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@fearthefin Do you agree with Joel Ward getting scratched over someone like Haley? Does he get back into the lineup tonight?
— Zeke (@TheFranchise313) December 18, 2016
Absolutely not. Listen, there is plenty that goes into creating a lineup that we don’t get a look into. I’m not inside the locker room and I’m not at the Sharks’ practices. So when I say I think this is a terrible decision, I’m basing it on what I see on the ice and what I see on the stat sheet.
Yes, Ward has struggled to score this year, but ... you know ... Haley has struggled to score his entire career. The Sharks need more players like Ward in the lineup and literally zero players like Haley.
@fearthefin which of the RFAs/UFAs will sign a new contract? Biggest surprise in your opinion, regarding this?
— Vic Dahlgren (@Garrincha_90) December 18, 2016
Here’s how I’ll do this: I’m going to list every RFA and UFA with whether I think they’ll be re-signed (yes or no) and then a number (1-10) that indicates my level of confidence in my answer. Let’s do this.
UFAs:
Joe Thornton (yes, 10)
Patrick Marleau (yes, 5)
Tommy Wingels (no, 8)
Micheal Haley (no, 9)
RFAs:
Melker Karlsson (yes, 6)
Joonas Donskoi (yes, 8)
Kevin Labanc (yes, 9)
Chris Tierney (yes, 10)
@fearthefin do you think Meier and Labanc and up with the big club for good? They look ready skill wise,but is PDB ready to accept the youth
— Brandonnnnn (@brandonkehrli) December 18, 2016
Yeah, I think so. It’s obviously contingent on their production, but I think the plan is that those guys are Sharks for good. Kevin Labanc’s situation is more tenuous than Meier’s (or it was at least) but he has at least played himself into a pretty solid situation. They’re ready and they’ve earned a spot.
I’m sure the Sharks would like to move Matt Nieto and Dylan DeMelo right now. Troy Grosenick might be on the trading block as well.
His scoring, plain and simple. He has 15 points in 20 games and has improved defensively according to head coach Roy Sommer. That’s enough for me when we’re talking about a Sharks team that needs help offensively.
Good question, we haven’t talked about Vegas in a little bit. Right now it kind of feels like a defender? My guess is Vegas takes Brenden Dillon if the Sharks leave him unprotected (and I think they will at this point).
Goodrow is in a tough position right now. I’m sure he could be a fit on a fourth line ... somewhere ... but he’s pretty far down on the Sharks’ depth chart right now. Both Daniel O’Regan and Nikolay Goldobin have more points than Goodrow for the Barracuda right now and I see no reason to give him a shot before either of them.