Wilson: Sharks have 'an open wound'
/San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson spoke with the media Friday.
On the tone of his meeting with the players:
"Well, what's said in this room stays in this room. From our organization and to our fans, this is not a nick or a scratch. I mean, this is an open wound. The emotions are raw, and the disappointment runs deep and should resonate and live for a long time. We have already started the process of what decisions we're going to make."
On if his team has a reputation as an underachieving team:
"We didn't get it done. Performance speaks. There's no sugar-coating it. When you're up 3-0 in a series, you step on their throat and put them away. They came back and were able to buy in and establish their game for four games. We played it for three. It's not good enough. That's the truth."
Wilson noted, "Status quo is not an option."
On Todd McLellan and staff:
"My recommendations include our coaching staff be part of this going forward."
On the importance of buy-in:
"Buying in to how you need to play is - that's the only way you win in this league. Look at the Olympics, how the Canadian team did. They played the way a team needed to play. People left their egos at the door. They didn't, under stress and fatigue, go back to their old game and play their old style. It's not complex what wins in this business. We'll get to the bottom of it."
On top players not getting it done:
"You know, people talk about guys being 'good guys.' Jonathan Toews is a good guy. Anze Kopitar is a good guy. It's about performing up to your capability when it's on the line and we will get into that with different people and we will make decisions accordingly."
On if he's frustrated he couldn't make more of a dent at the trade deadline:
"No. No. Because we made a decision. And when you make a decision - we are not going to trade Mirco Mueller, Matt Nieto, Tomas Hertl or a first round pick. We made that crystal clear last year. There were a couple of things we explored, but we're not going to compromise what we committed to and we're sitting here today now with that flexibility. We have three picks in this draft upcoming. We have the growth of some young players and believe me, some of these young players will be getting an expanded role on this team and some of the guys that aren't here will be playing on this team next year."