Rob Blake staying in San Jose

Coming off a very frustrating post-season experience in 2008-09, the San Jose Sharks are still analyzing what went wrong and how one could possibly fix it. During the regular season everything looked like the Sharks were going to be the favorite to win it all, but things did not work out as planned. More specifically, San Jose finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL and a total of 53 wins, thus they were awarded with the number one seeded in the Western Conference. However, they were not able to make it out of the first round in the post-season which raised a lot of questions about the teams’ ability to perform when it really matters.

While a wide range of issues that influenced the Sharks’ poor playoff performance was controversially discussed, everyone could agree upon the need of veteran leadership in crucial games. Therefore, it appears to be justified that the San Jose Sharks offered another 1-year contract to the 39-year old veteran Rob Blake. After going through extensive medical checks, Blake accepted the deal that is estimated to be around $3.5 million. Throughout his career Rob Blake played for the Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks while appearing in six NHL All-Star games. Likewise, he managed to win the Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche as well as receiving the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 1998 for being the best defense player in the NHL. Blake scored 233 goals and added 514 assists for a career total of 747 points in 1200 regular season games. Although his career is nearing its end, he is still considered to be an excellent player as he put up 10 goals and 35 assists for 45 points last year. Even though only re-signing Blake will most likely not be the solution for the Sharks, he can be expected to provide some much needed leadership and defensive toughness for the franchise.

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