DOH 412 – EK65 4eva
June 19th, 2019, 8:21 pm
The Sharks sign Erik Karlsson to an 8 year deal, and the Dudes break it all down, including the ongoing challenges with Pavs, Meier, Lebanc, and others.
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Love it! A lot money for sure, but if hes healthy hes the best D at breaking games. If not only who can do it night in night out.
Best D in the league imo. No one comes close offensively and hes not so bad at own zone as ppl lash out. He was even dominant in own end on that magical run.
Hell yes to Perry on the 3rd line with Jumbo. Hello no to Patty. Was completely invisible in the playoffs.
sorry doug’s argument that timo is next in line is wrong. pavs is. actually he should have been 1st and signed even before ek65. now he’s gone. will sign for big $ elsewhere. repeating an earlier comment by another listener – #8 is more important to than team than #65. when he’s gone, we’ll all learn the hard way. and plus, when he leaves, it will mean marleau returns to offset the loss which is a terrible idea.
We have to wait and see. The cap news is bad for us. The dudes did sound surprisingly rosy. So farcEK65 has only cost us Braun. I imagine if it costs us Dillon, or god forbid, Pavelski, or we can’t unload Delll, they will have a different take.
Stars sell tickets. Teams win Cups.
And platitudes mean nothing. Every championship team has stars. Usually many of them.
Karlsson is a generational defensemen, probably a top 5 player in the league when healthy. I am absolutely pumped even at that contract and even if it costs the team Pavelski (of course I hope then can bring him back, too).
There are a lot of Sharks fans against bringing Marleau back even at the league minimum, which blows my mind. It is a completely risk-free signing and Marleau will almost surely outplay that value. 30-40 pts on the 3rd line, veteran leadership, no issues with the locker room for $700,00? Who else are we going to put on the 3rd line, Goodrow? Radil? Dylan Gambrell? And if they in fact outplay Marleau and Marleau is bumped to the 4th line, does anyone think Marleau will complain? No way. And I’d would MUCH rather have Marleau playing on the 4th line than Eric Fehr or Melker Karlsson or having to roll the dice that Alex True or Antii Suomela figure it out. This team is in win now mode, if Marleau is willing to sign for $700k, you bring that man back!
I’d literally want Goodrow or Radil over Marleau. Seriously.
However, I think it’s a done deal he is coming back. I don’t think Marleau approves a trade to Carolina unless he knows they’re gonna buy him out and he knows that SJ will take him back at minimum.
Serious question. If you were Sharks GM, what would you rather have?
Pavelski, Braun, Tierney, DeMelo, your top prospect at center (Norris), two second rounders, a first rounder
or
Karlsson
You’re asking that as if those were the only choices DW had. He could also just not bring Jumbo back?
There has to be other options and I don’t think it’s a matter of not being able to find the money either – I think DW and Pavs are probably worlds apart from what they have in mind for a contract.
Love your podcast guys!!! Can’t wait until the next one! I was excited about Karlsson signing, but if Pavelski is not on this team \I will not be happy!!! I can’t imagine the Sharks saying their window is open if they lose their leading goal-scorer?!? And oh yeah, he’s captain too. In a series I’d pick the Stars over this Sharks team any day. Pavs will score 40 goals for them next year. Very confused by this huge change in strategy – now we’re signing long-term deals for top market value. Hopefully we at least address the goalie problem. Ah! Sorry for being salty. Go Stars! j/k. I mean, Go Sharks!!!
I love this podcast. I used to be a Sharks fan but haven’t really been interested in watching games for years because I don’t like Wilson’s rosters. But the dudes are so hilarious and intelligent it’s great to virtually hang out with them.
Must say it’s strange to me that Wilson has changed his roster strategy so much. Is this really the same guy who would not sing Thornton for more Hán 3 years at a time? The Sharks’ best season came in 2015-16. They had no one making even $7 mil, were following Wilson’s own public advice about avoiding long contracts and keeping a low cost goalie. They went after not-sexy free agents like Martin and Ward. And they went to the cup finals because they had their deepest team.
In hindsight, it was a formula that is now familiar. That Sharks team had elite play from its top 2 centers, a red hot goalie, and impressive scoring depth from their bottom 6. Their weakness was their third pairing.
A few years later and it seems that model is completely abandoned. Now they’re strategizing like an NBA team. A small group of overpaid players and a bunch of filler. The NHL is not the NBA. It’s a terrible strategy, especially when you’re locked into players with a history of injury problems like Karlsson and Kane. To be worth the dough the Sharks are paying him, the Sharks would have to win the cup and Erik the Great would need to win the Conn Smythe, neither is going to happen, This team is built for the regular season, not the playoffs.
I would not call this team a contender without Pavelski, I’d say they’re what they always are under Wilson – a team without a clear identity, that’s always good enough to make the playoffs, but never deep enough or full of enough grit and sandpaper to win a cup.
But I’ll keep listening because the dudes are so great. Thank you for all your work Mike and Doug! You rule.
If the Pavs deal with the Stars is indeed merely $7 mil / 3 years, that’s an absolute insult the Sharks wouldn’t match it. I thought he’d be getting something overpaid such as 5 years, or 3 years at $8 mil. But $7 mil – he is completely worth it. Furious at the Sharks. This is terrible.
Man, feels like the Sharks just fell in the power rankings. Dallas clearly better than SJ now. We already know St. Louis is too. Hopefully we can at least keep Nyquist and then Winnipeg, Vegas, and Colorado have quiet free agency periods. I’d say we’re the 5th or 6th best team in the west now, depending on how wel Duchene fits in Nashville and what the Avs do. Definitely a playoff team, but not a contender, by any means. I mean, we’re losing Pavelski, Donskoi, Braun, and probably Nyquist but I hope not. And why isn’t Meier signed? DW is normally on top of this stuff. Seems like the Karlsson deal has broken this team up. And goodbye hometown discounts. Bringin’ Marleau back is just sad. Go Spurs!
Oh ye have little faith…
How many times have people written off the Sharks, lambasted DW for his moves.
Everyone stay calm. Up down up down. Exhausting. DW knows what he’s doing. I think earned a little trust by now.
Good discussion everyone- keep the comments coming. Unfortunately Doug is out of town and we won’t be able to record again until next week. Given all that’s happened, it’ll be a long one.
Compare the different strategies of the Preds vs. the Sharks. Afew years ago, the puck-moving defenseman was the hot commodity. But those players have not been difference makers. The Pens won a cup without Letang. Subban really wasn’t a major factor in his playoff runs with the Preds. By contrast, a great number 1 and 2 center has been making a clear impact. The Preds abandoned their puck-moving defenseman to go with the depth down the middle. The Sharks are doing the exact opposite. After striking out on Tavares, they have moved away from all-star centers and towards not one, but 2 puck-moving defenseman. We will see whose strategy bears out in the playoffs.
my opinion doesn’t count but it cracks me up sj lost in the playoffs due to injuries exposing their lack of depth. and in the off-season they tie up cap space in ek65 and lose what little depth they had.
The window is officially closed.
lol. They were arguably THE best team in the league before EK65 got hurt. @Taylor
Like with Marleau DW wouldnt give him 3 years and look what happened with him in Toronto. Sad to see Pavs go, but with ~1m too much for too many years I can see why.
Shortterm? Karlsson. Longterm? Karlsson. @Miller
And to whomever was taking about it being a mistake to get Karlsson, bcuz C wins cups.. They dont exactly grow in trees either and Hertlik+Couture is a solid onetwo. Karlsson cost practically nothing compared to what he brings to the table. Hes one of those guys who turn the tides in your favour.
Caphit aint that bad either if he stays healthy.
Karlsson is my pick to win the Norris but this team won’t win a cup. Last year combined Pavs, Ny, Donfather scored 70 goals. Can’t pick a lineup with Labanc and an unknown rookie as their top 6 RW plus the worst goaltending in the league over the Blues, Avs, Preds, or VGK. Stars, Jets, Flames in the mix too. SJ will have trouble scoring but their lack of d is an even bigger problem.