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Sharks busy but not with free- agents

July 5, 2013, 9:15 PM ET [21 Comments]
Cam Gore
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The San Jose Sharks were busy on the first day of free agency, but all of the moves that were made were in-house.

The Logan Couture contract extension became official. The extension is for five years and according to capgeek.com it is for 6 million per.

GM Wilson also signed Tyler Kennedy to a two year contract worth 2.3 again as capgeek.com the source.

Kennedy was acquired on draft day for a second round pick. He brings a winning pedigree after playing in 372 NHL games all with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kennedy was used sparingly in Pittsburgh, but could find his way up to the first line in San Jose with Joe Thornton and Brent Burns now that T.J Galiardi has been traded to the Calgary Flames for a 4th round pick in the 2015 draft.

Scott Hannan was also re-signed to a one year contract. Hannan was acquired at the trade deadline for a sixth round pick and showed that he still has some hockey left after playing in 941 career NHL games. Hannon was originally drafted by the Sharks in the first round of the 1997 draft (23rd) in the first round.

Hannon will provide some depth at the position and will also keep the pressure on youngsters like Jason Demers and Matt Tennyson to continue their development.

Demers has been a project for a few years that should benefit from Hannon’s experience. He still hasn’t been able to find enough consistency in his game to keep himself in the line-up; that and injuries have prevented the puck handling defenseman from playing more. He has shown good patience and poise with the puck and often is caught trying to do too much which affects his decision making.

On the opening day of free-agency the Sharks former back-up goalie Thomas Greiss signed a one year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes which means GM Wilson needs to fill the back-up role in San Jose which could very well come from within.

Alex Stalock has showed signs over the past few seasons that he is ready to make a move to the NHL. He isn’t ready for a starter’s role but may prove to be a worthy second choice.

It is no secret that in San Jose starter Antti Niemi likes to, and does play the majority of the games. He has for the most part proven to be durable with the workload and he is coming off of his most efficient season date earning a nomination for the Vezina trophy.

The Sharks weren’t expected to make any waves in free agency as most of the team is intact from last year and with Raffi Torres in the line-up the results of a second round loss to the LA Kings may have been different.

Kennedy for Galiardi is certainly an upgrade and with the team’s first round pick from 2012 Tomas Hertl ready to contribute the Sharks look better going into the 2013/14 season than they did finishing the 2012/13 campaign.

The roster only has 21 players signed and needs 23, but with only $268,333 left in cap space something will have to give. Scott Gomez and Tim Kennedy are still unsigned and Gomez is the only one who could be missed if the team doesn’t find room for him.

He added depth at the center position while helping the second power play unit. Gomez isn’t known for a big shot but he was efficient at entering the zone getting set up.

Pure speculation but the Alaskan native shouldn’t be looking for too much money as Montreal is still filling his pockets from his buyout. It could be argued that Gomez is worthy of more than the $700,000 he made last year, however he is a good fit in San Jose and should keep in mind that money isn’t everything when choosing a team.

There have been many examples of players leaving for the money and things not working out. Ilya Bryzgalov is the most recent example of that. He is a goalie who excelled in Phoenix under the system they played and should have never left for the big payday in Philadelphia.

This is from a hockey perspective of course, with that costly mistake made by Philly GM Paul Holmgren the Russian’s grandkids should never have to work a day in their lives.

GM Wilson has never been a fan of building a team through free agency and he isn’t the only one who thinks that way. In many cases free agents get overpaid, over extended in length of contract, and often come with a no-trade clause which the Sharks already have enough of on their roster.

Whether you are a fan of the nucleus going forward or not it is what the Sharks have and mixing things up aren’t always the answer. The major players in San Jose have no trade clauses and it would be tough getting fair value in return for them, especially at their age.

In a perfect world every GM would make changes to their team, alas we don’t live in a perfect world and Doug Wilson has to work with what he’s got, which is an aging core and a depleted farm system with a lack of depth and talent in the system. All things considered he is keeping the Sharks a competitive team who are in the mix year in and year out.

The Sharks are putting on the inaugural prospects summer scrimmage July 11th at Sharks ice in San Jose. This should be a must see for Sharks fans who want to see the future stars of the organization before they reach their prime. Names like Tomas Hertl, Mirco Mueller as well as Matt Tennyson will be competing.

Keep your sticks on the ice
Cam Gore
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