years, defenseman Jay McKee re-signed with Buffalo for $5 million over four years, Jarome Iginla re-signed with Calgary for about $5 million over three years, and defenseman Dmitri Yushkevich is believed to have gotten a three-year deal worth slightly less than $6 million from Toronto.

Unrestricted and available are center Joe Juneau, who has found no takers at more than $2.2 million a year, defenseman Gerald Diduck, forward Dmitri Khristich and winger Pat Verbeek. Keith Primeau, who wants $5 million a year from Carolina, is a restricted free agent. A few teams have asked about Khristich, but the Bruins--who walked away from a salary arbitration award of $2.8 million--can match any offers less than $2.24 million.

SAY IT AIN’T SO, MO

Although Mike Modano said last week he will retire if the NHL doesn’t crack down on dirty hits like the Ruslan Salei shove that gave him a concussion, broken nose and strained neck ligaments, teammates believe Modano will change his mind.

“When he gets feeling good again, he’ll feel different,” center Joe Nieuwendyk said. “But I’ll tell you, when you see something like that, it makes you think about a lot of things.”

Modano has resumed skating lightly and may return this week.

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The Florida Panthers decreed English must be spoken in the locker room and on the bench, but players still have fun with their cultural differences.

When players choose sides to play pingpong on the table in the club’s locker room, they often divide along national lines. Czechs Radek Dvorak and Jaroslav Spacek often team up against Russians Viktor Kozlov and Oleg Kvasha, and matches pitting Europeans against North Americans are also common.

SLAP SHOTS

Vancouver left wing Steve Kariya, younger brother of Mighty Duck left wing Paul Kariya, scored his first NHL goal Saturday in a 4-1 victory over Montreal. Steve, two inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter than his brother at 5 feet 9 and 165 pounds, signed with the Canucks as a free agent and won a job through hustle. He has been on a line with Andrew Cassels and a newly fit Alexander Mogilny.

The Blackhawks waived Dave Manson last week but no one picked up the 32-year-old defenseman. . . . The Panthers want to cut $1.5 million from their payroll. Their season-ticket base is down to about 12,000--a figure many other teams would love to reach--and ticket sales have been slow. General Manager Bill Torrey anticipates attendance will rise when snowbirds leave Canada and the Northeastern U.S. and go to Florida for the winter. He’s also expecting bigger numbers once fans are convinced right wing Pavel Bure has recovered from reconstructive knee surgery last March. “So far it’s been a wait-and-see attitude,” Torrey said.

There are more TV breaks in games this season, but those breaks are shorter. Instead of three stoppages of 90 seconds each, there are four of 70 seconds each. Coaches undoubtedly approve, because the extra break gives them another chance to rest their top players. . . . Intermissions of games televised on ABC, ESPN and Canada’s CBC will last 17 minutes, one minute shorter than the break on Fox games. Intermissions for all other games will last 15 minutes. . . . Penguin defenseman Darius Kasparaitis has targeted Saturday to return from knee surgery.

New York Ranger goalie Mike Richter visited Los Angeles back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins and was told to strengthen muscles in his back to ease discomfort caused by a protruding disk. Richter hopes to be back by the weekend.

There must be something in the water: The Flyers were shut out in their first two games and the Philadelphia Eagle offense went 15 quarters without a touchdown. . . . Leonard Potechin, a fan of the Ottawa Senators, has filed a class action lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against no-show center Alexei Yashin and Yashin’s agent, Mark Gandler, claiming he and fellow fans have been cheated of Yashin’s presence after Yashin was promoted in ads for the team. Anyone who joins the suit must promise to donate to charity any damages that may be won. The Senators thought about suing Yashin, who has refused to honor the final year of his contract, but were told by the NHL the collective bargaining agreement prevents them from taking legal action.

Observers of the Sabres say goalie Hasek may be struggling to get back into shape after undergoing hernia surgery. He was chased from the nets by the Thrashers on Saturday.