Daniil Tarasov might be on his way to the KHL.
As per @GazetaBOsport #SJSharks RFA Daniil Tarasov is in talks with Moscow #Dynamo of the #KHL
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) July 16, 2015The 24 year old Tarasov got a brief look last year, playing in five games (36 5v5 TOI), but hasn’t really found himself in the San Jose Sharks plans for the present or future since he was signed undrafted in 2013 after spending the previous season under an AHL contract with Worcester.
If he does jump ship it’s not really of a great loss to the Sharks as it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be getting another contract of his liking with San Jose – or the opportunity to even play in the NHL with the current Sharks makeup.
Tarasov for me was a player I would have liked to have seen more of at the NHL level last year, but John Scott was apparently more valuable. I digress.
Contract Flexibility
The Sharks seemingly have their roster set for 2015-2016 and sit with only 42 contracts on the books according to GeneralFanager.com.
That means nothing for the big club at the moment given their salary cap situation, but it does allow them to get out and scour the earth for unsigned talent. San Jose could be one of the big players in the undrafted free agent market this year as a result of their freedom to sign some two-way NHL deals – not unlike what they’ve done with Tarasov and Jevpalovs.
There’s talent out there, but it’s not going to find itself and the Sharks have the room to take some chances – and they should take it.
The Marleau/Nash Talk
Let’s talk about Ek’s Sharks rumor.
First I want to say that if Jeff Gorton’s first move as GM of the New York Rangers is to trade Rick Nash for Patrick Marleau+, then he’s absolutely insane.
On the Sharks side of things, if such a deal were to exist and didn’t include Timo Meier or Jeremy Roy then they should be all over it. It’s win now mode and Rick Nash would help that cause better than Patrick Marleau could at this stage of his career. Marleau will forever be remembered as a Shark, but how do you pass on that opportunity if it came up?
The real question, though, is why on earth would Marleau waive his NTC? Is New York really that appealing? The weather sucks, they aren’t a Cup favorite if they're losing a 40 goal scorer and Marleau only has a few years left on his career. Why would he want to uproot his family to travel to the opposite side of the country to be cold, and still lose in the playoffs? Doesn’t make any sense to me.
I’m going to say this doesn’t happen, but at least it’s something to talk about in mid-July.
Thanks for reading.