What Doug Wilson wants, Doug Wilson gets

Canada Day is done and the Sharks have a new goalie in town, Finnish netminder Antero Niittymaki, who is going to make my spell check crazy for the next two years. This was a shocker, especially since there was so much chatter about the evil Marty Turco and so much hype about former Nashville goalie Dan Ellis. The lesson learned is we all should have listened to Doug Wilson when he said last week that they are looking for a butterfly style goalie – a change of technique from the athletic style of the Franchise Goalie Formerly Known as Nabby. The Sharks signed Niittymaki to a 2 year/4M deal, allowing the Sharks to change styles in net and also not break the bank in the process. Here’s the pros and cons to this deal, as I see it.

PRO: Niittymaki has had a Halak/Niemi type run on the biggest stage in the world by playing out of his mind in the 2006 Winter Olympics, winning a Silver Medal for Team Finland and the MVP of the Men’s Tournament with three shutouts and a 1.34GAA and .951 SV%. This is the type of pedigree I was hoping for in our new goalie – the ability to take over a series. The change of pace/style might be refreshing for this franchise.

CON: Niittymaki has not found this success at the NHL level in consistent stretches and has no real NHL playoff experience. He’s never been the clear #1 goalie and he certainly wasn’t given the title today in San Jose. It sounds like the Sharks will ride the hot hand, which certainly worked for Philly, Montreal and Chicago this season. Doug Wilson was extremely aggressive in signing Niittymaki and I guess gets kudos for getting his target, but given the cash more established goalies like Dan Ellis (2 years/3M in Tampa Bay) and Chris Mason (2 years/3.7M) got later in the day, you would think that DW could have waited and got his man for $500,000 less.

I was shocked earlier today by the move but I think I’m okay with it. I honestly didn’t see what all the fuss was about with Dan Ellis and maybe he’ll prove Yzerman a genius – but that guy peaked in 2008 with his playoff performance against the Red Wings and has been average ever since – and all I can remember about Chris Mason was how the Sharks embarrassed him in the playoffs when he was in Nashville. So, if Doug Wilson and company researched the options and after striking out with Halak, this was the next best thing – I have to trust them. Who’s to say Greiss won’t play the lion’s share of the games or that Alex Stalock won’t be breathing down their necks in training camp. It will be a good old fashioned roster spot battle and that type of fever seemed to work wonders for teams last season.

Manny Malhotra is gone – to Vancouver with a 3 year/7.5M deal. That’s too much cash for Faceoff Master Manny – no thank you. Doug Wilson made the right call here to walk away from the classy Malhotra and I think this is an excellent opportunity to follow another trend that worked this last year – the shutdown pest center. That isn’t Malhotra, he’s too much of a gentlemen and didn’t have the consistent defensive drive that a guy like The Rat Bolland did against the Sharks (notice Bolland is still in Chicago).

We have to all calm down and remember the Sharks Western Conference Finals team roster didn’t take shape until September. I still believe with the 8M of cap room that significant changes will take place and Doug Wilson will add that defenseman we crave, but now via the trade market. Could we see an ironic switch of positions with Vancouver looking to dump the 3.75M contract of Kevin Bieksa on San Jose? Last year the Sharks sent a valuable player in Ehrhoff with the DW special salary dump guy (Lukowich) for two nothing prospects. Could the Sharks get Kevin Bieksa for two prospects we’ll never miss?

So many funny moves today, please chime in with your best and worst deal of the day. So far, I’m taking Darryl Sutter bringing back the poster boy for losing, Olli Jokinen, to Calgary as the WORST contract and a sure sign that Sutter has gone completely bat-$%&# crazy. The best move of the day goes to the Pittsburgh Penguins for getting Z. Michalek on a four year deal worth 4M per season. An outstanding value.

Here’s the link to the ESPN.com chat where I got two questions in about the Sharks and free agency. If you want to take an NHL insider at his word, it appears LeBrun’s source is saying Doug Wilson will deal with his opening in net tomorrow and perhaps hold off on acquiring another d-man. I’m sticking to my original prediction that the Sharks will sign former nemesis and playoff performer, Marty Turco, to a contract tomorrow. Turco wants to win and this will be his last hurrah, and there’s no better situation than the one in San Jose. Get ready to start chanting TURCO, TURCO…but with love…

I also asked a question about the Sharks resigning Manny Malhotra or perhaps turning to Mike Modano – we all know how much Doug Wilson loves a veteran role model and Modano would fit the Roenick/Lemieux/Blake mold. His response was the Sharks love, love, love Malhotra both on and off the ice.

So, there you go. More tomorrow. Let the fireworks begin.

Some other real quick hits for you to comment on as we wait for July 1st.

A name for us all to keep an eye on is Cam McIntyre. The Sharks gave him a two year contract as a college free agent and his AHL salary according to CapGeek is $575,000 – in comparison Jason Demers’ AHL salary if he were sent down is $52,500 – which means Doug Wilson must think he’s a strong contender for a checking line position next season. I don’t know much about him other than he’s built like a mini-tank (6’1/220), which is a similar build to Ryane Clowe. I think he’s in line to compete for Jed Ortmeyer’s vacant roster spot.

Remember this name too, Andrew Desjardins, from the “Crazed Rats” line in Worcester. People in the AHL are very high on this minor league agitator and perhaps he’s ready to make the leap to the NHL. He’s caught Doug Wilson’s eye and for a guy who went undrafted and toiled in the Central Hockey League and the ECHL, he was a +29 with 46 points and 129 PIM’s and 7 fighting majors. If I were Torrey Mitchell, I wouldn’t buy a house in San Jose…this guy might take your j-o-b.

I am fine with Nic Wallin returning the Sharks because he is gold for the podcast soundbites and I don’t think we saw the best of him last season, but the contract is bizarre. If this means Huskins is gone and the Sharks add a legit #2, we’ll forget about this contract in a few weeks. But if DW signed Hamburgers to replace Blake, we will be haunted by it – I just can’t imagine that’s the case. Bye bye Huskins.

Speaking of #2 d-men, the more I think about it, the more a Devin Setoguchi to the Minnesota Wild for Brent Burns trade makes perfect sense. The Wild desperately need scoring and Seto would fit their up tempo rebuilding style and the Sharks could sure use Burns. At 6’5 and age 25, this big, smooth skating d-man is signed for two more years at a 3.55M cap hit. If DW strikes out July 1st with Michalek, Martin and Hamhuis, this could be a perfect marriage.

Leaving town tomorrow, so unfortunately I don’t have the time to properly write up what’s been happening, so I figured I’d create a new post for draft weekend discussion.  Topics of interest:

• Drafting Charlie Coyle 1st round (who?)
• Ducks getting both Cam Fowler (at 12!) and Emerson Etem
• Trade of Keith Ballard to the Canucks
• Sharks re-signing Wallin and Nichol (Wallin?  $2.5M?  I sincerely hope we only saw an injured Wallin last year)
• Possibility of trading Nabby’s rights for something
• Seto?
• Hamhuis sweepstakes
• Anything else your little hearts desire

I hope you’ve been following our thoughts recently on twitter. Link on the right there.

HAHAHAHA MONEY!!!

I never know to express the action of signing again. If I don’t hyphenate, it looks like they are resigning, like Nixon.  But is re-sign really correct English?  And why am I writing about this when the two major Sharks free agents have, uh, accepted new contracts?

Now, per Bob McKenzie’s twitter, we see that Marleau has signed a new contract worth $6.9M per year for four years, and Pavelski’s is good for $4M per year for the same duration.  First of all, I’m surprised that Marleau’s number was so high, but I guess it makes sense after a 44-goal season.  Like others have mentioned, I thought it was somewhat likely Marleau would get a ‘lifetime’ contract, for 7 or more years, with a more manageable cap hit.  Given that Marleau’s wife is from the Bay Area, and he certainly has roots in the community, it would seem a long-term deal would be right up his alley. But for a player who’s main asset is his speed, I can see the logic in only paying him until he’s 34.

Pavelski’s deal, however, could be a little on the low side.  During a podcast discussion we figured his salary range would be between $4M and $5M (between Kesler and Staal, in line with Plekanec’s production), and we just made it.  $4M for a good two-way second-line center that may be named the captain in two months?  Sounds like a good deal to me.  I’m not going to go into the whole cap situation just yet, but this should enable the Sharks to sign Devin Setoguchi to a new contract as well.  $3M sounds like the right number, given he only had 19 goals last year.

In other (good) news, Pollak reports the Sharks did a minor deal with Atlanta that greased the skids for Chicago sending Dustin Byfuglien there.  That’s Doug Wilson, always the facilitator.  Because of a certain maximum number of contracts that could be held per the CBA, ATL was up against the limit, and the Sharks were the white knight.  DW took a couple of low level prospects (and a seventh round pick) off of Don Waddell’s hands so the Thrashers could accept Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel, and Akim Aliu’s contracts.   I like that deal for Atlanta, and I like that deal for the Sharks.  Get the big lug out of the West.  It does give the Hawks some cap relief, but it cost them a top 6 forward and a great prospect in Aliu.  Atlanta, for once, seems to have this trade solidly in the win column.

All this, and we haven’t even made it to the draft yet.  Go Sharks.

The news came down from Pollak (and the Sharks own site) that Evgeni Nabokov, who has been with the Sharks his entire career, will not be back for the 2010-2011 season.  Avid readers of this blog and listeners to our podcast know that we have advocated this move since the season ended.  That’s not to take anything away from Nabby- he’s been a stalwart goalie for the Sharks for many years, but given the Sharks cap situation and their bevy of young netminders already in the system, there’s no more room for a 35-year old goalie who will likely make something near his 2009-2010 salary of $5.3M.  With Marleau, Pavelski, Setoguchi, and others to be signed, the money wasn’t there.  It’s also not certain the money should be there, as Nabokov’s career and post-lockout SV% numbers do not put him in the ‘elite’ category.

We’re going to Select-A-Seat tonight, then recording the podcast.  Stay tuned.  Lots of other NHL news to talk about too.

The Montreal Canadiens traded their playoff hero and perhaps the best Cinderella Story of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Jaroslav Halak, to the St. Louis Blues today for two prospects, Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. According to Bob McKenzie’s twitter feed (I can’t believe I just cited Twitter as a source) he said that the Sharks, Tampa Bay and Philly were “pitching hard” for Halak and Montreal decided to go with St. Louis’ offer.

According to Hockey’s Future Spring Prospect report, The Canadiens got the Blues #2 overall prospect in Lars Eller (a projected top six forward with skill) and their #17 prospect in the WHL player Shultz (tough guy with upside). If we assume that Montreal was asking for two prospects and not roster players, wouldn’t this hypothetically equate to Montreal wanting Logan Couture and possibly junior player and tough defensemen, Taylor Doherty? If that was indeed the price, and again I’m just pulling that squarely out of my rear, would you have made this deal? Comment below and vote in the poll to the right and even offer what you think the trade price for the Sharks might have been.

So, what does this mean for our goalie situation and Nabby’s future? Well, it means that if McKenzie’s sources are correct, that Nabby isn’t the teams first choice going forward in net for next season if they tried to acquired Halak. So could this be a sign that Nabby is a goner for sure? Not necessarily. Nabby could be Plan B now that DW couldn’t pull off another magic trick OR they could continue to search outside the organization for the answer in net.

I do know this. The offseason just officially began.

Now that the NHL season is completely over, with the Blackhawks winning the Cup, Mike and Doug talk about the series, and the challenges facing the Hawks and the cap next year.  Rob Blake will make final what we heard last week- that he will be retiring from the Sharks.  Mike and Doug talk about what that means for the defense, and process other rumors and speculation involving free agents.

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According to CSN, which I’m not going to dispute.  It’s what we heard Mark Purdy allude to the very night the Sharks were eliminated.  On today’s podcast (which you already listened to, didn’t you?  WHY NOT???)  we thought that we wouldn’t hear anything until after the Stanley Cup Finals were over, but “a source close to the situation” couldn’t keep his/her trap shut.  Hard to keep these things a secret.  1270 NHL regular season games, 777 points, 1679 PIM, 146 playoff games, 73 points, 166 PIMs.  If that ain’t a Hall of Fame career for a defenseman, I don’t know what is.

And of course…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkstGDNXWEM#t=0m24s[/youtube]

Something Doug and I talked about on ChompTalk last Sunday, along with Mark Purdy, is the idea that Doug Wilson may be let go, as his vision for the Sharks winning a Cup didn’t exactly pan out.  Could it be that Greg Jamison wants to see a new strategy and philosophy for building a team?  I now think the answer is “definitely not.”

First of all, firing a GM in the Sharks’ position should only be done under one condition – you know who is going to replace him.  This isn’t a house-on-fire situation, where you gotta ditch the guy as quick as possible to stop the bleeding.  The Sharks, despite their playoff disappointments, are not bleeding.  Aside from tiny headed hockey pundits, there’s really only one marquee GM candidate, who is now off the market.  I’m talking about Steve Yzerman, who signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning today.  Yzerman, who put together the gold-medal winning Canadian team this Olympic year, has been biding his time.  Even since he retired as a player he’s been  getting trained up in various situations, and now was ready to strike and get the job he wanted.

You think it’s a coincidence he waited this long to take the Tampa job?  I think not.  Based on nothing but dizzying intellect and baseless speculation, Doug and I are betting that Stevie Y took the Sharks’ temperature yesterday, after they were eliminated:

Stevie Y: So, hmm… them Hawks are real bastards huh?
Greg Jamison: You got that right.
Stevie Y: I played on Detroit for a quadrillion years; I’ve eaten the Hawks’ lunch so many times I sh!% deep dish pizza.  Any, uh, openings I should know about?
Greg Jamison:  Man, that’s a good line!  I wish I’d thought of it.  But I think we’re going to stick with Wilson.  Have fun with Ty Wishart.
Stevie Y:  Who???

*AND, SCENE*

Unless there’s some below-the-radar magician, Doug Wilson is here to stay.  We’re already dreaming up scenarios and plans for the Sharks to execute, and I’m sure DW is doing the same.  He has shown the ability to modify the plan if it’s not working, plus the not-to-be-overlooked ability to fleece other GMs in trades.  The conjecture season is now in full swing, and we’ll be filling the blogophere (and internet airwaves, such as they are) with enough of that to choke the proverbial horse.  Stay tuned.  We’re not going anywhere.