Elliotte Friedman tossed up his final thoughts for the summer, and he had a few that included the San Jose Sharks. Here are my thoughts on his thoughts.
“(7-partial) Aside from the Oshie trade, there was a rumour at the draft St. Louis was making a run at San Jose’s ninth overall pick. I can’t tell you what was involved, because I don’t know. But I do believe any possibility of such a trade ended when Timo Meier was still on the board. That’s the guy the Sharks wanted. If he was gone, maybe we’d have seen something.… (Friedman’s 30(+) Thoughts)
It seems as though San Jose got exactly what they wanted at the draft, though I find it hard to believe that Zach Weresnki or Ivan Provorov wasn’t their “guy… in the beginning. To imagine a winger – without even discussing it was a winger that the entire world had projected lower than 9th – was the #1 target for the San Jose Sharks would be depressing.
The Sharks draft strategy is, well, different. They march to the beat of their own drum and it’s hard to really say it’s worked out when they’ve nothing to show for it in the team trophy department. Their best player is – and has been since the trade – Joe Thornton. Drafting and watching a bunch of third liners play more games than most other teams draft picks doesn’t make me drool over anything. I want impact players. Show me the impact players that are going to carry a team.
I like Timo Meier; I think he’s going to be a very good player from what I’ve read and watched, but I will live and die by my preference of Mathew Barzal, and I’m more than fine with that – just as I’m more than fine with Meier proving me wrong.
That being said, I would love to know what the conversations were with St. Louis - because they have pieces that would have made San Jose better in the now.
“24. Edmonton had to fight off a lot of competition for Andrej Sekera. Colorado, Detroit and San Jose all went hard for him. The Oilers were aggressive with the sixth year, which made the difference.… (Elliotte Friedman)
It’s nice to see that they were going after the younger defender in Andrej Sekera, but disappointing that they didn’t close the deal. I think Paul Martin is going to be solid for the Sharks this year, and more than likely next year, but let’s be honest about his age. At 37, 38, can we really expect him to be an impact player in the top four? Or can we just expect him to be an overpaid third pairing defender that we’d rather be rid of?
I’m leaning towards the latter.
The Martin signing will be great if the Sharks front office can bring in additional help to really give this team a chance to contend for the Stanley Cup. If they don’t, well, it’s just going to be another frustrating few years that ends with a diminished offense and defense.
As good as Meier and Goldobin may become, the Sharks are going to need people to step up significantly when Thornton and Marleau are gone. We all saw the result of Marleau’s decline – no playoffs. Was that the only reason San Jose missed the dance? Of course not, but to say it wasn’t a factor would be pure ignorance to his impact on this franchise.
Imagine what happens when Joe Thornton leaves? Dear god.
The bottom line, back on topic, is that Andrej Sekera signed for $650K more than Paul Martin, for an additional two years. Sekera will be 35 at the end of his deal, Martin will be 38. Who has the better chance to play effectively throughout the entirety of his deal?
Thanks for reading.