Sharks Owner Shuts Down Tank Talk After One Game: 'No McKenna Here!'
You never want to have to address this subject one game into the season...
If I had to guess which teams would have the best shot at getting the first-overall pick in next year's NHL Draft Lottery — or as it will be known all season, the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes — I would put the San Jose Sharks among the top three.
What I did not see coming was the team's owner denying that they have plans to tank just one game into the year.
The Sharks lost their season opener at home against the Vegas Golden Knights in spectacular fashion due to a pair of blunders from netminder Alex Nedeljkovic that included giving up a goal on a Jack Eichel shot from the red line and a turnover at the blue line that led to the overtime winner.
READ: THE LATEST CONCESSION STAND ABOMINATION RESIDES IN SAN JOSE
It was such a wild way to lose a game that it made more than a few people wonder if the Sharks were preparing to go into tank mode.
That's usually not something people wonder until well after Thanksgiving.
San Jose Sharks owner Hasso Plattner spoke to the press for the first time in years and said the team has no plans to tank for Gavin McKenna. (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The team's owner, Hasso Plattner, spoke to the media for the first time in years, and he made it crystal clear that his team isn't tanking.
"I hope we don’t have to go for McKenna…I just talked to the coach," the billionaire said, according to Sharks writer Sheng Peng. "'No McKenna here now!'" And (GM) Mike (Grier) said, "'Absolutely not, absolutely not.'"
I mean… are you guys sure you don't want him? He's pretty damn good.
Still, it seems that, at least after one game, the Sharks organization is steadfast in its belief that there is no tank mode in place.
That's a smart call. Remember, before things fell apart on Thursday night, the Sharks were on the verge of beating the Golden Knights, a team that, barring a disaster, should be a postseason shoo-in.
But there's a long way to go, and for the Sharks, Game 2 of 82 is Saturday night when the Anaheim Ducks come to town.