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All the right
moves
Sharks having a satisfying
off-season
| 7/11/10 - By Paul Krill -
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When the Sharks bowed out of the playoffs this past
spring, it was the end of another season that fell short of the goal of a
Stanley Cup championship. And the Sharks unfortunately renewed their membership
in that exclusive club of teams that have never been to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Since then, however, Sharks GM Doug Wilson has been making all the
right moves, providing for an interesting off-season.
First, he lets
longtime goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (and his $6 million salary) leave, replacing
him with much-cheaper Antero Nittymaki. (Goalies are becoming a commodity these
days. Teams don't have to spend a lot of money on them to win.)
Then,
Wilson brings back Patrick Marleau, so we all need to check the schedule for
the 47th game of the season, which would be Marleau's 1,000th career regular
season game. Marleau is expected to become the first Shark to ever play in
1,000 games all with the Sharks. Wilson also re-signed Joe Pavelski. (OK, we
did lose Manny Malhotra, but it was unrealistic to think we could bring back
everyone.)
Now, adding suspense to the off-season, Wilson has gone
ahead and offered a restricted free agent contract to Chicago defenseman
Nicklas Hjalmarsson, which would fill a need for a top defenseman to replace
retired Rob Blake. We can now wait until next Friday to find out whether the
Blackhawks match the offer, which gives Hjalmarsson, just 23 years old, a raise
from $660,000 last season to $3.5 million next year. Not a bad salary increase
these days.
The Blackhawks are in Salary Cap Hell and Wilson
apparently saw an opportunity to use this situation to help the Sharks. Tough
break, Blackhawks. Even if the Blackhawks match the offer and retain the
services of Hjalmarsson, their cap situation becomes even worse.
Wilson's moves this offseason dismiss the notion that the Sharks' opportunity
to win the Stanley Cup has come and gone and that it would all be downhill from
here. Sharks fans can look forward to this season with the same enthusiasm as
recent seasons.
For now, we can all wait out next Friday and see if
the Sharks can score a victory against the Blackhawks in the offseason's free
agency battles.
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