Elliotte Friedman's 30 thoughts came out this morning and he mentioned the Sharks in two of them, so here are my thoughts on his thoughts.
11. It looks like there will be a changing of the guard in goal for the Sharks.Antti Niemi’s name is already out there, as it appears unlikely San Jose will re-sign him. Alex Stalock hasn’t grabbed the job, and Troy Grosenick is out of the lineup in AHL Worcester. That has led to all sorts of speculation GM Doug Wilson is interested in a goalie (with term) to stabilize the position. (He would not comment.)
A changing of the guard should have been assumed long before this point in the season. Niemi hasn't been good all year. Sure, he has his good days, but who doesn't?
The interesting part of this is the “speculation GM Doug Wilson is interested in a goalie with term… part. Who is this goalie? Let’s speculate on the speculation.
Is it Ryan Miller? He has two more years at $6M per. Cam Ward? He has another year at $6.3M. Miller is hurt, so he’s not really going to help this year – but maybe Wilson doesn’t really care about this year. The Sharks were rumored to be interested in Miller when he hit the market already, so it wouldn't come as a shock. The Canucks have been drooling over Markstrom lately – after almost giving him away for nothing earlier this year – and have publicly preached their love for Lack since the Miller injury as well.
I’ll be honest, I don’t think Ryan Miller is as good as his reputation. He had a high value when he was in Buffalo because everyone assumed Buffalo was dragging him down. Then he went to St. Louis and failed. Then he went to the Canucks and hasn't done much to impress there, either. I certainly wouldn't want to waste $6M of cap space on a goaltender who is statistically almost identical to Antti Niemi.
Since the start of 2013-2014 (min 4500 TOI) Miller has the 3rd worst 5v5 save percentage in the league with 91.91%. The only goalies worse than him? Antti Niemi (91.90%) and Mike Smith (91.48).
If that’s Wilson’s idea of improving in goal he’s more confused than I thought.
I had to go down to a minimum of 3100 TOI to find Cam Ward over the same timeframe used for Miller thanks to injuries. The result? Ward was dead last in 5v5 save percentage with 91.30% and he’s $300K more than Miller on the cap.
Both of those goaltenders are a waste of time for the Sharks. I don’t really care about term, that’s what negotiations are for. The Sharks should be looking to scoop a young stud from someone’s system – not go for broke over goalies that aren't worth a bag of pucks. Of course, I'm just speculating, but those two goalies would seem like the most available to me.
12. Wilson’s said several times he won’t mortgage the future, but will he add scoring to push for the playoffs?The Sharks average 2.77 goals per game, which at 16th in the NHL, doesn't look terrible. But, if you really examine it, their bottom six forwards have had severe scoring droughts. What really hurts is Tomas Hertl has one goal in his last 17 games and Matt Nieto one in his last 26.
The Sharks have cap room and like their centre depth with Chris Tierney looking like he’ll be a player. If he doesn't want to give up futures, can Wilson get help?
To answer your question, Elliotte, no, he can’t get help if he doesn't want to give up futures.
The list of players the Sharks would trade (Sheppard, Kennedy, Desjardins, Hannan, etc.) aren’t going to bring in anyone that can help. At best they, combined, bring in two third rounders and a McDonald’s Two-Can-Dine coupon.
Scoring help for a playoff push isn't something the Sharks should do. It won’t save them. They need to focus on filling holes for next season and if they make the playoffs in the process, so be it. They missed out on a beauty in Bergenheim yesterday, because that 3rd rounder in next year’s (2016) draft was apparently too steep.
The struggles of Hertl and Nieto are well documented, but I’ll chalk it up to sophomore slumps for both of them. They've played good hockey and have bounced around the lineup all year. When the organization has some stability next year so will they.
Any deals the Sharks make should be to improve the team void from the idea of pushing for the playoffs. You can still make hockey deals near the deadline, just look at Montreal and Anaheim yesterday. Drawing Nashville or St. Louis in the first round is a death sentence. Move to make the team better, yes, but not with the sole notion of ensuring you get that death sentence.
Thanks for reading.
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