The “Ron Wilson” question

Should he stay or should he go?

That seems to be one of the big questions circling around the Sharks now. In some areas (Al Strachan, the guys at CBC, and Bill Clement most especially) that question has been on the table for over a year now.

Strachan’s been playing this hard for a while now, to the point where I’m wondering if Ron Wilson slept with his dog or something. Fortunately for Ron Wilson, Strachan’s track record of accuracy in reporting these things is dreadful. In fact, that he’s pushing it so hard makes me think there’s no basis for it, because betting against Strachan is a good way to beat the odds.

(while I’m bitchslapping Strachan, let me remind folks to take a look at the sheer number of papers he USED to write for who no longer require his services. He’s gone from the major toronto papers to — foxsports.com. Big step up in the journalistic food chain there, Al)

A good background piece on Wilson comes from the esteemed James Mirtle. If you don’t know his history, start here.

As to the future of Ron Wilson? I only have a couple of thoughts:

First thought, and it’s a key one — the Sharks organization just DOES NOT LEAK. There’s a strong history there of them keeping their own counsel, and you just don’t see much of anything hit the press, especially from management. That, by implication, means that there’s no “source of high standing” behind these rumors. to me, as much as anything, it comes across as a few media types creating a story and running with it. I don’t believe in the veracity of the “rumors”, it’s more blind speculation. And with the Sharks, they do what they believe is right, not what the press says they should do.

So I don’t put any significant creedence into this whole story, especialy since the primary drum major seems to be Strachan. Of all of the media types, he’d be one of the last ones a Shark might leak to.

Second thought: Personally, as a fan and someone who follows the Sharks closely, is in the arena 35+ games a year and has gotten to know a number of people around the organization, including people with regular access to the locker room, I haven’t heard any indications that Wilson is seriously not-liked, that he’s “lost” the room, or that there’s bad chemistry in the room. In fact, I keep hearing how tight the room is, how much the players socialize and watch out for each other.

Which doesn’t mean much of anything — reading the tea leaves is far from an exact science here, but my sense of the situation is that Wilson isn’t on thin ice, at least not from inside the locker room.

Does that mean his job is safe? Hell, no. ONly Doug Wilson and Greg Jamison know that one for sure. What I do know is that if he is let go — while the pundits may declare victory, it’ll be a lucky guess.

Should Wilson be let go? I honestly see no reason for it. This team DID step forward this year, even if they fell short of the conference final by a small amount. I think the criticisms of the team over folding in big games was answered in both rounds, when they could well have and fought back.

that said, I think the team needs some tinkering, but not at the coaching staff level. But that’s for a post later.

I guess I wouldn’t be surprised if Wilson were let go — but personally, I don’t think that makes the Sharks a better team. you’d have to make sure you have a better coach on retainer first, and there aren’t many out there with Wilson’s credentials. Since Wilson doesn’t seem to have “lost the room”, it’s hard to see any serious reason to make a change here.

If you’re looking for good insight into the Sharks, you won’t find it with Strachan, or the CBC guys, or the national media. Or, for that matter, guys like Mark Purdy or Ray Ratto, who’ve been sounding off recently now that the Sharks are in the playoffs, but are as likely to be experts at being pregnant as they are at sharks and hockey (not playoffs? you won’t see them around…). Instead, listen to guys like Mike, and Dave Pollak, and Vic Chi, and Ross McKeon. They’ve spent their time in the trenches and know the team and its people pretty well — as opposed to show up and posture come playoffs.

for the final word on Wilson, I’ll send you off to Mike Chen, who does a good job of analyzing the situation and giving it some perspective. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, but I think he’s got one of the more reasoned discussions.

My take on Ron Wilson:

Since we’ve got a little lull before the conference finals start, some different media outlets are posting their opinions on Ron Wilson. I tend to agree with the general notion that he’s gotta go, but I think some people might be either overthinking this or perhaps giving credit in the wrong areas.

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