Fear The Fin - Where Selling Your Soul Is The Likely Solution

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Fans looking for an immediate transaction to shake up the Sharks roster will have to acknowledge that there is a long time left before the first puck is dropped on 2009-10.

Plus, having some flexibility under the NHL’s financial constraints could allow the Sharks to find some hidden gems if other clubs run into problems with the salary cap.

-sjsharks.com

If we need to dump salary, then how do opposing teams with salary cap problems help us out? Neither team can take a net salary gain in a deal. I understand it's the PR department writing these pieces, but still.

Mearghhhh.

Go Sharks.

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Clowe Signed- 4 years @ 3.5 per [Update: "North of 3.5"] [Update 2: 4 years @ 3.6- Confirmed]

Solid deal, although I wish the dollar amount would have been a little less. Cap space is looking mighty tight nowadays, but in reality that was near market value.

Here is what we had to say about him going into free agency.

Welcome back Cloweverfield.

H/T to a10dency2ask for the link

[Update 1:27 AM]: I could have possibly misread it initially or it has been updated. Regardless, Lebrun is now saying Clowe's contract will be "north of $3.5 M."

We'll see how high it goes, but I'm suddenly not as sold on the deal as I was before. Color me concerned.

[Update 3:34 PM]: Clowe is at 3.6 per year. "Concerned" no longer.

VIVA LA NET PRESENCE!!!1

about 20 hours ago Mr. Plank comment 22 comments 1 recs

Fuzzy Math... maybe?

by Mr. Plank on Jul 2, 2009 7:05 AM PDT in Armchair GM Comment 106 comments

This serves as a companion to this post- I'm trying to crunch the numbers right now, and needed to put it on ~~paper~~ the internet for the sake of my mental health.

Here's where we are starting off today, July 2nd:

5.3 M in cap space, six forwards and a backup goaltender need to be signed.

If we're assuming McGinn will crack the roster, that brings us to 4.3 (his cap hit is .997). When mentioning Boucher's departure, David Pollak of Working The Corners stated, "All that presumes, of course, [is] that the Sharks see Gustavsson or Thomas Greiss as their likely back-up this fall." [link]. For the sake of discussion, either goaltender's cap hit will be estimated at $.800 M.

$3.5 M in cap space, five forwards need to be signed.

Once Ryane Clowe's reported deal is cleared with league offices, I assume he will make somewhere in that range. Let's slot him at $3.0 M per year. [Plank Edit: Clowe re-signs for "north" $3.5 M per year- numbers in this post are updated under the assumption it is worth $3.5]

$0.0 M in cap space, four forwards need to be signed.

Not much to play with here, to say the very least. A list of potential trade prospects and their cap numbers:

Jonathan Cheechoo (3.0), Milan Michalek (4.3), Christian Ehrhoff (3.1), Brad Lukowich (1.57), Patrick Marleau (6.3), Douglas Murray (2.5), Evgeni Nabokov (5.38)

Let's engage in a rousing game of hypotheticals for a moment:

Cheechoo, Michalek, Ehrhoff, and Lukowich are moved. After those deals occur, the Sharks are left with roughly $11.97 M in cap room. In order to fill out the roster, San Jose must bring in six forwards and two defensemen. That is $1.5 M per player.
Nabokov, Cheechoo, and Lukowich are moved. After those deals occur, the Sharks are left with roughly $9.95 M in cap room. In order to fill out the roster, San Jose must bring in five forwards, one defenseman, and one goaltender (presumably a starter). That is $1.42 M per player.
Marleau, Lukowich, and Michalek are moved. After those deals occur, the Sharks are left with roughly $12.17 M in cap room. In order to fill out the roster, San Jose must bring in six forwards and one defenseman. That is $1.74 M per player.

Essentially, what these numbers are saying is the available space is minimal at best, and therefore a) trade value of all of these players could decrease once opposing GM's realize the cap complications b) it may not matter because the Sharks must take less net salary in a deal to fill the roster and c) expecting a fair return (let alone an upgrade) in a trade is not a guarantee.

Furthermore, d) San Jose may be renamed Worcester next season with the influx of minor leaguers being called up e) our free agency targets are going to have to be in the sub 2.00 range and f) Nabokov and Marleau are definitely not off the table, regardless of whether or not it is in the best interest of the organization's on-ice product.

Other Notes: As mentioned before, Lukowich is where this needs to begin- you can't be paying above $1.5 M for a healthy scratch blueliner... Torrey Mitchell must be re-signed... 2008-2009 was the first season the organization spent to the salary cap maximum... Setoguchi, Pavelski, Marleau, and Nabokov will be free agents next offseason, with Seto and Pavs due for raises... the salary cap is predicted to drop for 2010-2011... We looked at the cap earlier this season, but may have underestimated it... grumble grumble...

We haven't hit critical mass just yet- San Jose is still a playoff team. However, expecting that at the end of this month we will have improved the roster from last year's version may be a bit of a pipe dream. Doug Wilson is going to have to get pretty creative for that to happen.

Here's to hope.

Go Sharks.

106 comments | 0 recs |

NHL Free Agency Thread, July 2nd

by Mr. Plank on Jul 2, 2009 4:24 AM PDT in Sharks News Comment 105 comments

Solid updates on Huskins from Ducks fans (yes, the serpents have invaded our humble home). Avert your eyes from the cap situation we all saw coming. Check out the Cheat Sheet if you're confused. Pour out yo' drink for Brian Boucher one more time. Be on the lookout for trades involving Luko, Michalek, Cheechoo, Ehrhoff, Nabokov, Murray... hell, anyone on the current roster. Prepare for DW to bide his time. Reminisce about the Thornton trade, remember Wilson swung a deal for Boyle on the 4th of July, pray the autopsy turned up something sensible, and find time to admire the computer tan you got yesterday.

Prediction: Clowe signs a 4 year $3.2 per contract. That's right, I'm ballparking baby- E5 city, mark it down.

Go Sharks.

105 comments | 0 recs

Sharks 2009-2010 Lineup

by Mr. Plank on Jul 2, 2009 4:23 AM PDT in Sharks News Comment 29 comments

Bottle-caps_medium

If only San Jose's cap situation looked this cool

[Plank Update 7/1]: We will be updating the roster as players are signed to the team. Here's what we got thus far.

Forwards

Patrick Marleau (6.3 M) - Joe Thornton (7.2 M) - Devin Setoguchi (1.247 M)

Milan Michalek (4.33 M) - Joe Pavelski (1.637 M) - Ryane Clowe (3.5 M)

None- None- Jonathan Cheechoo (3.00 M)

Jody Shelley (0.725 M) - None - None

It is likely Jamie McGinn will hold a spot on the wing (likely the third line) next season.

Defensemen

Dan Boyle (6.667 M) - Brad Lukowich (1.567 M)

Marc-Edouard Vlasic (3.1 M) - Rob Blake (3.5 M)

Douglas Murray (2.5 M) - Christian Ehrhoff (3.1 M)

Kent Huskins (1.7 M)

Goaltenders

Evgeni Nabokov (5.375 M)

None

Cap Space

1.774 M, five forwards and a backup goaltender still needing to be re-signed.

Poll

Well....

29 comments | 0 recs |

Kent Huskins Signs With San Jose Sharks- 2 Years at 1.7 Per

by Mr. Plank on Jul 2, 2009 4:23 AM PDT in Sharks News Comment 40 comments

Kent Huskins has signed a two year deal worth $1.7M per today. Courtesy of David Pollak:

2:10 p.m. — Nothing official from the Sharks, but TSN reports that defenseman Kent Huskins has been re-signed for two years at $1.7 million per year.

- Working The Corners

With the salary cap situation the way it is, one would have to assume a blueliner is on the move- there's no way San Jose can afford to pay Huskins that sort of money to serve as a 7. Brad Lukowich was disappointing after the first twenty games of the season, and freeing up his $1.56 M salary would go a long way towards getting San Jose's offseason back to a manageable level. Things look pretty cloudy as of 3 PM Wednesday.

As for Huskins, it's hard to analyze the validity of the deal considering he didn't play much with the team this season. At first glance however, I think Wilson is overpaying for a guy who is just coming off a $600 K contract and was injured for most of last season. The belief that DW tends to stay away from the overpayment frenzy of July 1st may come into question if Huskins struggles next season.

Recent Career (courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GW	GT	SOG	Pct
2006-07	ANH	33	0	3	3	-3	14	0	1	0	0	0	0	16	.000
2007-08	ANH	76	4	15	19	23	59	1	0	0	0	2	0	46	.087
2008-09	ANH	33	2	4	6	6	27	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	.100
Career Totals (Full)		142	6	22	28	26	100	1	1	0	0	2	0	82	.073

As Teas has mentioned in the comments, Huskins is a stay at home defenseman- akin to the type of player that was looked at earlier this week, when the validity of a deal for Robyn Regehr was ultimately axed. His stat line from 2007-2008 shows as much, as Huskins notched a +23 during the regular season. How much of that was a product of being sheltered by Pronger and Niedermayer (i.e. seeing easier minutes against a lower class of forwards) is up for debate.

If Lukowich is moved it may be an upgrade in personnel, but the salary cap situation is still of primary concern.

[Update 7/2]: Arthur from Anaheim Calling has a very informative piece on Huskins. An excerpt follows:

As far as the price, I think he compares well with the 1.7M journeyman from this year: Marc Bergeron, Mathieu Dandenault, etc. When you consider he'll be taking the ice as 5th or 6th cheapest on a nightly basis, he's pretty solid at that price. He offers skating ability and experienced defensive-defense with the potential to use his 6'3" 215 lb frame more effectively. San Jose can find a first-contract guy with more upside, of course, but I don't think they want to take any risks going into another playoff run.

- Arthur From Anaheim Calling

While I'm still not completely sold on paying Huskins $1.7 M per year considering his tenure in the NHL (three seasons), injury last year, and salary cap ramifications of the deal for San Jose, Arthur's analysis held my hand and guided me away from the ledge a bit. From the description he offers (as well as a conversation I had with my Ducks friend Joe), Huskins is not likely to be paired with Dan Boyle, as both players can be classified as "puck movers." This may cause a potential problem if Brad Lukowich is moved and a more defensive minded replacement is not brought in, but that's an issue I think we can put aside for now- it seems as if there are more pressing concerns at hand.

Thanks again Arthur.

[Update 7/2]: Digging through the BoC archives (always a treat), here's what Earl Sleek had to say about Huskins at the deadline:

Kent Huskins is a bit of a different story -- he was on the cup roster, but played a very depth role -- and that's probably where he belongs. Still, it's not hard to like Huskins (especially if you read Rudy's letter linked above) [Ed. Note: here is the link] so long as he's a bottom-pairing guy, which is assumedly where the Sharks would play him.

We're a bit spoiled in Anaheim when it comes to defenders, so maybe the bar is set a bit high, but still there was no disappointment in Huskins. He was solid enough in his sheltered minutes, and every once in a while he would pull off a spectacular 1-on-5 deke and stun the building (this is actually what I think of as "Huskins Time"). In terms of defenseman development, Huskins still feels pretty young -- he probably doesn't have the highest ceiling, but I think he's still improving.

- Earl Sleek of BoC

Go Sharks.

40 comments | 0 recs

2009 NHL Free Agency: San Jose Sharks Cheat Sheet

by FTF Staff on Jul 2, 2009 4:22 AM PDT in Armchair GM Comment 67 comments

Page_1_medium

Any Argentinian grinders on the market?

July 1st is right around the corner, and James Mirtle of From The Rink asked SBN's bloggers to compile a free agent cheat sheet for each of their respective teams.

FTF has been doing write ups for each of the RFA/UFA's since the Sharks bowed out in the first round to the Anaheim Ducks- if a players name has a link, that will take you to their article.

Pending UFA's: Brian Boucher, ~~Rob Blake~~, Kent Huskins, Alexei Semenov, Mike Grier, Claude Lemieux, Travis Moen, Jeremy Roenick

Pending RFA's: Thomas Griess (bottom of the piece), Ryane Clowe, ~~Marcel Goc~~, Torrey Mitchell, & Tomas Plihal

[Editor's Note]: Per David Pollak, four players have been extended qualifying offers- Clowe, Mitchell, Staubitz, and Greiss. Goc will not be returning.

Salary Cap Space: Minimal. If San Jose wants to make a big splash in free agency, they will likely have to move a big contract (Marleau, Nabokov, Michalek, Cheechoo, Ehrhoff) in order to make room. Coupled with the fact that the Sharks have trouble landing marquee free agents, it's unlikely this is the route they will take in respect to a top six winger and/or top pairing defenseman.

Key Needs: San Jose's bottom lines were plagued late season with shying away from making teams pay physically, and an inability to put the basket in the biscuit (or whatever that saying is). In a Seagate Broadcaster's blog entitled, "What Do I Know?" Jamie Baker went around the league and asked what the Sharks issues were. Among the many comments, one rang particularly biting- "The Sharks are a dyslexic team. They are all 6'4" but they play like they are 4'6'." If San Jose is going to have any success in the playoffs, becoming a tougher team to play against needs to be a priority. That begins with a tenacious forecheck and willingness to throw the body around. Along with finding help along the boards, it is slightly concerning that Ryane Clowe (who is a RFA) remains the only San Jose Shark willing to take punishment in front of opposing goaltenders on a consistent basis. With most of San Jose's offense flowing through shots from the point, adding a player with grit will hopefully improve overall presence in front of the net.

As for San Jose's top-six, one issue TCY and Plank had throughout the course of the season was that the Sharks possessed a lot of shooters, but not a pure scorer. Although Devin Setoguchi and Patrick Marleau boasted excellent goal totals, it was unlikely you would see any San Jose player create a goal for himself off the rush. Admittedly, the likelihood of San Jose obtaining a player like this in free agency is nearly zero considering the salary cap situation. Without a trade, working on puck handling creativity during the summer months will be the likely solution.

Third, it is necessary to sign a forward who will be able to play on the penalty kill- this attribute can be found in the same type of player we're looking for in need one. Although the Sharks had some good PK'ers last season, both Goc (already has) and Grier (almost a given) will likely be shown the door. If Mitchell accepts his qualifying offer he'll reprise his PK role from 2007-2008. It's not guaranteed that he'll sign though, which would leave San Jose with three proven penalty killers on the current roster- Marleau, Michalek, and Pavelski. Spreading the amount of time spent on the kill would be a wise decision to make seeing as all three skaters play on the top two lines. Marleau's injury at the end of the season could have possibly stemmed from the wear and tear sustained shorthanded, and limiting all of these forwards PK minutes will effectively improve their performance at even strength.

Lastly, it would be nice to have a defenseman solely focused shutting down opponents top lines. Murray is a notable physical presence, but lining up big hits sometimes leaves him out of position- his lack of skating ability causes problems when attempting to catch up with quicker opposing players. Vlasic plays well positionally and possesses a very good poke check, but he's not physical enough to limit a forward who utilizes their size near the net. The Sharks should look for someone who could play more effectively with Boyle; Lukowich was a real disappointment as the season progressed, and Blake isn't getting any younger. His propensity for taking hooking penalties will probably increase as he continues to lose steps on faster, younger forwards.

As with number two however, the likelihood of securing a top level defenseman of this caliber may be a pipe dream, especially with news of Rob Blake's signing.

UFA Targets: Maxim Afinegenov, Ruslan Fedetenko, Nik Antropov, Jason Williams, Samuel Pahlsson, Ian Laperriere, Taylor Pyatt, Joel Ward, Ben Guite, Mattias Ohlund, Greg Zanon, Kurtis Foster

Re-Sign Targets: ~~Rob Blake~~, Torrey Mitchell, Ryane Clowe, Travis Moen

What Our Rivals Want: To face San Jose in the playoffs. Ba-dump psh!

Go Sharks.

67 comments | 0 recs |

Clowe Reportedly Signed

Per David Pollak:

"Similarly, sources on both sides of the bargaining table said Wednesday that a new multiyear agreement is in place for Sharks left wing Ryane Clowe that is also waiting for the NHL's approval. Until that happens, though, no one is talking specifics."

1 day ago Mr. Plank comment 24 comments 0 recs