Rumor Has It

by Levi Matthews on Jan 16, 2012 1:38 PM PST

There's been a rumor going around that if Brad Stuart is not resigned by the Red Wings and becomes a UFA next off season that the Sharks would be interested in bringing him back to San Jose. I don't know how true the rumor is but I'd love to see him back in teal. Our defense would be one of the best in the league if we had him. He also brings playoff+Stanley Cup experience and a good Denfensive D-Man that we need and he's a big upgrade from Doug Murray. Any thoughts...

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all depends on one thing:

price.

by StevieV17 on Jan 16, 2012 2:14 PM PST reply actions

Those rumors

All come from Stuart saying he misses his family, which live in the Bay Area. I haven’t read anything about the Sharks being interested in bringing him back, just that he would like to play in California so he can be closer to his wife and kids (and dogs).

I would love to get Stuart back but not sure there’s a spot for him on the Sharks unless he’s looking for a contract under $2mil a year…and he’s still worth quite a bit more than that.

by milanahalek on Jan 16, 2012 2:26 PM PST reply actions

Still he's getting up there in age (relatively speaking)

He’ll be 33 in the fall, and at some point teams are going to say he’s headed nowhere but down. That might not be now, but teams aren’t going to risk paying in excess for something so risky. Plus, he didn’t play 15 games last season because of a broken jaw (ouch), so even though its not an injury that effected his skating, it effected him enough to sit out a few weeks.

Besides, in the end I think the Wings will end up resigning him. Lidstrom is close to retiring, and after Kronwall, Stuart might be their best defenseman, and that’s including Ian White.

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by RedOscar on Jan 16, 2012 4:28 PM PST up reply actions

He wants to play in California and only us and the Ducks could really use him. The kings are loaded at defense. If it comes down to money maybe he goes Ducks or someone else. But if wants to play for a team in Cali that can contend for the cup then San Jose is the ideal team. If I was in his situation I would go to San Jose even if it meant taking a pay cut. Maybe he takes a home town discount ?

by Levi Matthews on Jan 16, 2012 2:35 PM PST reply actions

Pass

I don’t see him contributing much and the Sharks have historically not been a team with ample cap space in the offseason. If he signs for like $1.25 mill I wouldn’t be opposed but I would like to see our team get younger personally

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by waive kent huskins on Jan 16, 2012 5:05 PM PST reply actions

On top of our current D-men and prospects,

I don’t see Stuart being part DW’s plan for a deeper blueline. We have Petrecki, Moore, etc at Worcester to facilitate the continuation of a legitimate D-corps. With how good (Vlasic makes it awesome) the Sharks’ defense is now, I don’t see room for Stuart. One might have to wait until the trade deadline/ free agency periods to see how the D stands. Though it would be nostalgic to see Stuart in teal again.

by Rockflpn on Jan 17, 2012 1:28 AM PST reply actions

i would bring him on for a year or two since the only guy that has been able to crack the D without bringing in outside the past couple years is Braun. the guys in our system seem to be another couple years out from really being relied upon at the NHL level. I would certainly prefer Stuart on the 3rd paring than White or Vandameer especially with our coaches tendancy for liking to roll 7 D at times. Although i’ve been really liking the Braun/Demers pairing.

by dannyschmanny on Jan 17, 2012 11:48 AM PST reply actions

No thanks.

You forget that players signed/traded after Joe Thornton lose all their hype value the second they don a Sharks uniform.

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by Evil Stanchion on Jan 17, 2012 12:34 PM PST reply actions

Stuart would be a solid pick up

Think of this everybody, Burns, Vlasic are staying for next year. If Doug makes a deal during the trade deadline this year then Demers or Braun will be dealt. Murray could be traded away during the offseason. Boyle could retire if the Sharks win the Cup. White & Vandermeer will be gone. Our blue line will look pretty weak come next season. I don’t see anybody from WOR making a big impact for next year.

Go Big or Go Home

by ChangoT on Jan 17, 2012 12:57 PM PST reply actions

Boyle isn’t going to retire. He’s only 35, and only played poorly to start the season because of a broken foot, which is significant for a hockey player because that impacts every skating push off, which is the foundation of the game. I can see him thinking about it when his contract is up, but I think he’s going to play for as long as he feels he’s competing well enough, because as is stated a lot around the Sharks, Boyle is his own harshest critic and it just doesn’t seem likely that someone that highly critical of himself will simply play at a non capable level for long.

by VVhirlwind on Jan 18, 2012 12:09 AM PST up reply actions

So...

Somehow between the TDL and July 1st the Sharks are going to lose 5 of their defensemen? Really?!?!

As mentioned multiple times, Boyle is still a top flight defenseman and he won’t be retiring anytime soon. The ONLY way Braun or Demers get moved this year is if it’s for a deal that Wilson would be stupid to refuse and I don’t really see that happening. Murray is still a good #4 d-man and he’s paid accordingly.

Now, White and Vandermeer may not re re-signed, and that’s fine, but the core of this defense for at least next season should be:

Vlasic/Burns
Murray/Boyle
Demers/Braun

I would be OK trading Murray in the off-seeason and picking up Stuart assuming he won’t be paid more than $2mil/yr but the Sharks are a) very loyal to their players and b) work very hard to get their own prospects into the NHL. Both Petrecki and Irwin will be given every opportunity to make the big club out of camp next season.

An overhaul on the defense is the last thing the Sharks should do.

by milanahalek on Jan 18, 2012 8:52 AM PST up reply actions

I highly doubt Boyle is retiring with 2 years remaining in his contract, and hes since proven he is still one of the leagues top blueliners after the whole broken leg fiasco, hes been almost a point per game in the last 15-20 games.

by RZ39 on Jan 17, 2012 4:38 PM PST reply actions

The bigger problem is with Detroit acquiring Weber or Suter from Nashville

If you look at possible destinations for the 2 d men, Detroit has to be up there because they have so much room under the cap and the fact that Lidstrom will be retiring soon

by berge7f9 on Jan 17, 2012 5:48 PM PST reply actions

Not Suter. Suter has said that he’s willing to take a discount because he wants to stay in Nashville.

From this last year, it appears that Weber’s kinda greedy… so there’s no guarantee of where he goes.

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by Bockerz on Jan 17, 2012 5:56 PM PST up reply actions

Weber is an RFA so I bet he stays in Nashville.

by Briceratops on Jan 17, 2012 6:02 PM PST up reply actions

I’d like to see them both stay in Nashville…hopefully with the owner opening up the purse strings they’ll be able to sign them both to long term deals.

by milanahalek on Jan 17, 2012 6:07 PM PST up reply actions

I totally agree that it would be scathe if they went to Detroit but I highly doubt that they would be dealt there inter division and if the press stay competitive I see both of them resigning.

I HIGHLY doubt that Boyle will retire, but I could see braun or demers dealt and I really hope that Murray doesn’t play for us next year. I don’t have anything against him except that hes not very in any aspect of the game except checking. If we could get Stuart back then hes a huge upgrade over Murray. Hell maybe we should try to get Weber or Suter

by Levi Matthews on Jan 17, 2012 5:57 PM PST reply actions

I support this move

… if only so I can dust off my old Stuart jersey again. =)

But seriously, this wouldn’t be the worst pickup if it came to fruition. No, he didn’t end up as a Norris Trophy winner as some pundits thought he might, but he’s become a pretty solid and steady defenseman over the course of his career. And if you paid attention to the way he played against the Sharks in the past two Sharks-Wings series, he plays tough and with mean (He’s kind of a d*ck, especially against Marleau). If for some reason, Murray isn’t back, Stuart could slide right in and the team wouldn’t lose a step, plus he has decent offensive acumen.

Rated M for McGinn.

by DownRUpLYB on Jan 17, 2012 11:00 PM PST reply actions

Yea, I personally wouldn’t mind seeing Stuart back, but the only way it’ll really happen is if we end up trading Murray. I don’t think he’ll go below 3 mil, and so to afford that means all our 3rd/4th liners would all have to be retained with close to their current contracts, and White and Vand would have to be let go. So then with Murray traded there is cap enough to have Stuart.

The problem is you can’t trade Murray this season because Stuart won’t be available til next. Then you have to wait til UFAs are done signing, so when Stuart woudl already be then signed, the market then knows that the Sharks would be needing to dump salary to get under the cap, and so any deals would be undervalued etc.

Kinda a hassle, but we’d have to see how the rest of the season plays out, any trade deadline deals could change the scope of things easily.

2 mil or cheaper then I’d definately get him as a 7th D-man after letting White/Vand go, even with his age.

by VVhirlwind on Jan 18, 2012 12:19 AM PST up reply actions