Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Erik Karlsson talk about their future with the San Jose Sharks

Spring is always a bittersweet season in San Jose.

It was no different today as the San Jose Sharks cleared their lockers after another courageous but futile race for the Cup.

This summer may be a little different for an organization that has proven to be one of the most stable of all hockey sports.

Joe Thornton, 39, who changed the course of the franchise when Doug Wilson acquired it in November 2005, could retire. Captain Joe Pavelski, who has been part of the organization for longer than Thornton – Pavelski was named in the seventh round in 2003 – is an unrestricted free agent. Superstar Erik Karlsson, responsible for placing the team at the top, is also an unrestricted free agent.

Meanwhile, on the injury front in the playoffs, there has been a host of revelations:

• Pavelski has suffered four serious injuries this season: concussion, mouth, knee and left hand.
• Thornton shot a sprain in his first shift against the Blues in Game 1

• Karlsson did not rule out surgery, but does not expect to be embarrassed in his training this summer.

• Tomas Hertl missed the sixth match due to a head injury caused by Ivan Barbashev's blow

• Timo Meier was not negatively affected in the playoffs because of his upper body injury late in the season, while Evander Kane said he had nothing to be serious about.

We will start with Wilson and Peter DeBoer, and then we will meet all the Sharks who spoke today: Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Joonas Donskoy, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Karlsson, Timo Meier, Gustav Nyquist, Pavelski, Radim Simek and Thornton.

Doug Wilson

Wilson could be the busiest man in Silicon Valley this summer.

Not surprisingly, he had little to say about the impending free agencies of Pavelski and Karlsson. He said of Thornton, "It's a shark. He may have plenty of time to make the decision that suits him. "

He also mentioned having worked on a bridge contract with RFA Timo Meier:

He detailed Pavelski's numerous injuries during the post-season. In addition to the mouth and concussion, Pavelski's left hand was "operated two weeks ago." This injury occurred before the seventh game of the Vegas series.

No surgery will be necessary on Pavelski's knee, the illness that prevented him from playing in the sixth game against St. Louis.

Hertl also has a small finger operated to the left during the playoffs.

Regarding the future construction of the San Jose list, Wilson said:

"You always know where the game is and where it is going.

"You must have a team mix. You need size, speed. You need competition and you look at the teams that have been successful this year, I think that they were all mixtures.

"You must have an infusion of young players coming. It's really important.

"Good hockey teams are the sum of all our games. We were built this way. "

Peter DeBoer

DeBoer, like many Sharks, was still trying to figure out why they were not playing tonight.

He lamented the lack of killer instinct, particularly in the Colorado and St. Louis series: "We had the opportunity in the following two series to take these series at different times with a complete effort at the right time.

"For some reason, we could not get it together, I still do not know why, it's something that I'm going to have to go deeper into. We've made the road too hard for ourselves.

He spoke to a changing team and explained how Martin Jones might have to adapt: ​​"He had a lot of heat in the regular season. But we were a different team this year compared to other years, we scored a lot of goals.

"The nights we had won 5-4, his numbers might not look good, but that did not mean he was not playing at an elite level.

"It could look like this for the future. We had conversations with him. We are not the same team we were three years ago when we went to the Cup final. We really choked the defending teams, but had more trouble scoring. We have a group, at least this year, who can hope to move forward, who can score.

"To play offensively this way, you are going to give up a bit more. Victories and numbers could be a little different. But that does not mean they are less effective. "

Brent Burns

True to his habit, what Burns said about the playoffs, is that he's having fun. He especially enjoyed Game 7: "It's fun to go seven games. It is not easy. But it was another good opportunity to bring up a hero.

"It's fun, as a competitor, to know that you have one game to understand your shit. To sleep a little. Get good. Make sure you are ready. And you must win. It's probably not good. But it's fun.

Burns will spend the off season driving his kids to school and playing with them. He joked, "I had an excuse for two months for not doing it. It's gone. "

Then he will get back to work, happy to play DeBoer again:

Logan Couture

Despite leading the NHL in playoff goals, Couture has not expressed any personal satisfaction with his game. The team's failure still weighs heavily on him.

However, he expressed confidence that his general manager would be a team in the running next year no matter what would happen: "Doug Trust. During his tenure here, he has done a great job in giving us the opportunity to win. "

Joonas Donskoi

Donskoi admitted that 2018-2019 was an eventful season, but was pleased with the way he ended it.

"I think I played my best playoff hockey," said Donskoi. "What I could have done better was that I could have scored more goals, be more productive and I think that's what we needed in the playoffs. It's a matter of depth and that's why I'm disappointed.

After four years in the NHL, he understands that he must be a more consistent force in training.

Donskoi is an unrestricted free agent this summer and hopes that talks to bring him back to the Sharks organization will begin soon.

DeBoer has sometimes defeated Donskoy on the ground this season, but the 27-year-old has blamed himself and has been inconsistent about his diminishing role on the team throughout the season.

The Finns, who came to the Bay Area the same season as DeBoer, expressed gratitude to the coaching staff: "They have been a great help to me. When I arrived here, I did not know anything about American hockey. I played in the Finnish league; it's very different.

"Probably nobody expected me to play in the NHL in my first season here, but they gave me the chance. They had a huge impact on my career. "

Tomas Hertl

At least, Hertl, always sunny, could today smile.

This, despite his disappointment that Barbashev was not sanctioned for having hit on the head: "I think it was on the side of the blind. He just hit my head. He did not really touch anything else. "

Hertl revealed that at the last workout before the Vegas series, he had broken his left finger after being injured. He then joked, "Probably my best showdown in my playoff career. So maybe I have to do it more often. "

The 25 year old player was pleased with his regularity this season and was aiming for the same season: "I do not want to be a guy who counts 70 points over the course of a year, 40 to the next year. Team. "

He added, "I just want to prove to myself that I can be the big guy on our team."

Evander Kane

Kane provided no excuse for his post-season crisis: "I chose the wrong time.

"When I do not score, I try to bring different things to the team. Try to be good in other ways.

"But at the end of the day, I have to put the puck on the net."

Kane also talked about his teammates, young and old.

"We do not have a lot of league fame for our young players, but they did a very good job this year," said Kane. "In my mind, the future of this team is very promising."

He also stated his belief that Thornton will come back.

Erik Karlsson

Unsurprisingly, Karlsson would not say how the wind of the FMU was blowing for him.

But it seemed that on the whole, he enjoyed his stay in the San Francisco Bay Area:

When asked if he expected to receive money from Drewty, he joked, "I wish I could sign my second contract. I was 21 years old and I promised not to have done anything, people that everyone seems to want.

As for his multiple injuries, he does not express any regret as to how they were handled: "I do not think anything we could have done would have changed the outcome."

Regarding the sixth game, he said it was his decision and that of the coaching staff: "We felt that if I played, I would not do enough to help our team. That's all history. I wanted to play. I would have probably been able to play if it was necessary.

He expressed confidence that even if surgery is needed, he will be able to train hard this summer and be better than ever.

Timo Meier

Meier is the biggest restricted free agent the Sharks need to keep the team out of season, but he was not interested in talking about it.

The fledgling star also downplayed the idea that any major injury, especially his late upper-body illness, would have played a role in what he acknowledged to be a post-season up-and-down for him.

He added that there was a lot of work to be done during the summer.

"Try to push me this summer to reach another physical level," said Meier. "[There are] What I know I need to do better is what will help me improve the organization and the improvement of the team, because that's where everything is.

Gustav Nyquist

"I like it a lot here."

If Nyquist is expected to fall victim to the upcoming tightening of salary ceilings in San Jose, he praised his praise for the city and its organization.

He noted, however, that no dialogue had begun between his side and the Sharks leadership.

Joe Pavelski

The captain thinks he will come back.

"I'm pretty confident," Pavelski said. "I have a conviction system strong enough for me to be back here."

Well, ok.

He also explained in detail why he had missed the sixth match, claiming that it was because of the success of the first match against Alex Pietrangelo: "I have aggravated my lower body injury since the end of l & # 39; year. It never completely healed, but it was good enough for a moment. I have just been hit in a way that has enlightened him again. "

Speaking of injuries, Pavelski explained how impressive the San Jose race has been this year, given the serious health problems he, Karlsson, Hertl and others have experienced: "You look at the '16 when we went to the final. You do not realize how lucky we were. You can not really think of too many guys who have major problems. "

Radim Simek

Most fans call him the "Wookie Whisperer", but in the locker room he is nicknamed "Beast". We learned that it was Thornton's nickname.

Two months after undergoing surgery to repair the ACLs and MCL and the meniscus of the right knee, Simek is back on the ice to get in shape for next season.

"It's still a long way for me," admitted Simek. He stated that he was anxious to fight for a place in the team in September.

Joe Thornton

"I am a shark. I am a shark. There is a team and it is here. "

No matter what happens, it seems that Jumbo will put a Shark to retirement.

However, he has set no deadline for his decision to return or not next year.

The 39-year-old explained what was so special about the 2018-2019 San Jose Sharks:

"It was just entertaining, man. The Vegas series, wow, and Colorado, wow.

"I think people in this area are proud of the guys here and I think they should be. With the number of guys who were injured, that's not an excuse, but they got upset and played their heart this year.

"I think this whole area needs a cut. Just disappointing for this area not to play. "