March Sadness

Tonight marks one week since Timo Meier got traded to the New Jersey Devils.  I wish I could say I'm over it and that I've moved on, but it's far from the truth.  

The past week has been painful... in more ways than one.  It started off with the Timo trade, and ended with what would have been Papa's 90th birthday... the first one that's happened since we also lost Nana.  So I've been in a depressive funk all week.  

And to top it off, I have a massive head cold that started setting in Thursday morning and has only manifested as complete misery this weekend.  What was going to be a productive weekend cleaning and organizing the house has turned into me sitting on the couch barely moving.  Severe runny nose, sneezing, coughing, major congestion... basically, the only bright side is that I've tested negative for COVID, twice.

I feel like I've completely wasted this weekend, even though there isn't much that I can do about it.  Eliot and I were in San Jose last weekend, and I had a million things I wanted to get done.  My parents were originally going to be visiting, but when they cancelled their trip due to the massive snowstorm we got yesterday, all I could think about was how much Eliot and I would be able to get accomplished.  Now here I sit... sick and not getting anything done.  Blah... 

My mood hasn't been great either.  I'm still salty about the Timo trade.  I absolutely hate the trade deadline.  The Sharks traded Mikey Eyssimont to the Tampa Bay Lightning mid-week.  He had showed promise the past 20 games with us- and had been playing on our top line.  Then, they traded Nick Bonino to the Pittsburg Penguins right after our Thursday night game.  (He was literally hugging Sharks goalie James Reimer out in the hallway- presumably right after he found out.)  Thankfully, those were the only other guys we lost before the trade deadline... but it still sucks.

Right now, about half the team are people we don't know.  Watching the Sharks the past few games has pretty much been a nightmare.  In the past two games, we've had a 2-0 lead... only to completely blow it in the 2nd and 3rd periods.  We just ended our longest home game stand with one win, five losses and one point from overtime (for the Chicago game Eliot and I went to in San Jose when we lost in the shoot out).  

It's depressing... and it's even more depressing that this is probably what things are going to look like for a while.  I'd be upset anyways about losing Timo, but by sending him elsewhere, it's like we're truly signing on to the rebuild.  As Sharks fans, we have been spoiled a lot over how much we've made the playoffs since we joined the league in 1991.  Now we are potentially looking at a multiyear rebuild.  Eliot and I are Sharks fans through and through... but I think this is going to be pretty painful. 

The only bright light on the horizon for the rest of today is that Timo might make his debut as a New Jersey Devil in their game against the Arizona Coyotes tonight at 7 PM.  As sad as I am that he's no longer in teal, I do feel happy that he's now on a playoff bound team.  Plus, the New Jersey Devils organization and the fans seem really happy to have him.  Eliot and I have watched two New Jersey games this week, hoping we'd see Timo, and they were ecstatic about it.  Apparently, Devil fans were literally chanting "We Want Timo" in the stands at a few of the games before the trade.

It still hurts that he is no longer a Shark, but I'm getting more accustomed to it.  During the first Devils game that Eliot and I watched the other day, they interviewed Timo during the 2nd intermission.  He seemed happy and excited to join their organization.  I also read an article about another interview where he said he was excited to get to work to help them on their way to the playoffs.  Seeing as the Sharks won't be in the playoffs for a while... this is a better position for him to be in.

Plus, the New Jersey Devils fans and their social media are absolutely thrilled to have Timo.  Seeing how welcoming they've been to him makes me feel better.  Truthfully, it's been nice to watch a team that's winning their hockey games.  The Devils are third in the entire league right now.  (Only behind Boston at #1 and Carolina at #2.)

So this is my life now.  It's weird... I feel like I'm suffering through painful Sharks games yet I'm excited to watch the New Jersey Devils.  It's twilight-zone like, but I guess this is what things are going to look like for a while now.  At least Eliot and I have plenty of former Sharks on playoff bound teams that we can root for!

Anyways, I guess you could say that my March isn't really off to a great start so far, but hopefully it will get better.  I'm hoping that my head cold goes away soon, so I can get off my butt and start actually getting some stuff done.  I think that will make me feel better once I can check some stuff off of my to do list.  I would really like to turn this March Sadness into March Cleaning and Organizing Madness!  °o°