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Wednesday, October 5, 2011 – Daily News Sharks hope new faces help team take next step SAN JOSE (AP) — After the San Jose Sharks became the only team to make it to the conference finals in each of the past two seasons, general manag- er Doug Wilson could have been forgiv- en if he made just a few roster tweaks. Wilson did more than that, and this year's version of the Sharks will look much different from the one that got eliminated in five games by Vancouver in the Western Conference final about four months ago. While the core of captain Joe Thorn- ton, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture, Ryane Clowe, Joe Pavelski, Dan Boyle and goalie Antti Niemi is back this sea- son, the Sharks jettisoned three of their six defensemen from the conference finals and six forwards who played more than half of the playoff games last sea- son. The most significant changes came in a pair of deals with Minnesota early in the offseason. First, high-scoring winger Devin Setoguchi was dealt in a package for All-Star defenseman Brent Burns. Less than two weeks later, Dany Heatley was traded to the Wild for Marty Havlat in a clear message from management that the conference finals are not satis- factory for one of the league's most tal- ented teams. "It's a consistent message," Wilson said. "We tell our guys we have to get better. Sometimes, it's personnel changes. We're not satisfied even though we've had some pretty good success the past two years. We're pushing. We think we're one of the top teams in the league and we have to go out and perform that way." The Sharks also brought in an accom- plished penalty killer in Michal Handzus and forward Andrew Murray to upgrade a unit that ranked 24th in the league last season, and two physical defensemen in Colin White and James Vandermeer to bolster a blue line that had been a bit thin. The hope is that these moves are enough to carry the league's second-best regular season team over the past seven seasons to the top spot in the postseason. "We're just not satisfied going to the Western Conference finals two years in a row," Thornton said. "Our standards have always been high ever since I've been here. We want to get to the Cup final and win the Stanley Cup for the Bay Area. We're focused and we're ready to go." While there were plenty of moves made this summer, the most significant was clearly the trade for Burns. With seven forwards capable of playing on the top two lines, Wilson used that surplus to deal Setoguchi, former first-round pick Charlie Coyle and a 2011 first-rounder to the Wild for the topflight defenseman the Sharks had been seeking. Boyle and Douglas Murray formed one top defensive pair but the Sharks did not have a second elite unit in a void they hope they have filled with Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Burns had 17 goals last season, third among all blue liners. He also had 29 assists, giving the Sharks another proven puck-moving defenseman to go along with Boyle. Burns also signed a five- year, $28.8 million contract to stay in San Jose through the 2016-17 season. With Jason Demers likely set to play with either White or Vandermeer, the Sharks will now have three pairings of an offensive defenseman and a more defensive-minded player. "There wasn't too much offense com- ing from the back end. I think Burns is going to bring that extra D-man," Boyle said. "As it sits right now, we have three pairings and we have a guy who can jump in and a guy who will stay back. It will help everybody. A lot of teams match up certain ways but when you have three of us who can go on any given shift I think that will be pretty beneficial for the way we like to play." Along with changing personnel, the Sharks want to change how they begin the season. After being swept in the con- ference final by Chicago in 2010, San Jose got off to a sluggish start the fol- lowing season. A six-game losing streak in January had the Sharks mired in 12th place in the Western Conference, before a furious finish gave them a fourth straight Pacific Division title. Wilson believed the Sharks were drained by the end because of how hard they pushed down the stretch and start- ing strong was an emphasis in training camp in a message the players heard clearly. "I think the start might have had something to do with getting to the con- ference finals and not realizing you have to play 82 games to make the playoffs," Couture said. "You don't just wake up and get to the playoffs. Everyone starts off fresh and everyone has zero points and it's a fight to get into the playoffs. That's something we didn't realize last year but for sure we realize that now and I think we'll get out of the gates strong." Bradley still savors chances with US national team FORT LAUD- ERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A match with his profes- sional team in Italy on Sunday, training with his national team in Florida on Tuesday. Sort of a tax- ing work schedule for Michael Bradley. He is not complaining. ''You love that,'' Bradley said. ''It's what you dream about when you're growing up.'' The American mid- fielder is expected to make his 61st career appearance with the U.S. men's national team on Saturday, when it meets Honduras in an interna- tional friendly in Miami. Three nights later, he'll be playing in his native New Jersey when the Americans wrap up a quick two-match window with a game against Ecuador. Bradley, longtime U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, rising star Brek Shea and 15 others were on the field Tuesday to begin training for the Honduras match. A handful of other players are expected to arrive during the week, including Edson Buddle, added to the team after forward Landon Dono- van strained a muscle in his right leg. ''We'd like to see a progression in our work,'' said U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who took over this summer after Bob Bradley — Michael Bradley's father — was fired. ''I think our first two get-togethers with three games com- bined, we saw a lot. It's a group of players that has a tremendous working attitude and a willingness to learn and a willingness to improve, so we step- by-step try to build some- thing that really prepares us well for the World Cup qualifiers.'' That's why Michael Bradley said he was excited to be back at work early Tuesday, even after playing 90 minutes of Serie A soccer half a world away less than 48 hours earlier. Still only 24 years old, Bradley probably doesn't qualify as part of any youth movement. He's already lived quite the soccer life: Training in Bradenton, Fla. as a kid, then playing with the MetroStars of Major League Soccer, followed by stints in the Nether- lands, Germany, England and now Italy — where he's one of only four Americans in the last two decades to compete in Serie A. ''In little ways along the way, I think it's important to always have perspective and to know what you put into it, to always know where you've come from,'' Bradley said. ''But at the same time, you don't want to take too much time or spend too much time on that, because what's most important is what's going on now and what you can do to make yourself a better player and to continue to move yourself forward.'' This is where Klins- mann enters the picture. His soccer resume speaks for itself: The German is one of the most accomplished scor- ers soccer has ever seen, and his personable ways have quickly helped him forge some bonds with his new team. From the start, Michael Bradley outwardly has handled the obvious disappoint- ment over his father's fir- ing well, saying in August before Klins- mann made his U.S. coaching debut that per- sonnel moves are ''part of the game.'' Klinsmann's approach will be simple: Players will make their own choices, and he'll do what he can to show them what he thinks are the right ones. ''I can give them all the information,'' Klins- mann said. ''But I can't give them the inner core. That will kind of decide their own path. It depends really how hun- gry you are in life.'' Bradley's soccer hunger is rarely ques- tioned. Never mind that he was thrilled to be up early Tuesday and back on the field, but in the 2010 World Cup, there were times when Bradley seemed to be the best player on the American side. ''It's always great to be with this group of guys again,'' Bradley said. ''The spirit of the team is something spe- cial, so that makes up for the travel and all that stuff. It sounds cliche, but you dream about this growing up, to represent your country and play for the U.S. national team. There's nothing better. You enjoy every second of it. You never know how long they'll keep asking you back." 3B