Help Me, Help You: San Jose Sharks

Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty ImagesWhen our dear and departed Ron Hextall passed away (or got fired, whichever), the forces that be made it very clear why this had to happen to him: he was too patient. This patience was perceived as weakness, or hesitance to do what needed to be done to make the Philadelphia Flyers good (not bad). Paul Holmgren didn’t want the Flyers to be good in three years—he thought they could compete now, if they were aggressive enough. They call these things ‘artistic differences.’

So Hextall gets canned, and the guys up top bring in Chuck Fletcher, who is a guy that exists in the hockey world that I am vaguely aware of. The message was signed, sealed, delivered: do…