Still another week of no movement, and the dudes are starting to get concerned.  This week the various rumors are analyzed, and the start of a new segment.  The season is approaching fast.

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I thought everything remotely interesting about the Dany Heatley affair has already been written.  But I was wrong.  Tom Benjamin is one of the best hockey bloggers, and his latest about Heatley is certainly an interesting take on things.   Important points to notice about this whole deal.

1. Heatley asked for a trade in May, not June when the story came out.
2. Heatley did not leak that request to the media- the Senators did.
3. Once Heatley is painted as a whiner and malcontent, the potential deal for Cogliano, Smid, and Penner looks better than it really should.

Does this change your thinking about whether the Sharks should get Heatley?  To me, it does a little bit.  The fact that a player couldn’t get along with a coach is hardly a new phenomenon.  He’s a star, he feels entitled, so he wants to play somewhere else.  I maintain my point about any Heatley deal being a big risk for the Sharks, even if he’s not a ‘locker room cancer’- it’s a lot of money and a lot of years.  All in all, Doug’s point still holds- the priority should be improving the third and fourth lines, not shuffling players around the first two.

Now, even more drama about Heatley- I see this headline, but no article: “A proposed three-team trade that would have sent Ottawa’s Dany Heatley to San Jose fell through when Sharks captain Patrick Marleau refused to waive his no-trade clause.”  Hmm, now after reading Tom’s post, I wonder where that information came from?

Classic Doug Wilson.

Instead of signing a retread veteran off the free agent pile, Doug Wilson has dipped into the college free agent pool and signed the former 7th round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes, Benn Ferriero to a two year, $1.27M deal worth $635k a season.

Who the hell is Benn Ferriero? Well, I just spent the last few moments trying to figure it out myself. Here is the limited amount of info that I know.

– In his four year college career, Ferriero totaled 165 games, 64 goals, 75 assists and 194 PIM’s.
– He scored the game winning goal vs. Notre Dame in the Frozen Four consolation game.
– He never signed with Phoenix in 2006, making him a UFA this summer.
– HockeyFuture.com describes Ferriero as “a tenacious, fiercly competitive forward who plays equally well at both ends of the ice. He has shown the willingness to go to and take punishment in front of the net to create scoring opportunities.”

The Sharks past success with college forwards who were drafted jumping in and making an impact should be noted. Joe Pavelski played 16 games in the AHL before becoming a Sharks regular in 2006. Torrey Mitchell played 11 games for Worcester in 2006-07 before shocking everyone and claiming a roster spot in 2007. So, keep an eye on the new guy , he could be one to watch at the Sharks Rookie Camp in two weeks.

It’s official. The Sharks players that Doug Wilson cut ties with in the offseason are not worth much on the open market. Minus Travis Moen, who never proved why he would be worth $1.5M in Teal by cowering to his former-mates in the first round vs. the Ducks, Grier and Goc have both signed underwhelming deals. According to various reports, Marcel Goc signed a $550k two way contract with the Nashville Predators yesterday, meaning that if he sticks with the Preds, he makes the full amount and if he gets send to the AHL, he makes 105k and eats at Sonic every night. I heard they make a killer schnitzel.

So clearly in the eyes of other NHL GM’s Marcel Goc is the equal of a player like Jed Ortmeyer, who we signed off the Preds scrap-heap earlier this summer. Both players have over 200 NHL games under their belt and yet haven’t distinguished themselves as regular contributors. So to anyone who pined for Marcel to stick around, clearly he didn’t carry much value around the league – and it just illustrates how poor the Sharks 3rd and 4th line was last season. DW cut them and no one cares. I don’t see a long line of GM’s to sign Plihal or Frankenstein either.

I’m sticking to my guns that the most important upgrade for the Sharks needs to be on the 3rd and 4th line. Adding Heatley for Marleau is a lateral move in my opinion. I would rather see the Sharks try and match up with a team in need of a puck-moving d-man and upgrade their third line. So, I’m throwing something on the table that we usually save for the podcast – The Crazy Trade segment. Check this out.

To Dallas: Christian Ehrhoff
To San Jose: Steve Ott

There are many reasons why the Sharks and Stars might be reluctant to make this deal, but really it makes sense for both clubs. If the Stars are moving in a different direction and IF Crawford wants to rid himself of Ott’s antics before he is due a decent pay-raise, he is making $1.4M this season and will be a RFA next year after having a 46 points season last year. Ott is exactly the kind of player the Sharks could use, he is one of the best agitator’s in the league and he can be productive on the PP and the PK. Plus – he saves the Sharks $1.7M this season, allowing them to fit another three players under the cap. So it’s really a four for one, Ehrhoff for Ott (1.4), and the new contracts of Mitchell (guessing 800k) and Staubitz (guessing 550k) plus an extra player in Joslin (550k).

Would you do it or is it too crazy on either side?

The big news is that Patty no longer has the C, and no one has an A either- the Sharks are officially letterless.  We break all that down and more in the latest podcast.  Lots of emails to get to as well- thanks for writing in.

One thing I was thinking about after we recorded the podcast last night, is this could be a continuation of the changes that Todd McLellan brings as coach.  It would be a bit unseemly to come in, get rid of some guys (like Cheech, who we are still convinced with not be with this team in October) and pull the captaincy out from under a player that’s been with the franchise since 1997.  The first round loss certainly provides an ample excuse to stir the pot in any way management wishes, but I also wonder if this is also a move to align the team more to TMs philosophy.

In the no-thanks department, Hockey News has just put out their standings predictions for 2009-2010, and the Sharks are listed as #1 in the West again.  I know a mature team has to be able to handle the pressure, but it’d be nice for Chicago or Detroit to be the team to beat.  Playoff success is the only thing that matters here, and the fewer things I read about the Sharks getting 115+ points again, the better.  I just want them healthy and playing well in March and April, I couldn’t care less about November and December.

There are plenty of quibbles I have with these rankings, so stay tuned- we will get to our predictions very soon.

Some Sharks news finally emerged this week- Patrick Marleau is no longer the captain of the Sharks.  The listeners have questions about this and many other issues, so the Dudes spend the time hashing it all out.

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Some people have visions of the end of the world. Others see dead relatives and pass along comforting words from the afterlife. Me, I can predict the contract length of a Sharks prospect. A worthless talent you say? True – but when you got it, flaunt it. On this weeks podcast, we talked about the remaining Sharks RFA’s that are unsigned (Mitchell, Staubitz and Greiss) and I thought Doug Wilson might try and sign Greiss for two years, possibly setting himself up to have a reasonably priced starting netminder in 2010-11. Like Mike has said many a time, in order for a team to be successful, you have to have the right mix of high priced stars, role players, and young talent performing above their current salary level. If the Sharks struggle and Greiss is in the mix to be the starter in 2010-11, he could fit into that third category instead of DW overpaying for a veteran stop-gap. On the other hand, the deal is also good if Nabby wins a Vezina, the Sharks win a Cup and he signs a three year, 18M extension – the Sharks still have their back-up. Good stuff.

His entry level contract carried a .73M cap hit. I’m guessing his new deal is two years/1.8M for Greiss, with a .9M cap hit. As my grandpa would have said, a solid investment in your future.

As for Henrik Karlsson, the free agent Swedish goalie the Sharks signed today, no one seems to know much about him. Our friends at Sharkspage have reported that Karlsson will continue to play in Sweden this coming season, so it’s not like he’s competing with Greiss – this is just a “what if” signing for the future and another great trade chip. The Sharks are so stacked at goalie with Stalock, Greiss, Sexsmith, Sateri and now Karlsson – always been a calling card of this organization.

In an odd turn of events this morning, CapGeek.com is listing Greiss’ deal as two years/1.1M, so he is actually making 200k less than his entry level deal. Even stranger is that Karlsson is on a one year, 1.3M deal with $425k in additional potential bonuses….Could Karlsson be the actual back-up for Nabby? It is a two-way deal, so my understanding is he wouldn’t make the full 1.3M in Worcester, only if he is on the big club.

Mike Grier has taken his off angle shot back to the East coast. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Grier. He’s heading back to the fun and sun of beautiful Buffalo, NY – which is an oxymoron of sorts. Speaking of morons, Darcy Regier appears to have given Grier a one year, 1.2M contract.

Um, okay.

He’ll be a welcome addition to a non-playoff team that has been kept together for a second straight offseason. Darcy, what are you doin’ brother? How about mixing it up a little bit – all he’s done was sign Steve Montador to replace his top blueliner Spacek, who bolted for big dollars in Montreal. I understand that Doug Wilson might take some heat if he keeps most of this roster together after their huge postseason tumble, but Regier is being stubborn with a team that’s blown chunks for a second season in a row. At least Wilson has that President’s Trophy to lean on.

Still no trades or signings in Sharksland, so the dudes get creative.  Some other peripheral news happened around the world of hockey, and several listeners pitched in again to help Mike and Doug out.

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It’s summer, it’s sports, let’s argue about some stuff.

1.  Styles and the Hall.  I know Doug said on the DOH Facebook page that JR is a Hall of Famer, and I just sort of assumed that was true, but then I read Sean Leahy’s post on Puck Daddy called “Is Jeremy Roenick a Hall of Famer?  Then So Is Pierre Turgeon“.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t generally regard Pierre Turgeon as a Hall of Fame candidate, but his career numbers compare pretty favorably with JR’s.  So do Doug Gilmor’s and Adam Oates’, and they’re not in the Hall either.

It’s a bit eye-opening for me.  I guess it comes down to some big questions- is a HOF candidacy only about your NHL production as a player?  Does JR’s mouth ambassadorship merit extra consideration?  What about the fact that he’s an American, the 2nd highest scoring of all time?

After a bit of thought (but not too much), I say, let ’em all in.  If Bernie Federko is in with fewer points (and fewer games) in one of the most scoring intensive times in NHL history (the 1980’s), then it’s not time to be picky.  The NHL HOF probably is the easiest HOF of the major sports to get into.  You can’t start having a conscience about it without advocating purging some of the lesser-deserving.  Let’s not get tight-assed now by taking it out on JR.  As a wise man (Todd Bertuzzi) once said, “it is what it is.”

2.  Is Joe Thornton in the top 10 (or out of the top 50)?  I’ve been reading with interest Adam Gretz’ latest series on AOL, where he names the top 50 current NHL players in declining order.  As of now, he just named Martin Brodeur at #11, with the top 10 yet to come.  So far two Sharks are there, Boyle at #46, and Nabby at #31.  But Jumbo isn’t on the list yet.   We seen some players that several people have argued are better than Joe already named, like Getzlaf, Mike Richards, and Vincent Lecavalier.  On one hand it’s seems ludicrous that Joe wouldn’t be in a list of top 50 players in the NHL.  But by the same token, it seems odd to put Joe above some of the guys that have already been named.  It should be noted this list is not taking into account future value or contracts- it’s just who is the best right now.   I think it’s possible Joe might not make the list at all. What do you think, and which would be a greater travesty?

The rumor mill has kicked into another gear with Dany Heatley and the Sharks, and the dudes roll that into their now-weekly Crazy Trade segment.  After more listener emails, Mike and Doug do a quick breakdown of all the Eastern teams, and rate their off-season moves so far.

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