San Jose Sharks fans welcomed another lukewarm season Thursday with the team’s 4-3 loss to Vegas after Reilly Smith secured the overtime win for the Knights. But before the Sharks look for redemption in their face-off against the Anaheim Ducks tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET, the franchise’s owner, Hasso Plattner, gave a candid take on the team’s goals.
While the Pittsburgh Penguins appear likely to land the generational talent that is Gavin McKenna, that does not stop the Sharks owner from having his own opinions on the grand sweepstakes for the elusive McKenna.
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Plattner is wary of social media, mainly because of the abundance of fake news. The inconspicuous billionaire does not give lengthy interviews regularly, so when he did, the community was offered unprecedented insight into the Sharks brass. Plattner does not sound dejected about San Jose’s poor showing.
Although the team was pushed to the very bottom of the Western Conference’s Pacific Division last season, Plattner would not change a thing about the years the team made it to the playoffs but failed to lift the Stanley Cup. Plattner reminisced about the better days at San Jose.
“The Finnish Flash. He was such a good player. I have a house in Aspen. Sometimes, I went to Denver games. He came to Denver after a year of rehab, knee surgery, and all of a sudden… Finnish Flash is back, goes back to Anaheim, wins the Stanley Cup. Fantastic,” Plattner said in an interview with “SJ Hockey Now’s” Sheng Peng, about former winger Teemu Selanne.
However, despite the hardships, the billionaire owner does not seem eager to acquire McKenna. There is the possibility that McKenna’s generational talent could change the course of any struggling team, but Plattner is content with the team’s roster.
“We, on average, over 10 years, we might have won the league. We made it to the Finals. With a new team, I think we have a good chance that this team is as good or even better. I hope we don’t have to go for McKenna… I just talked to the coach. ‘No McKenna here now!’ And Mike said, ‘Absolutely not, absolutely not.'”
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There seems to be a consensus among the top management of the Sharks, including GM Mike Grier, that McKenna is hardly necessary for the team right now. Plattner believes that the team, as it is, has enough potential. Moreover, the management’s sole concern right now lies in strengthening the Sharks’ defense.
“I think we have enough. And if we bring up [Quentin] Musty, and [Igor] Chernyshov, and [Ethan] Cardwell, then we have an excellent team we need. And then replacements for the aging defensemen to real star defensemen, that will be the main focus,” Plattner stated.
As enticing as the prospect of landing McKenna is, the Sharks’ billionaire owner remains admirably confident in his team’s abilities and playoff potential.
San Jose’s homestand continues Saturday night when they take on the Anaheim Ducks at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
