The Wallin deal was a done deal, then dead.  And now, after we got word this morning the deal for Wallin is back on, we get word just now that the deal is already complete.  Sharks get Wallin and a 2010 5th round pick in exchange for the 2nd round pick we got from Buffalo in the Craig Rivet deal.  We’ve covered some stuff about Wallin in the posts below, so I invite you to read them.  But my main reaction is this- meh.  I’ve heard some say that Wallin is a steady defensemen, and I’ve heard some rumors that say the management (and fans) in Carolina couldn’t wait to get rid of him.  Given Carolina is in the cellar right now, that doesn’t sound like a good thing.  Also given he played for Carolina, that means we haven’t seen much of Wallin, and only those with a rehab-worthy Center Ice habit would be able to speak about his play this year intelligently.

For me, that means I’m reserving judgment on this deal for at least five games.  Just to recap a quick thing I said in the recent podcast- if the Sharks are trying to replace Boyle and Vlasic with trades, that will be a fruitless effort.  Pointless.  The Sharks cannot go deep in the playoffs with those guys injured.  However, as we’ve said ad nauseum all year, the defense is the weak link on the team.  Even though we’ve advocated getting a #2 or #3 guy, this deal may work out well.  It’s possible Wallin may be a vast improvement to the #5 spot, and it’s also possible that the Sharks aren’t done making trades.  What do you think?

I'm gonna fake it to San Jose and go long on the no trade clause. Hike!

Oops. We just got duped, y’all.

Wait – I take it back. I don’t think we duped, I think there was a deal in the works and someone opened their big mouth (a source within the Sharks, Canes or Wallin’s agent) before Doug Wilson could finish a critical part of the deal – extending Nic Wallin. While none of this makes a ton of sense on the surface and raises more questions than answers, one thing is clear: Doug Wilson is shopping and looking to improve the defense in some way. Does this mean Wallin was his one and only fix up to the deadline? Was Wallin being acquired to replace Huskins, who would then be part of a 2nd deal to get a draft pick or another player? Is Doug Wilson hopefully thinking bigger and contemplating using his best assets to land a player who could make a bigger impact on this team’s Stanley Cup fortunes than a 3rd pairing defensemen like Wallin? I think we all hope so.

I don’t want to speak for Mike, but I’m pretty sure he’s happy this didn’t go through and from what I can gather from other Sharks blogs, they concur. So if you’re shopping Dougie Wilson and you’re reading this at the Nashville airport, I hope your trade deadline adventure yields what the Sharks need: an impact d-man. Most of the teams we play on this trip have a potential trade target on their roster: Fedor Tyutin in Columbus, Dan Hamhuis in Nashville, Francois Beauchemin in Toronto and the previously mentioned Barret Jackman in St. Louis last night. We’ll see if Dougie can wine and dine someone in the next week because it seems pretty clear to me, there might be more impact moves made before next Sunday’s roster freeze than at the actual trade deadline in early March.

If I were Seto, Clowe, Huskins or Mitchell – I might have one bag half packed…

Like the great Ray Charles, I am writing this post blind. We have probably all read the reports of the Sharks swinging a deal for Carolina defenseman, Niclas Wallin, by this point. Right now, we have no clue what we gave up – so as of 5pm pacific time, I’m going to take a wild stab, cause I’m just that kinda guy. Who’s with me?

Here’s my best guess. Vlasic is hurt enough that he is going to miss this entire road trip and Doug Wilson threw up after watching Joslin and Leach last night, so he had to make a move and make it now. He knew Wallin could be had, and had for cheap, so he called Big Jim Rutherford in Carolina and fleshed out a deal they had already likely discussed a few times. The catch is that the Sharks don’t have the cap room to absorb Wallin’s 1.7M deal (he is a UFA at the end of the season) so Vlasic’s injury now frees up 3M of that room if he’s placed on Long Term IR until after the Olympics.

Everybody with me so far?

So the Sharks get Wallin and I’m gonna guess that…well….hmmm….they traded Mike Moore – how about that? They gave up an AHL d-man to get the job done. Could be Joslin, but after last night, I’m not sure why they’d want him. The Sharks get a serviceable 3rd pairing d-man who hits people (127 hits) and can block shots. Is he the sexy #2 we want for Boyle. No. Is he better than Leach and Joslin…and maybe even Huskins? Yes.

Has he won a Stanley Cup? Yes.

Am I totally way off base here? Probably. We’ll see.

7PM: STILL NO WORD. RUMOR HAS IT THE TRADE WILL BE ANNOUNCED AFTER THE HURRICANES/FLAMES GAME TONIGHT. MIKE MOORE PLAYED FOR WORCESTER IN THEIR 8-4 WIN OVER SPRINGFIELD, SO HE LIKELY ISN’T IN THE DEAL. I DIDN’T NOTICE ANY MAJOR PROSPECTS OUT OF THAT GAME EXCEPT FOR THE GUYS WHO WERE TRAVELING (JOSLIN, MCGINN) AND THE INJURED (COUTURE). WE’LL SEE….

Listen to the new podcast below!

After things have been going so well for the Sharks, they lose two of their top four defensemen, and lose in a disappointing fashion to both Chicago and Detroit.  The Dudes talk about what it all means, break down the blockbuster trades in the NHL of the past week, and still leave enough time for listener email.  Also, make sure to weigh in on the new poll question after you listen.

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