Doug Wilson Turns Water Into Heatley
September 12th, 2009, 12:20 pm
After today, I would like to suggest that Sharks GM Doug Wilson consider entering the 2010 World Series of Poker, because he just played the Ottawa Senators Brian Murray for a fool. DW told Murray to “Go Fish” knowing full well that if Ottawa had allowed Heatley to go to training camp, it could only spell total disaster for the Senators season. We’ll never know the many permutations of this deal that have been traded back and forth over the past two months, but this much we can be sure of – the Sharks didn’t give up any young inexpensive talent, didn’t have to give up the valued first round pick and also got the Senators to take the San Jose’s two worst contracts in the process.
Royal Flush. Sharks win.
In all fairness, Milan Michalek has been a good player for the San Jose Sharks, but it was clear that his play had hit the hockey wall, so to say. After a breakout year in 2006-07 with 66 points, he has regressed back to the mid 50’s with 20-something goals and I don’t think he’s ever going to be a guy who say, can score 50 goals…like Dany Heatley. The fact that he was signed until 2014 for over 4M for a guy who offers 55-58 points makes him not a bargain, but a bad contract. He isn’t going to turn into Gaborik – as DW might have hoped. Not only did he move Michalek and his deal, he also moved Cheechoo, who hasn’t demonstrated anything to show he’s capable of returning to his Rocket Richard Trophy winning form. Is it injuries? Is it the speed of the game? Not too sure what the cause was, but the Sharks tried Cheechoo in a third line role last year and he sucked eggs. Will he get a chance to play that role with Ottawa? I wish him the best – but I think he’s a 40 point guy at this point in his career and certainly not worth 3M.
A man of his word, DW delivered on overhauling this Sharks roster of three of the main faces of failure behind San Jose’s ups and downs and current leveling off as a franchise in Ehrhoff, Michalek and Cheechoo. Does Heatley carry risk? Absolutely – yes – sure. But for this price, it is a risk worth taking – you moved two guys you knew couldn’t get you to the next level in exchange for a guy with amazing talent and the salivating notion of 50 goals along side Thunder Joe. The other factor is that the Sharks could never get a player like Heatley on the open free agent market, so if San Jose goes belly up again, they can start over with Heatley in the core instead of dialing for dollars with subpar free agents, only to get turned down…again.
According to CapGeek, the Sharks could carry this roster into the opening night and be approx. .5M under the cap.
Heatley/Thornton/Marleau
Seto/Pavs/Clowe
McGinn/Mitchell/Staubitz
Shelley/Nichol/Hinote
Huskins, Boyle, Blake, Vlasic, Murray, Petrecki
Nabby/Greiss
Extras: Ortmeyer, Dandenault
I included Petrecki as a pipe dream scenario to show that IF he is the best guy in camp, it is possible for him to take the spot from Joslin. The other big IF is that if Frazer McLaren is better than Staubitz, that is basically an even swap.
When do we start?
Loading ...
I think the Sharks win the deal, but I am still not sure they are good enough to win. They have lost a lot of depth this summer and I am not sure depth was a strength to start with. The top two lines better perform because the bottom two lines are questionable and the defense is a bit of a question mark as well, especially if Blake shows his age any more. Sharks will be a good team again, but a great team? Not sure.
Remember when I was saying Marleau strait up for Heatley was a no brainer?
Yeah, scratch that. Somebody hire the CSI guys to figure out how Wilson pulled this off. This is something I’d expect to watch in an Ocean’s 14 movie or something, not reality.
Murray was never in the position of power in this situation, no matter how he or the media in Ottawa wanted to spin it. He had to take what he could get, which in the end was a 2nd liner, an enigma and a 2nd rounder for the same cap hit as his All Star.
Joe Thornton for Heatley? HAHAHAHA.
As much as I like this deal, and it was the right thing to do, I will miss Cheech. You can’t argue the fact that he’s bled teal, even before he was a Shark! I hope whenever he comes back to the Tank that we give him a great ovation; he deserves it.
That said, wow, what a deal. I still feel like I can’t really enjoy it, though; it’s like nothing matters until the playoffs. And if the Sharks aren’t hoisting the Cup next June, it’ll still feel like failure.
WOW!
Now did Heater have a physical?…..
I’m thrilled with the trade, but I’m going to miss Cheech as well. I personally believe the injuries are what did him in. Unfortunately, that’s part of the game. Best of luck to Cheech and Michalek in Ottawa.
As for the idea that the Sharks can build around Heatley if San Jose goes belly up, I think Dany will ask for another trade if that scenario ever rears its ugly head. Hahahaha. Wait, that’s not funny.
I’m still concerned about our defensemen. Beyond Boyle and Blake, we’ve got nothing. The overall roster still seems to lack toughness and grit as well. Hopefully DW will be able to resolve those issues by the trade deadline.
“I’m still concerned about our defensemen. Beyond Boyle and Blake, we’ve got nothing.”
Aside from Vlasic and Murray, I’ve consistently been hearing positive things about Huskins. And there is a bevy of young talent looking to step up into the #6 position. That doesn’t sound too bad to me.
Sure, Vlasic had trouble in the playoffs last season, but I see that as a fluke more than a new precedent he’s setting.
As for this move, it seems like the team is shaping up nicely. With a healthy Mitchell all year long, and with some major training camp contributions from Nichol, McGinn, Hinote, et al, it looks (on paper anyway) like we’ve got scoring up front and lots of energy on the bottom.
I say bring on October 1st.
Heatley is a risk, no doubt about it. But giving up what the Sharks gave up to get him is the best possible scenario. This is a guy that was traded for Marian Hossa a few years ago.
I make this deal every day of the week.
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAfter today, I would like to suggest that Sharks GM Doug Wilson consider entering the 2010 World Series of Poker, because he just played the Ottawa Senators Brian Murray for a fool. DW told Murray to “Go Fish” knowing full well that if … […]
Let me ask you guys this. If San Jose had this roster going into the playoffs against Anaheim last year, do you think the Sharks win that series? I personally don’t think so. Anaheim’s overall intensity and physicality, particularly on defense, stymied the Sharks.
Will this year’s team need their typical Game 1 loss/scare to get the proverbial wake-up call before they pick up their game? Will Vlasic grow a pair and assert himself? Has the team acquired players with more grit/toughness/intensity?
I’m not saying the Sharks haven’t improved. Getting Heatley without giving up Marleau was awesome. I just don’t think the team has improved enough in its weakest areas to make me believe the outcome will be any different come playoff time. Good thing DW has until the trade deadline to polish things up.
Well I am officially excited for opening night. I think the Sharks definatly win the trade but I am going to miss Cheechoo and Michalek, they were both seemed to be good guys. However the thought of Thorton feeding Heatley the puck seems like a no lose senario. Hopefully this is a risk that pays off.
Jerry: It’s a good question. Would Heatley have scored more than one goal in that series? Odds are he would have. Would Nichol, Hinote and McGinn had more of an impact physically on the bottom six forward spots than Moen, Grier and Goc? Odds are yes they would have.
I totally understand everyones concern that without Ehrhoff and Luko, our blueline has been compromised but we’ll have to wait and see Huskins up close and the mega question is, how good is Petrecki and is he ready to make the jump this year? We’ll find out in the next two weeks…
For the record, when the Senators met the Ducks in the Stanley Cup finals a few years back Heatley had 1 goal and no assists and was a -3 in 5 games.
I think the jury is still out on DW as GM until we get deep in playoffs, but there is no doubt he’s very good at pulling big trades. If you take 10 biggest trades over the past 10 years, he pulled three of them to acquire Joe, Boyle and now Heater, coming out a winner every time. I hope one day he writes an autobiography and tells a full story behind these trades. I’m ready to preorder that book before it’s written.
I now have no doubt about whether or not I should get tickets to the Vancouver game this Friday.
If Heatley had been on the team last year would we have gotten past the Ducks?
Well, we all agree Heatley can score goals right? He’s especially good on the power play right? What was the power play streak to start that series? 0-12. I think he would have made a significant difference to that.
I honestly don’t know if we would have got past them, but I don’t think it’s as clear cut as you would like to believe.
Remember, we outhit, outshot, and for the most part (barring game 4) outplayed the ducks and lost. They scored more. I think we were just as physical as they were, we just didn’t finish, and they did. What did we bring in? A finisher.
I agree, evilducks. I’ve been saying it all along, but Heatley is exactly the type of guy the Sharks needed last year. I understand he only had one point against the Ducks that one year, but he has 35 points in 34 playoff games, he has not been a playoff slouch.
Got Heatley without giving up Marleau or a 1st round pick. What more can you ask for? SO…PUMPED!!!
I don’t think having Heatley last year would not have compensated for the fact that Nabby and his 5 hole weren’t playing too well in the playoffs. I’m hoping all the leaders on the team are ready to bring it for the season and post season this year.
What kind of incriminating photos does DW have on Bryan Murray?
All the same, and as awesome as Thornton-Heatley-whoever could be, I’ve lost my optimism for this team. Guys, show me something to make me believe again.
You guys truly have no idea what you’re talking about. Michalek, Ehrhoff, and Cheechoo is not “water,” and Doug Wilson is still a terrible GM. We wouldn’t have needed to trade for Heatley if he’d just picked Parise or Getzlaf with the 6th overall pick in the 2003 draft instead of Michalek.
I don’t remember what name I used before, but a month ago I was the one who said SPECIFICALLY that the sharks could just trade Michalek, Cheechoo for Heatley, (plus whatever odds and ends), and that cap wise, THAT WOULD WORK FINE.
But you… you guys… rofl… “no, it has to be a three team trade.”
Rofl. And I was like uhh no, there has to be another trade no matter waht whether they get Heatley or not for them to sign their RFA’s and field a roster, so a two team deal will work fine, particularly michalek + cheechoo for Heatley, or Ehrhoff + Cheechoo for HEatley.
Well, it was a two team deal, WITH THE EXACT PERSONNEL I MENTIONED MONTHS AGO, THAT YOU TWO DISAGREED WITH.
This is why you need to stop offering your opinions. “Doug Wilson turns water into Heatley.”
This from the guys who didn’t want to give up a “dynamic” player like Michalek to get Heatley a few months ago. You guys are Sharks loving, love whatever Doug Wilson does, basically plain and simple full of it Sharks fans who will praise everything that happens to your team. Just stop posting. You guys are worse than politicians, flip flopping constantly.
“We don’t want Heatley.” Then, “Doug Wilson got Heatley, he should play poker, he’s fucking amazing!”
“It’s IMPOSSIBLE for the Sharks to get Heatley without it being a three way trade.”
“Wait, no it isn’t.”
“We love Michalek. He’s so dynamic.”
“We traded Michalek, who we like, for Heatley, who we said we didn’t like or want… AWESOME DUDE! AWESOME! I’M SO HAPPY! DOUG WILSON IS *$&$ING INCREDIBLE!”
Fans like you are the reason SJ hasn’t won a Cup yet, and the reason Doug Wilson is still are general manager.
You think he’s done well?
He traded trash for Joe Thornton. You think he’s a genius for that? You think no other GM would have been smart enough to trade trash for Joe Thornton if they got the chance, and Doug Wilson was the only one to think of it?
No. Doug was LUCKY. Pure luck is all it was. The other GM’s didn’t even know JT was up for grabs. If it had been fair play, if JT had been shopped around, Doug Wilson of course would have been outbid, because DW overvalues his players. Doug Wilson was just tight with Boston’s GM. It wasn’t good GMing, it was more like if two close friends join a fantasy hockey league, and one of them decides they’re going to trade their star player, so he trades him to his friend for much less than he could have gotten from any of the other players, just because he’s friends with the guy.
It’s not good GMing. It’s cheating, really. Completely unfair to the rest of the GM’s in the league.
You think Doug is a genius for getting Boyle?
Doug got LUCKY, again. He got LUCKY that Tampa got taken over by idiots who wanted Boyle gone, idiots who started taking offers for him. Any team trying to win who needed a puck moving defenseman would have offered for Boyle. It doesn’t take a good GM to make an offer for an All-star. I would have offered. You would have offered (well, one can never be sure with you guys, but you get the point). Then to top it off, after a handful of offers got accepted, Doug Wilson got LUCKY again that Boyle PICKED THE SHARKS out of those teams. Lucky lucky lucky.
Then again, Heatley asks for a trade. Lucky for DW. Even more lucky, of the 9 teams on his list, only SJ had serious interest. And because Dany had a no-trade clause, that put DW in the PERFECT position. The absolute PERFECT negotiating position, and ALL BECAUSE OF LUCK.
And even when he was in the perfect situation, even though Bryan Murray (has said since) that he knew he had to trade Heatley NO MATTER WHAT, for WHATEVER HE COULD GET, Doug Wilson STILL ended up giving up Michalek, Cheechoo, and a 2nd rounder.
You see your mistake now, don’t you?
So, as you can see, the “good” things he’s done, all very much luck.
The bad things? Giving away Ehrhoff, giving away Boyes, NOT DRAFTING AN ALL-STAR PLAYER EVER, missing out on 20+ elite players in the draft, not trading for Pronger, poor development, drafting the wrong type of players, drafting the same type over and over again, never drafting any Russian forwards, overpaying Doug Murray (which you idiots rofl actually wrote that it was a good contract. “He could have goten 4mil on the open market, if Jeff Finger can get 4mil” or whatever you guys said (whatever the number was, you got Finger’s contract wrong. figures.), overpaying Huskins, overpaying Michalek, overpaying Marleau, overpaying Vlasic and Ehrhoff before they’d put up the numbers to deserve those contracts, overpaying Clowe (he’s making the same amount as Franzen cap wise, and Franzen is way better, so there’s the proof) the list goes on and on. All the bad things? DOUG WILSON’S FAULT.
So, the good/big three trades? Luck.
The bad? His fault.
The only good things he’s done that have not been mostly luck are drafting Vlasic, Pavelski, and Clowe, and signing Pavelski to that small contract. Pavelski is the only player he’s underpaid.
So, guys, I was right before, and you guys were wrong, about Heatley, about the Sharks early round drafting (like I said they haven’t drafted an All-star since 1998 lmaooooooo, soooo bad), about Doug Wilson, and I’m right again.
Was the deal for Heatley good? Yes. Should Doug have done better given his PERFECT negotiating situation? Most certainly.
Was this deal turning water in Heatley? No, especially given the circumstances.
Are you guys full of it, flip flopping back and forth like this constantly? Yes, even more certainly.
Should you guys stop posting blogs with your opinions in them? Yes, even more certainly, because over and over again your opinions are, how should I put this delicately, inaccurate? Completely inaccurate? Dead wrong?
If you’re going to post, get it right. When someone like me comes on here to educate you guys, listen. Like right now, I’m trying to teach you to stop posting blogs. Find another hobby, something you’re good at, something you can actually be OBJECTIVE about. You guys are soooo bias. I stopped reading because of stuff like this. I won’t be checking back, but if the Sharks don’t make any more moves, they will probably get knocked out of the playoffs, and then I will check back to ask you guys what you think of Doug Wilson, the man who has not been able to improve his team’s results for four seasons straight.
He’s had a good team for years. Every season you think he’s improved it, done what was necessary, but every season they’re the same, and nothing changes.
Why? Because you’re too bias to see that no, not every move he makes is awesome, but rather most aren’t very good, and that’s why the team never improves.
You two are cool guys, nice guys, but you have a responsibility to be right, to be objective, because you influence people’s opinions, so if you’re wrong, if you write something stupid, then you’re actually making a lot of the people who read what you right a little more stupid in that given area. You have a responsibility to know that 2.5mil per season for a 6th defenseman is a terrible contract (speaking of Doug Murray). You have a responsibility to know that a 6th defenseman who can’t put up more than around 5 points in a season is not worth 4mil per season on the open market. You have a responsibility to know that, when your team has not drafted a single all-star player in over a decade, that your team’s drafting has not been very good.
You have a responsibility to educate yourselves on the facts, and on the truth, before posting these blogs.
Glad to see Marcel Goc is still blogging. Thanks for the support.
Can we stop playing the hindsight draft game. This is getting so tiresome. The draft is a total crap shoot and its easy to second guess choices made a few years after the fact for every Getzlaf there is a Daigle. Sure it would be nice to have drafted some of the players that turned out but there is definatly an element of luck here.
Brad Boyes, here is another name that gets thrown around alot. Yes he turned out now and thats great but when he was a Shark he showed up to camp out of shape and the leafs were not very high on him anyway. When we traded him he really looked like a bust and I don’t recall anyone crying about it at the time but its pretty easy to do it now.
As for the rest I think if you go to the internet to make your opinions for you then thats kind of sad. There is a fine line between opinion and fact, you should probably learn the definitions of both. The Dudes are pretty good at making a clear line in what is their opinion and what is fact and its up to YOU the reader to decide what your own opinion is based on what is writen and not have it be your own opinion. Its cool to disagree it makes life interesting but there is no reason to attack people. I guess if you need the sky is falling version of recent events Garner should have a post up that will tell you how screwed we are now you might want to check that out.
I guarantee that’s Phelpsphanphive or whatever his name was. Same dip that always rates drafting 5 years later. I’m curious who in the top 20 is going to be the monster players and who are going to be the duds, surely he knows the answer.
How cute, you guys have your own troll.
Hey Theguywhoisajackass,
If you don’t like what The Dudes are saying, don’t come here. You’re like the heckler at a show during the last band. Why stick around? Nobody is forcing you to be here, much less read the blog and/or the subsequent comments. Completely agree with Ian’s comment about fact vs. opinion.
I thought about refuting some of the things you said but then realized how much of a waste of my time it would be. I did, however, notice that you left out the following paragraph from your comment: “Nabakov is a terrible goalie. All the saves he made? PURE LUCK. All the goals that got through? ENTIRELY HIS FAULT. Even the goals that Boucher let in were his fault.”
You have the responsibility, as a human being, to not be such a douchebag.
I personally like the quotes that he’s attributing to the Dudes that he’s pulling out of his ass.
Nevermind that the final outcome of this thing the Dudes basically predicted a month ago themselves in the “Feel the Heat” podcast.
The rest is babble. Anything that went well is luck, anything that didn’t, completely his fault. That’s logic for ya.
Boy, that Doug Wilson is pretty lucky fella, eh?