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Wilson does it
again
Trade day trade leaves Sharks
pickless
| 6/24/11 - By Steve Flores -
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Well, well, well! DW does it again! The San Jose
Sharks GM Doug Wilson pulled no punches with his draft day trade that brings
All-Star D-Man Brent Burns from The Minnesota Wild in exchange for Devin
Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and the Sharks first round pick from this year's
draft. Wilson has a history of trading a lot of Sharks first and second round
picks and this one was a doozy.
The masses will debate the virtues of
this deal for seasons to come but the one fact that is a for sure is that DW
has brought in a top-notch defender with offensive ability, size and a bit of
nastiness in his game. The possible problem is that Burns is only signed for
the upcoming season and is then looking at the possibility of unrestricted free
agency.
In the past Wilson has given up future draft picks for players
that have opted to not remain with the club (everyone remembers Brian
Campbell). This trade sees the Sharks give up essentially three number one
round selections for Burns. Burns is quality but this trade makes little sense
unless the Sharks are able to ink Burns to a longer-term deal.
The
Shark's window of opportunity is now. Some may say that the team is past 'the
now'.
A less than stellar year by key offensive cogs such as Dany
Heatley makes one wonder if the team is getting a bit long in the tooth. Word
regarding Heatley at season's end was that he had an injured groin and a very
painful wrist injury. Heatley often looked sluggish and slow when with the puck
this season. His goal tally was embarrassing for a guy who makes his living on
scoring 40 plus goals each season. Hopefully it was the injuries that affected
his game and not a breaking down of the old body.
Setoguchi's departure
will also place more pressure on Heatley's goal scoring abilities as the team's
forwards will have 20 plus goals to make up for next season.
The loss
of Seto will be a hard pill to swallow for many fans. Setoguchi is homegrown
and has seen NHL success. The past two seasons have seen him disappear for some
extended periods of time. His name popped up in trade rumors at the deadline
this past season but Wilson chose to hang on to him. Setoguchi scored several
key goals in the post-season and seemed to have his game on track. Whether or
not consistency would have found it's way into his game next season with the
Sharks will never be known.
The giving up of essentially three first round picks
again lays weak the future of the team. In the most conservative opinions it
lessens the depth at the developmental level. A recent issue of the Hockey News
portrays the team's depth in the minors as pretty lean on front line talent.
The departure of Coyle - a young player that showed huge improvement over the
past year does even more to weaken the team's talent level at and below the AHL
level.
On a more positive slant the team's top 6 d-men look pretty
solid. Burns, Dan Boyle, Douglas Murray, Marc-EdouardVlasic, Jason Demers and
Justin Braun should provide a pretty solid level of both puck moving ability
and physicality.
The biggest issue here is Burn's contract.
Referring back to Wilson's penchant for simply losing the players
acquired when giving up top draft picks - it is imperative that Burns be signed
to a contract extension. If Burns is lost to free agency then Wilson has hurt
the team. If Burns signs that extension and this team finds a way to get to
that elusive title then Wilson will be heralded throughout the Bay Area as a GM
that did everything it took to bring San Jose it's first ever championship in a
major sport.
The roster is still in need of some fine-tuning and the
team is up against the cap. This is the time of year that GM's earn their pay.
Wilson's latest blockbuster could change the shape of the team for many seasons
to come.
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