Some Funny Things About Ehrhoff
July 9th, 2008, 7:47 pm
Just a few quick hits to touch on the pros and cons of the Ehrhoff deal today. Feel free to add your own at the end. 3.1M is a lot of scratch, but I would rather have Das Hoff than several of the UFA options that were available this offseason.
CONS
It will please you Shark fans to know that we’re not crazy, Ehrhoff was 6th in the NHL amongst defensemen in missed shots with 86. Who misses the net more than Das Hoff? Phaneuf, Wideman, Mike Green, Gonchar and Lidstrom. Nice company to be in…except when you notice that all those boys scored double digit goals last year and Ehrhoff scored one. DOH! That mean Ehrhoff took a total of 183 shots last season, missed the net completely on 86 of them and put one past Patrick Lalime…I think Mike could score on Patrick Lalime…Big Time CON.
PROS
Ehrhoff was 2nd on the team in ice time per game last season with 21:43, only behind “Oprah” Campbell. That speaks for something towards his value, right? He is only 26 years old and has become a much more physical player over the years. Check this surprising stat out.
2006-07 82 games 39 hits 50 blocked shots in 18:34 per game
2007-08 77 games 92 hits 108 blocked shots in 21:43 per game
Has he improved his game and worked to become a more physical, repsonsible stay at home d-man? Yes. Big improvement. PRO.
While I’m still surprised at the price and that DW wasn’t able to get him for under 3M in total cap hit, keeping Ehrhoff was a necessary move toward maintaining that balance of veterans and youth. I am hoping that he will continue to transform his game from go-for-broke, shoot like a Helen Keller at a gun range blueliner to more of a Craig Rivet character player. We shall see which version McLellan will be intersted in.
Check out the latest podcast to hear how we both were totally wrong about Ehrhoff and…it appear Marcel Goc – thanks to the heads up from SoCalSharksGirl, looks like Goc signed for 750k.
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Thanks for the nod!
And I can’t think of anything off hand on the cons side, but give me a while and I’m sure i can come up with something. I was impressed by his work ethic though, battling through the same injury that took Crosby out for 8 weeks. If he was willing to sacrifice himself for the team then, then I can only expect him to continue it later on. Hopefully, having Blake there to teach him how to get shots through from the point will improve his offensive game as well.
I don’t think the money is bad compared to what else is out there as far as signings this summer I think Ehroff is not only a key to winning now but he is a key to the long term success of the sharks. 3 Mil might seem like a hit now but if he continues to improve at a decent rate then it might end up being a bargin going forward. One can hope anyway.
I don’t know how it’s a PRO that Ehrhoff was 2nd on the team in ice time when he “shoots like Helen Keller at a gun range” and missed the net completely on 86 of his shots.
Unfortunately, Ehrhoff’s new contract is a “sign” of the times. If Jeff Finger can get $14 mil for 4 years, then I suppose the money Wilson’s investing in Ehrhoff is basically market value. Especially when you consider that Ehrhoff is still 26 years old and he had a couple of slightly promising seasons before ’07-’08.
I think what soured me on Ehrhoff, in addition to his incompetence on shooting the puck this past year, was Game 3 of the playoffs against the Stars. You never want to pin a loss on one guy, but Ehrhoff made a strong case for being the goat.
First, it was taking down Hagman and giving the Stars a penalty shot that Nabby fortunately stopped. Then, with the Stars already on the power play in the 3rd period, Ehrhoff hooked Morrow to give them a two-man advantage. Zubov scored to tie the game, the Sharks lost momentum, and eventually lost the game to go down 3-0 in the series.
Hopefully, with the additions of Boyle and Blake, Ehrhoff will see less ice time and play within himself so he’s more disciplined. It’s encouraging that Ehrhoff became more physical. I think his offensive struggles were largely due to him trying to do too much. Before Campbell arrived, there was no other defenseman capable of providing any offense.
Is $3 mil a year too much to pay for Ehrhoff? Considering his age, promise and gutsiness, I think it’s a worthwhile risk for Wilson to take.
With the signing of Goc (and assuming things with Clowe will be done) the Sharks now have a full starting roster. They need to find a few names for the press box to accompany McLaren, unless he get traded. I hope they can swing something to add another scoring threat but I don’t think DW has enough left he’s willing to trade away. So I think what you see now is next year’s Sharks.
(ps. Eklund has a rumor up about marleau again, but i think it’s bunk)
Funny how every Ek rumor involves either the Sharks, Habs, or Leafs. I think Ek knows which side his bread is buttered on.
It wouldn’t be a week without Eklund writing something with the words “Montreal” and “Marleau”. Whatever. Total bull#$%*.
Can anyone see Marleau actually waiving his no-trade? Marleau played his best hockey after the deadline because his name was off the block I don’t see why he’d give up that peice of mind now that its in his control. I think the time to move Marleau if you were gonna do it was before July 1st. I’m sure someone would have bitten on Marleau if he was really up for grabs and the fact that he didn’t get moved tells me that he is not going anywhere. I’m no expert but in my mind I think its garbage.
I think Marleau was available and no one made an offer that DW liked. When you see what the most comparable player on the market, Jokinen, fetched for Florida – Phoenix’s 4th (Ballard) and 5th (Boynton) d-men who played on the kill but not the PP and a 2nd round pick, it was clear that the market was pretty down.
Would anyone have been happy if Marleau was traded to Montreal for Frances Bouillon and Mark Streit?
This isn’t really related to Erhoff or Goc, but any updated news on Clowe? This post makes it sound like the negotiations aren’t going as smoothly as they originally sounded: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=534977
That is the latest news I can find, bcyde. The fact that Bernier got 2.5M for one year is a terrible bench mark, and I doubt Doug Wilson will pay it.
The longer it goes, the more curious it is….let’s hope Clowe hasn’t gone for a money grab here.
I really think that if Clowe goes for a money grab we let him go, pick up another teams draft picks in an offer sheet. I like Clowe but at the same time I’d hate to see them match an offer sheet and then move Mich or Cheech to compensate. I really hope he is back but only at the right price.
The problem with letting Clowe go is that we’d be left with nobody willing to stand in front of the net and take the punishment to redirect the puck. That’s what it takes to win in the playoffs. And Clowe is our only tough, gritty winger with some offensive skill.