SAN JOSE – Flashback to 12 months ago.
The Sharks had just wrapped up January with three impressive and convincing wins over the powerful Ducks, Kings and Blackhawks. At 27-17-6 and 60 points they sat in second place in the division, well behind first place Anaheim by a 10-point margin, but three points up on of the rest of Pacific in second.
Then came February, bringing with it eight straight home losses and a free-fall out of playoff position. Later, a public spat between former captain Joe Thornton and general manager Doug Wilson revealed an underlying dysfunction, and it became more and more evident that Wilson and Todd McLellan had had enough of one another, too.