"The NHL trade deadline is only three weeks away, but with his team on a 7-0-1 roll as it faces Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson does not sound like someone about to wheel and deal.
"We've already made changes," Wilson said, referring to the Jan. 18 acquisitions of Kyle Wellwood and Ben Eager. "The majority of changes now are going to be the growth of our own players, playing up to their abilities and they're trending in the right direction."
The Sharks already had started their current turnaround with two victories before the new arrivals, but the stench of the 0-6 stretch that preceded the current strong play was still in the air.
Still, Wilson said Eager, acquired from the Atlanta Thrashers for a fifth-round draft pick, and Wellwood, claimed on waivers, "have given us certain things so now we're seeing things that we've expected from this team for a while."
Even with no further trades before the Feb. 28 deadline, it doesn't necessarily mean the Sharks plan to stand pat with the current roster.
Rookie defenseman Justin Braun, for example, continues to earn good reviews at Worcester, and there are hints he could provide the same kind of postseason presence Logan Couture did a year ago. Given serious ice time, Couture responded with four goals in 14 games.
One month ago, Wilson was at his unhappiest and let his players know it with a rare locker room appearance the day after a dismal 3-0 home loss to Buffalo.
What would become the franchise's longest streak without a point since 1996 was only two games old at the time. Wilson gave his players another 10 to 15 games to straighten things out with the implied threat of a shake-up.
That seems to have had the desired effect.
"Sometimes you've just got to realize we're in a great situation here," Ryane Clowe said Monday. "It's a great place to play, it's a great team. Everyone who comes here loves it, so that tells you something for the guys who've never been anywhere else."
After that meeting, Clowe indicated, the players realized how serious the situation was. Even though four more losses followed, the team felt as if things were beginning to turn around."
