Devin Setoguchi was drafted in the first round 8th overall in the 2005 entry draft by the Sharks and after four years and 315 games, including playoffs he finds himself in the position of being a pending Restricted Free Agent (RFA) July 1st.
Prior to the 2010/11 season GM Doug Wilson signed Setoguchi to a one year 1.8 million dollar contract. He is currently twenty-four years of age and won’t become an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) for two more years. I believe that the Sharks were hoping that the Taber Alberta native would have a breakout season and force the hand of the organization to sign him to a long term contract. However, after playing in seventy-two regular season and eighteen playoff games this year Setoguchi didn’t blow anybody out of the water with his performance.
First off he played alongside one of the best passers in the league in Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau for most of the year. He saw his fair share of power play time and wasn’t known to be the defensive conscience of the line. His numbers for the regular season are as follows 22-19-41 but was a minus-2. Seto (as his teammates call him) playoff numbers in eighteen games were 7-3-10 and a glaring minus -7. He is known as a streaky scorer, but the long droughts can be tumultuous.
Setoguchi has a great upside. He is a great team mate and fits in the Sharks dressing room, he is very patient and makes himself available to the press after games (and answers questions with some thought instead of clichés), and he works hard in the off-season and has become a crowd favorite for his office participation in the community.
So the question is should the Sharks move this young talent while he still has an upside and some trading power or do they wait it out hoping he is yet to tap into his full potential.
Nights when he is on Setoguchi is using his speed to create scoring chances and throws his weight around pretty well. He has a rocket of a shot and fire the one-timer with the best in the league. The problem for the RFA is has he had enough of those performances to justify another contract from the Sharks. If they do go forward with him is it for a long term or do they give him another one year shot to show he can be more consistent in the NHL, or do they try to move him for a defenseman or another scoring forward.
Another question that comes to the forefront if he is moved is who then fills the spot on the top line with Thornton and Marleau. You have to figure that almost anybody that plays with Big Joe and Patty can register forty-one points. Should the strategy for the Sharks be to add a defensive minded forward with those two so that they can go all out on the offensive side of the puck.
Do the Sharks have someone internally they would put up front with the top line or that someone they would inquire through trade or free agency, or the draft. This is what makes the Setoguchi factor so interesting.
It is unlikely that any player from the draft would be able to fill that void especially from where the Sharks first draft choice is, unless they somehow moved up to the top eight which is said to be the cream of this year’s crop.
In Setoguchi’s first full season with San Jose he played with Thornton and scored a career high thirty-one goals and sixty-five points. Since then he hasn’t come close to those numbers. He hasn’t always played on the top line with Joe Thornton, but his line mates that he did play with were no slouches. Joe Pavelski and Ryan Clowe gave Seto plenty of opportunities to put up good numbers.
The Sharks didn’t rush out of the gate last summer to sign Setoguchi to a contract and I suspect they will do the same this off-season. Wait and see how the voids are filled through free agency and if there is a glaring hole in the line-up Seto may find himself on the way out. He has been rumored to be trade bait in the past but this club is very good at keeping potential trades to themselves so we don’t know if that is just here say or if there is some truth behind to it.
Either way it is important that they get value for him one way or another. If the Sharks are unable to sign a talented physical free agent D-man then look for them to trade Setoguchi for one. If he stays with team teal then they will need a more consistent season from him especially if he plays on the top line again.
Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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