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Sharks make changes following playoff collapse

By WTOP Staff

JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson is wasting no time making changes after perhaps his team’s most crushing playoff collapse.

Wilson said Thursday that he told pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Dan Boyle that he will not be re-signed, informed unproductive forward Marty Havlat that he will not be back next season and moved top-line wing Brent Burns back to defense after spending more than a year as a forward on captain Joe Thornton’s line.

These changes all come two weeks after the Sharks became the fourth team in NHL history to lose a best-of-seven series after winning the first three games.

Wilson spent the past two weeks meeting with coaches and players to help determine what went wrong in the final four games against Los Angeles and how to get a team that has been one of the best in the regular season the past decade over the playoff hump.

“You want to be careful not to change too many things, but you better be really careful that you’re not just avoiding what really needs to take place,” Wilson said. “There’s two sides to that. I think what we need to do is much more drastic than just putting a Band-aide on it.”

Wilson said the moves this offseason will build on the moves made at the trade deadline in 2013, when the Sharks dealt away Ryane Clowe, Douglas Murray and Michal Handzus in an effort to become a faster and younger team.

Those moves helped San Jose make it all the way to Game 7 of the second round before losing to Los Angeles a year ago and Wilson said the team is about two-thirds of the way to completing the overhaul.

The team appeared closer than that after winning the first three games against the Kings but was unable to close the series out. Wilson blamed the collapse on allowing too-many odd-man rushes, a power play that went scoreless on its last 16 chances, a lack of effort in Game 5 and a late-game collapse in Game 6 after a disputed goal was allowed.

“Our relationship with our fans has been strained and we’ve got to go and re-earn that trust,” Wilson said.

Boyle has been a key part of the Sharks since being acquired in a trade from Tampa Bay in July 2008. His 68 goals and 201 assists in six seasons make him the career leader in both categories in franchise history and he has been a staple on the power-play unit.

He will be replaced on the blue line by Burns, who spent his first year and a half in San Jose on defense before making the move to forward in March 2013.

Burns had a career-high 22 goals this season along with 26 assists as he teamed with Thornton on a physically imposing line that controlled play for much of the season.

But Wilson said he is needed now on defense and compared Burns’ potential impact there to Montreal’s P.K. Subban, Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien and Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty.

“When you take a look at that type of dynamic on the back end, guys that move the puck up, shoot the puck on the power play, it creates a tough matchup,” Wilson said. “When he was originally moved up to forward, it was because of an injury. He was coming back and he was having trouble with certain parts of his skating.”

Havlat scored 27 goals in three injury-plagued seasons with San Jose after being acquired from Minnesota in a trade for Dany Heatley. Havlat fell out of favor with the coaching staff and was a healthy scratch in six of seven playoff games. He is owed $6 million in the final year of his contract and will either be bought out or dealt.

Wilson would not divulge what other changes he had planned but did say some of those could come in the team’s player leadership. Boyle must be replaced as an alternate captain and Wilson said he expected some of the younger core, including forwards Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, to possibly take a bigger role.

“I expect our young players to take this as probably one of the great extreme learning moments to say, ‘You know what? That’s not happening again,'” Wilson said.

NOTES: Assistant coach Larry Robinson will be back but could have an expanded role that includes some front-office duties. … Wilson said talks have already begun to keep backup G Alex Stalock, who can be an unrestricted free agent. … Pavelski (shoulder) and F Raffi Torres (knee) had operations after the season.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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