SHARKS l Standing pat on defense for now
10 and prompted the blockbuster trade Wednesday night that sent Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau to Boston for Thornton.
Thornton said he understands that he is expected to help reverse the club’s fortunes, preferably in short order.
‘‘I went through this phase already with the Bruins,’’ Thornton said. ‘‘I’m just going to come in and play the way Joe Thornton plays. Hopefully it brings a spark and we win some games. There’s always been a lot of pressure on me playing in an Original Six city. It’s going to be nothing different for me. I put a lot of expectations on my shoulders and nothing’s changed.’’
Wilson said: ‘‘Joe Thornton is going to make us better, but Joe Thornton isn’t going to be the savior or anything like that. I don’t want our players standing and watching Joe Thornton. And I don’t want Joe Thornton to think he has the weight of the world on him or that he has to carry the team.’’
With Thornton and Patrick Marleau as their top two centers, the Sharks should be able to create better matchups because the opposition can’t devote all its defensive attention to a single line.
‘‘It makes us better because it can take some pressure off both of them,’’ Wilson said. ‘‘And they can play together, too. I won’t hesitate to put either of them on left wing to double them up on a line when you really need to get something going.’’
Thornton’s arrival also means that center Alyn McCauley might get some shifts as a wing. Rookie Marcel Goc has leapfrogged McCauley in the pecking order and will be the third-line center tonight behind Thornton and Marleau.
Stuart’s departure leaves a large void in the defense. He was the Sharks’ top-scoring defenseman with 12 points and he logged more than 23 minutes a game, third on the club behind McLaren and Scott Hannan.
But General Manager Doug Wilson said a deal for a replacement on defense is not in the works because ‘‘defense has not been our biggest problem.’’
This means Tom Preissing — who has played with more assertiveness in recent games — Rob Davison and Christian Ehrhoff will inherit additional minutes and responsibility.
The Sharks also promoted defenseman Doug Murray from the minors and he will make his NHL debut tonight. The coaching staff had been eager to take a long look at Murray, known as a punishing hitter, in training camp. But just before the first exhibition, Murray took a puck to the eye and was sidelined for a few weeks.
Jim Fahey, Stuart’s lastminute replacement Wednesday, remains in the mix, and rookie Josh Gorges could move back into it soon. Gorges made the team after a solid training camp but is recovering from a minor knee operation.
If the Sharks can’t find the support for Hannan and McLaren within this group, they might be forced to consider a trade.
Or they might wait on 2003 second-round draft pick Matt Carle, in his junior season at the University of Denver.
There is a possibility Carle will turn pro in the spring as soon as his collegiate season is finished. And the report on Carle is that he could contribute in the NHL immediately. Contact Victor Chi at vchi@mercurynews.com.