Joy in Staubitz's Suspension and Concerns about the longevity of the Fourth Line

First off, I want to say that I enjoy that Brad Staubitz got a suspension. It's not that I have any ill will towards Davis Drewiski. In fact, I had never heard of him until the other night. What I like about this suspension is that a Shark showed a little sandpaper on the bottom lines beside the usual Jody Shelley fight. As some of my friends may recall, I have been pining for a Shark player to earn a suspension via a crushing blow. Honestly, I can't remember when a Shark last received a suspension!

The suspension itself represents a step away from the past few Sharks rosters and, perhaps, a step back towards the years of Daryl Sutter and Bryan Marchment (a current Sharks executive, you'll recall). Those were the years where you could count on the bottom lines to being the energy, bring the heat, and crush a guy every now and then. They really powered the team through some games by punishing opposing forwards on the boards and by sparking the crowd through their sheer determination. Indeed, it seemed for some years that the Sharks' soul lied in the heart of those lines.

For those of those who don't get hockey, you must realize that these players play an important function in the game. It's not hitting for hitting's sake, as Herb Brooks might say. The bottom half of the forward lines exist to shut down the other team. They are there to make life tough for the other team by tiring them down, working them hard, and hitting them just as hard. There's a difference between hitting guys hard and just dropping the gloves with them. When you grind them out, you tire the players and you gain momentum for your other lines to continue on. Having a line of players who can slow down another team, cause them to hold up in the corners, or ignite a home crowd/quiet a road crowd is incredibly important to a team.

For the past few years, the Sharks have had third and fourth lines who were good at slowing the team down but they didn't bring much else to the table. They rarely scored, they rarely fought, and they rarely ignited a crowd. They were able to hide their inability to score or hit by being a very good checking line. They were good at keeping the Sharks off the ledger during the regular season which is an essential component of a winning team. Yet, for all the Sharks' success, they didn't help much in the playoffs when they were exposed by stronger players who were able to muscle them (I'm thinking particularly of Edmonton in '06, Detroit in '07, Calgary in '08, and Anaheim in '09) around and reduce their role.

The current movement towards a stronger, faster, more physical third and fourth line is exciting for me. especially considering one of their more exciting players, Torrey Mitchell, is expected back in late October/early November. I think they will add a lot to the rest of the roster and transform the Sharks into a team who can dunk the puck on you, keep you out of their own net, and make you regret you challenged them in the boards. Of course, I'm a fanboy and totally biased but this is what I'm hoping for.

One concern about the new 'goon' line of Shelley/Nicol/McLaren(Staubitz): can they survive the season? It's three games in and already one guy has been suspended, one guy has a black eye fitting of The Outsiders, and the other has been bloodied twice in fights. If this pace keeps up, I'm worried they wont all make it to the Olympic break, let alone the end of the season. That is something I will be watching in the weeks to come.