Thursday, July 12, 2007

On free agency, new schedule and the new logo

Despite the Stanley Cup having been awarded a little more than a month ago, hockey doesn't disappear in the toasty mid-calendar months. No, summer is when the teams restock and reload their rosters, readying themselves to give it another go come October. The free agency period opened on July 1st, and, much to the dismay of Sharks fans everywhere, has been open for two weeks now, and no new players will be donning the teal (with bits of orange, but we'll get to that later). Craig Rivet was re-signed (4 years, 3.5 mil per), keeping him in teal (with bits of orange) until the end of the 2010-11 season, barring a trade, or course.

The other contract news thus far was the extension of one Joe Thornton (2005-06 Hart Trophy [MVP] and Art Ross Trophy [leading point scorer]), that will also keep him in San Jose until 2010-11 (3 years, 7.2 mil per). Thornton has one year left on his deal, so the extension kicks in next season (2008-09).

Outside of signings was the solution to the Sharks starting goalie situation. Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell were shipped to Toronto for their first round pick, along with a couple more picks. With the Leafs, Vesa will probably battle with Andrew Raycroft for the starting position, and Mark Bell will battle for... something.



Just yesterday, the NHL and the Sharks announced their schedule for the 2007-08 season, furthering the anticipation for October. This year marks the return of some recent Sharks, a couple who were prominent fan favorites.

date player team
10/13 Marco Sturm Boston Bruins
11/2 Tom Preissing Los Angeles Kings
11/30 Scott Hannan Colorado Avalanche
12/11 Nolan Schaefer Minnesota Wild
1/12 Mark Bell/Vesa Toskala Toronto Maple Leafs
3/3 Josh Gorges Montreal Canadiens
3/5 Niko Dimitrakos Ottawa Senators



Lastly, today came the leak of what us Sharks fans have had to look forward to, the new logo for our Sharks. The following has been leaked by someone who got the picture from someone who knows it, and so on and so on.





The official announcement is set for July 24th at 10:00 a.m, however, with the leak of the new mark, we may see it come public sooner.

First thought of mine is, I don't like it. I'm a big fan of tradition, and in my mind, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, meaning I wouldn't be happy with any change. That said, it's not bad, but it's not an upgrade to the current logo. The sharks is a bit fiercer, but it has been colored in such a way that it looks cartoony, almost like a comic book shark, prompting many, including myself, to call it "Batshark".

The fact that it's two-tone, and that one of the tones is teal worries me, as when set on a teal background, as I imagine the dark jersey will be, the teal will blend in with the jersey in such a fashion that from far away it will not be easily distinguishable.

I am willing to not give up on this logo until we see the jerseys that accompany it, however, so don't look at me as a curmudgeon yet.

Look for more updates throughout the summer, whenever there is Sharks news.

GO SHARKS (nana nana nana nana BAT SHARK)
-Jess