San Jose Sharks still not ready for 2010-11
Over the past five seasons, the San Jose Sharks have been the class of the Western Conference, winning their division for the last three seasons. They have been a well-oiled machine in the regular season, generally with little questions in the offseason.
However, this offseason has been an entirely differently story for general manager (GM) Doug Wilson and the Sharks franchise. Several questions arose as the team was once again bounced from the playoffs, this time in the Conference Finals by the Chicago Blackhawks. The team had to decide whether or not they would bring back Patrick Marleau, who would replace Rob Blake, how would the goalie position look in October, and could they get Devin Setoguchi back at a reasonable rate?
Patrick Marleau
The first thing Wilson addressed was the future of one of the franchises best players in Marleau. He elected to bring the all-star back after he finished the season with 44 goals and 83 points, playing on the leagues most productive line.
The Marleau signing was a smart one. It would be hard to convince any GM to cut loose a guy who finished fourth in the league in goal scoring behind Alexander Ovechkin. However, after getting Marleau back, Wilson just stopped answering the important questions.
Rob Blake’s Retirement
After Rob Blake retired, it was believed that Wilson would let one of his young defenceman step up and fill the void left by the team’s captain. However, after he failed in his attempt to sign Niklas Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet, it appeared as though he wanted a more reliable solution.
Nevertheless, since the Hjalmarsson offer, Wilson has made no indication that he is in fact trying to go after any other defenceman. Currently, Marc Staal is a restricted free agent (RFA) with the New York Rangers, and one wonders if Wilson will attempt to make a move on the youngster.
Goaltending
When Evgeni Nabokov ran to the Kontinetal Hockey League (KHL) it was clear that the Sharks would need to sign or trade for a competitive tender if they wanted to get past the Conference Finals next year. Conversely, Wilson signed Antero Niittymaki to a two-year deal. Niittymaki has for a long time been considered a back-up in the league and is not the picture of consistency.
Therefore, one can assume that Wilson is still after a starting goaltender. The easiest option at the moment is Marty Turco, who is the only major unrestricted free agent goalie available. However, nothing has been said about where Turco might end up, meaning Wilson must not be pushing very hard for the veterans services.
The only other option Wilson may have is signing Canadiens RFA Carey Price to an offer sheet, which he is unlikely to win as the Canadiens still have a couple million dollars lying around for the youngster.
Devin Setoguchi
In the end, all these decision may be contingent on the signing of Setoguchi, who as of right now is an RFA.
At $5 million below the cap, Wilson has some room to work with, however, with Setoguchi likely to make around $2-3 million next season, it does not leave much space for the Sharks to sign a goalie and potentially a defenceman.
Wilson will sign Setoguchi no matter what, however, whether or not the 23 year-old will stay with the club is debatable.
If Wilson is able to get Setoguchi for $2.5 million it is likely he will sign Marty Turco, who has been noted as saying he wants to go to a contender, and would be willing to take a $2.5 million salary.
Nevertheless, signing both these players at the same time means Wilson has no cap to work with, perhaps meaning he would trade Setoguchi for a defenceman to fill out the ranks.
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