First, the signing of Claude Lemieux. I won't even begin to try and say I'm old enough to have seen the guy play, but from what I've heard he is a less controversial Sean Avery, which pretty much can be considered an enforcer in today's NHL. There have been a lot of speculation as to why General Manager Doug Wilson decided to bring this guy out of retirement and backf into hockey relevance. The one argument that annoys me, however, is that playoff teams need a gritty, tough, don't-take-nothing-from-nobody kind of guy on their roster. I realize the stats that the 2007 New York Rangers had with Sean Avery in their line-up (which was infinitely better than when he was injured during the regular season), and they even managed to piss off and beat who I believe is the #1 goaltender of all time in Martin Brodeur (who is still keeping my IR spot on my fantasy team warm). But if you look at recent teams who have actually WON the cup, there is hardly an argument for having a borderline dirty player on your team. The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings pretty much won without one. Sure, they can all play the physical game, but their team is characterized with skilled young players, great goaltending (last year), and the intelligence of the greatest veteran leadership you can ask for in the game. Puck possession and great defense was how they steam-rolled everyone they faced in the playoffs. The Anaheim Ducks the year before had George Parros, but his moustache and his entire team could've taken the week off in the finals and still have won it (sorry Senators fans, but there was no way Ray Emery was going to stop anything from going into the goal). To summarize all this, having a tough guy is nice, but in today's NHL, and especially with the way the 2009 Sharks are built, there is no need for a guy like that on our roster, at least not for that reason. I'm not saying I have a problem with the Sharks signing Lemieux (who the San Jose Mercury News wish was Mario Lemieux apparantly. 
Thanks to Yahoo! blogger Wyshynski for that, I get most of my hockey news from him). He has veteran leadership, experience, and hopefully is still in hockey condition. But if we're bringing him into the team for his bad boy rep, I'd have to scratch my head and wait and see what happens.
The last point of interest would be the closest thing to a wall the Sharks have hit all season: their road record. This past road trip resulted in a shootout loss to St. Louis, a win in Dallas, and an OT loss to Minnessota, making them something along the lines of 1-1-3 in their past 5 road games. A win against a division rival is nice, but 4 losses is not, even if they are OT. Don't get me wrong, if you're the #1 team in the league, being near perfect at home is probably the most important thing when looking at the playoff picture, since you'll have home ice advantage the entire way. But I'm worried about the surging Red Wings and the exceeding expectations Boston Bruins. I mean, can anyone (besides Buffalo today) beat the Bruins and their 1-2 punch of Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez? And the Red Wings are a not so distant second place in the Western Conference. If the Sharks keep settling for OT losses on the road, we might suddenly not have home ice in the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup. The good news is our 9 losses this season so far all have a common theme: we're looking like the old Sharks that got manhandled by the Stars in the playoffs last year. And even if they don't get that fixed right away in the regular season, it could be used as a confidence booster (especially with the uber-optimistic Todd McLellan coaching staff leading the way) in saying that they know what they are doing wrong, and it is a simple matter of working harder, getting your legs moving on the power play, etc. But for now, I'd like to see the Sharks get a streak going again, and tonight is the opportune time, playing at home against the Islanders before heading off on a 3 game road trip.
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