Tick Tock

Mymclife had a really good piece on Heatley earlier this month, which serves as a basis for this short mathematical exercise. Mine will be slightly less involved with an emphasis on plain numbers, so if you're looking for more please take full advantage of the wonderful in-text linking capabilities provided by the good tech folks here at SB Nation.

Unlike previous pieces detailing salary structure, we will not include Jamie McGinn. It will operate under the assumption McLellan will have one forward and a defenseman scratched, and will solely focus on the 2009-2010 roster- the future ramifications will deserve a much more in-depth look if the time is appropriate.

Assuming Dany Heatley find himself in a Sharks sweater at some point this offseason, here is where the Sharks currently stand:

Heatley-Thornton-Setoguchi

Marleau-Pavelski-Clowe

Michalek-None-Cheechoo

Shelley-Nichol-None

None

Lukowich-Boyle

Vlasic-Blake

Ehrhoff-Murray

Huskins

Nabokov

None

Needs: 3 Forwards, 1 goaltender

Cap Space: -$6.6 M

Ehrhoff, Cheechoo, Michalek, and Lukowich are moved:

Heatley-Thornton-Setoguchi

Marleau-Pavelski-Clowe

None-None-None

Shelley-Nichol-None

None

Murray-Boyle

Vlasic-Blake

None-Huskins

None

Nabokov

None

Needs: 5 Forwards, 2 defenseman 1 goaltender

Cap Space: $5.4 M, roughly $675,000 per player

*******

Marleau, Ehrhoff, Cheechoo, Michalek, and Lukowich are moved:

Forwards: Heatley-Thornton-Setoguchi

None-Pavelski-Clowe

None-None-None

Shelley-Nichol-None

None

Defenseman: Murray-Boyle

Vlasic-Blake

None-Huskins

None

Goaltenders: Nabokov

None

Needs: 6 Forwards, 2 defenseman 1 goaltender

Cap Space: $11.7 M, roughly $1.3 M per player

*******

Nabokov, Ehrhoff, Cheechoo, Michalek, and Lukowich are moved:

Forwards: Heatley-Thornton-Setoguchi

Marleau-Pavelski-Clowe

None-None-None

Shelley-Nichol-None

None

Defenseman: Murray-Boyle

Vlasic-Blake

None-Huskins

None

Goaltenders: None

None

Needs: 5 Forwards, 2 defenseman 2 goaltenders

Cap Space: $10.8 M, roughly $1.2 M per player

*******

I know Heatley has been beaten to death around here for the last three weeks, but with Don Brennan's rumor clock reaching the forty-eighth hour (admittedly, talks have stalled) I felt this would be appropriate.

The underlying point is what I tried to convey two days ago- the personnel you give up when trading for Dany Heatley is much more than just who will be playing in Ottawa next season. His $7.5 M cap hit will force multiple transactions to occur, and these transactions that will include some very notable names.

Looking at the raw numbers, it seems as if either Nabokov or Marleau will be playing elsewhere in October. I just don't think you can field a competitive team otherwise. In a perfect world Nabokov is moved and Halak gets the starting job, but the kicker here (discluding any concerns over an unproven tandem of Halak-Greiss) is that Marleau looks to be the sole piece who will get you Halak. The plausibility of a Cristobal Huet esque deal looks pretty slim at this moment.

Go Sharks.

Assuming the situation presents itself....