I Apologize to you Doug Wilson

I owe you an apology Doug Wilson. We traded a #1 pick and Bernier for "the missing piece". Brian Campbell became the best D-man we ever had. He was going to lead us to the promised land. Then the playoffs began, I defended Campbell thinking he was injured when he just sucked and could not stand up to the rough play of the Calgary Flames. You wanted to go back to the East to be closer to your family when in reality you took the highest offer and took your spin-o-rama to Chicago. Can't blame you for taking that contract but F-you anyway. I am thinking what do we do now. We sign an "over the hill" Rob Blake..ok fine. Then 2 days later we trade Matt Carle, Ty Wishart, a #1 pick and a #4 pick for Dan Boyle. Are you out of your mind?

5 months later the Boyle trade looks like a steal. Boyle is a better D-man than Campbell at 500k cheaper. Boyle is the "point guard" for the Sharks, always knowing where everyone else is and controlling the PP. Thank you Campbell for being greedy and leaving and thanks CHI for offering such a ridiculous contract.

San Jose Sharks vs Philadelphia Flyers photos

The Sharks 5-4 overtime win on Saturday night was an entertaining affair, with new defenseman Dan Boyle contributing to the game tying and game winning goals respectively. It was Boyle who fired 2 of the Sharks 5 shots in an earlier 5-on-3 man advantage, Boyle who split 2 Flyers and pulled up in front of a third to create the game tying goal sequence, and it was Boyle who drove the net in overtime and hammered home a hard feed from Thornton to give the Sharks a win and a 5-1 start on the season.

The Flyers are a bit of a conundrum at this point. They have some injuries on defense, and they brought in a hulking Andrew Alberts from Boston who took a number of shifts, but they had more than enough opportunities to lock down a difficult road win. Instead they opted to go eye-for-eye, check-for-check with San Jose and they got burned. The physical element to the game kicked off early in the first period when defenseman Rob Blake checked Scott Hartnell hard into the post. It was a clean play to prevent a rebound opportunity, but Downie/Staubitz and two other Flyers jumped into a scrum behind the net. Devin Setoguchi scored the game tying goal, but he also destroyed Scottie Upshall with a check in the defensive zone, and crumpled Hartnell with a check near the penalty box late in the third. Hartnell took offense, and came after Setoguchi with a stick high to the head that connected about 3 feet from where I was sitting.

What was noticeable was the speed at which he came in on the play, and the fact that the puck had already been played around the boards. Too many bodies between the ref and the hit, or they were focusing on another part of the ice are the only reasons I can think of for that non-call. There was also a NHL statistican error, as one of the players was left in the box longer that 2 minutes (+20 seconds). I was on the other side of the ice, so I do not have the details, but there was a stoppage in play so it was not a major problem. Another example of the speed of the play is the shot of Patrick Marleau checking Mike Knuble in the third photo above. A split second before that picture neither player were in the field of view, a split second after that photo both players were crumpled against the end boards. That hit happened at full speed, as Marleau prevented Knuble from driving the net to create a scoring opportunity.

In the second photo the puck looks like it is traveling into the net, or wide to the right. It actually trickled a few inches wide to the left on the play. Niitmayki was solid on the night, stopping 40 of 45 shots, but his one mistake on a harmless Joe Pavelski shot from the blueline (with the Flyers best 2 defenseman on him) resulted in an 8 foot rebound in front. Pavelski jumped on the loose puck and hammered home a goal early in the third period to spark the Sharks comeback. Niitmayki was solid before that play with spectacular stops on Thornton and Boyle, and after that play with a little over 2 minutes left when he robbed Cheechoo with a highlight reel glove save. The Sharks were 1-7 on the power play, and adjustments are needed. Several times I noted that San Jose only had one player in front of the net, and the radio broadcast noted they were setting up too far off the goaltender. Joe Thornton initiating play behind the net may become too much of a routine as coming off the half boards last year. New head coach Todd McLellan mentioned several times he wanted Thornton to drive the net with the puck, and that he also wants more players on other lines to crash the net (like Jonathan Cheechoo).

Good Start...So Far So Good

Opening night is always a fun time. It was a little subdued, no laser light show or other pre-game theatrics. Can anyone tell me where the Sharks head was? The players skating out without it was kinda weird. It was nice to see an unveiling of another division banner but that is not the banner that we want.

The "new" style of play was pretty evident. Centers were driving toward the net and players seemed to be moving all the time. Somebody must of put a picture of Ron Wilson's face outside the crease as Patrick Marleau was actually seen in front of the net screening Giguere. The power play was generating scoring chance after scoring chance. Noticably absent from the half wall, Joe Thornton played more like a power forward. Last year it seems the power play was "let's get Joe the puck and let him create." Sure it is only one game but there was a decided effort to get the puck to the point and let Rob Blake fire away. Opposing defenses will have to start respecting our point men, which they never had to before. Even if Blake's shots were off target, just the threat of him back there seemed to give the forwards extra space. Dan Boyle seemed to never leave the ice and looked like the puck mover we have always needed. Good riddance Brian Campbell.

On a lighter note and Rudy should love this one. This guy behind me was explaining to his girlfriend about all the different players. When he got to Rudy's favorite Corey Perry here is his description: "That guy is a really good player, 50 goal potential, one of the best players in the league (all which is debatable)........but he is a real PRICK. That got me laughing. This weekend is a home/home with the Kings. Rob Blake's homecoming on Sunday night. It will be interesting to see the reaction he gets.

BoC Gameday—What Scares Me About Your Team

Anaheim Ducks (t-1st in west) at San Jose Sharks (t-1st in west)
Winner of tonight’s game is on top of the west!

Ah, the beauty of a new NHL season afoot, and what better way to kick it off than with a good ol’ Battle of California (competitive version)? Yeah, I know there were some "counting" games already played in Europe, and Ducks/Sharks is the only game on tonight's schedule without some version of national coverage, but I can’t care. Because tonight is Ducks-Sharks, one of my favorite matchups since the lockout. It's a measuring-stick game, a pride game, and an awesome way to start the NHL season (assuming the Sharks have paid their electricity bill this year).

To open this set of Gamedays and this NHL season, Mike Chen and I devised a little cross-state exercise. You know Mike, of course, from Battle of California, though I heard he has some side gig too. Anyways, instead of rehashing our own previews again, we instead decided to write about the opposition this time with three answers to: "What Scares Me About Your Team", a nice outsider's perspective to start the new year.

What Scares Sleek about this year's Sharks:

1. Joe Thornton plus offensive defensemen means trouble

The last three seasons, the highest scoring San Jose blueliners have been Craig Rivet 07/08 (74 gp, 35 pts), Matt Carle 06/07 (77 gp, 42 pts), and Tom Preissing 05/06 (74 gp, 43 pts). In each case, it's a career scoring high—none of them have demonstrated tremendous scoring ability away from Jumbo Joe. The lack of a true offensive talent on the blueline has been the Sharks' Achilles Heel, their missing ingredient in a sense. Finally at the end of last year the Sharks inserted an actual offensive defenseman – Brian Campbell – and the results were stellar. In 20 gp, Campbell recorded 19 points, and while that 78-point-season pace might not have been sustainable for a full year, it still showed the potential of using a creative talent behind San Jose’s glut of forwards.

Bring in Dan Boyle, and to a lesser extent Rob Blake. Boyle is a guy who’s already registered a 63-point season and two 53-point years, so he’s shown the ability to play well with top talent in Tampa. I haven’t watched a ton of Lightning games, so I can’t say for sure, but if Jumbo Joe is able to bring out a career year out of the Sharks’ new blueline threat, San Jose threatens to be a Pacific monster this year.

2. Red Wing motivational tactics

I’ve been reading some of new coach Todd McLellan’s motivational quotes over at the Seagate Broadcaster’s Blog, and his overall message has me worried. Not so much the “I don’t just want a hockey player, I want an ingredient” bit; other than some cannibalistic overtones that message is pretty routine. But how about this McLellan gem? “At this point in the season, the words ‘Stanley Cup’ aren’t part of the vocabulary.” First off, McLellan, I don’t think that’s very fair to Marcel Goc, who doesn’t have a very wide vocabulary to begin with. You’re going to take away two of his possibly twenty cohesive words?

But all kidding aside, I think McLellan seems to be doing the right things as a new coach for what’s been a tremendously successful team. He’s making the players better understand their roles for the team’s success, and is making sure that the short-term details that contribute to winning don’t get lost in the long-term goal. Of course, media quotes and on-ice performance can often be two different things, so I’ll reserve judgment, but I have to imagine the Sharks will be well-prepared for opening night.

3. Jonathan Goddamn Cheechoo

Yes, I know that Cheechoo is coming off his worst offensive campaign since his rookie year, and his preseason performance still has some Sharks fans worried, but that doesn’t make things less scary on my end. Cheechoo is the very definition of streaky – even in his good seasons he got hot and cold very fast. I wrote a post in the latter part of the 06-07 season that pointed that out: “4 goals in 2 games against the Ducks, which was preceded by a seven game goalless streak, that followed a 5 goals in 7 game stretch, that followed a 1 goal in 9 games slump, and well, you get the picture.” Also revealed in that post was the trend that Cheechoo scored at a much higher rate against the Ducks and Kings than against any other opponent.

The Sharks figure to have a very good team this season even if Cheechoo has another off year. However, if he gets anywhere near his pre-injury form, the Sharks will be awfully tough to keep up with in the standings this season. I guess my main hope is that Coach McLellan finds Cheechoo to be a very tasty ingredient and eats him, but that probably violates the CBA.

And now, heeeere's Mike Chen!

What Scares Mike Chen about this year's Ducks

1. The Complete Mighty Ducks

Picture this. You sit down and you really want to have a kick-ass marathon of the Mighty Ducks movie trilogy. You've got your shiny Mighty Ducks DVD and your old VHS copy of D3: The Mighty Ducks, but you don't own the second movie and you can't afford the gas to drive to Best Buy and pick it up. But halfway through your viewing of D3, a buddy calls and says that D2 is on the Disney channel RIGHT NOW so turn the channel immediately. That convoluted movie-viewing experience is kinda like what happened to the Ducks last season without Scott "My Captain C, Damn It!" Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne to start the season.

You take those guys out of the mix, add in some bad broadcast-on-cable-TV replacements like Todd Bertuzzi and Doug Weight and it's just a chemistry experiment gone awry. And while Scotty N played well upon his return, you could sense that something wasn't quite right with last season's Ducks, even from all the way up in the Bay Area. So now Brian Burke's guys have no off-ice distractions, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are a year older, and the Norris Twins get a full 82 games together. Yeah, that's not good.

2. Brendan Morrison

Oh, stop laughing. I'm not talking Brendan Morrison by himself, I'm looking at what Brendan Morrison could possibly do for the rest of the team. Morrison's a playmaker. Teemu Selanne's a goal scorer. Goal scorers need playmakers to make them even better (see: Cheechoo, Jonathan). If Morrison clicks with Selanne in an Andy McDonald-minus-the-freakish-neck-muscles kind of way, that gives the Ducks two pretty strong forward lines. We know Perry and Getzlaf will get their points but what about secondary scoring?

Last season, I don't think I was the only person who laughed when Burke signed on Todd Bertuzzi's diminished scoring abilities. We know that Selanne still has it but if Teemu's got a partner that can actually dish him the puck, he becomes that much more of a threat. Teams with one scoring line don't usually accomplish much (hello Vancouver), but when you start spreading that around, that's when the proverbial shiznit hits the fan.

3. Pronger/Niedermayer

You could say that this point is an extension of the first one, but that one was really more about off-ice distractions and general roster discombobulation. This is about having two Norris-quality defensemen who can handle 30+ minutes a night, play special teams, send out a great outlet pass, and shut down the opposition's top scorer. With all due respect to the Detroit blueline, there's simply no team that can match what Anaheim can do -- that is, have one Norris-candidate on the ice at all times.

Put it this way -- the old adage of line matching doesn't work if you have either a healthy Pronger or Niedermayer on the ice. You can't try to avoid the shutdown defenseman because they're both capable of it. Hell, stick me out there with my limited beer-league skills and I'd still probably be a +30 for the year (Burkie, I'm a free agent and I'll sign for the league minimum). This combination scared me when Pronger first came to Anaheim and it still scares me today. And it's just not fair.

So that's our takes, looking trepidly at some of the new aspects of the opposing team. How about you, readers? What in particular this year scares you about facing either of these teams? Feel free to leave your own answers (even if you aren't a Ducks or Sharks fan) in the comments.

Prediction: Ducks 3, Sharks 1. Goals by Perry, Pahlsson, and Morrison. Just like in the Ducks opener of the 06-07 season, though, Rob Blake actually scores Corey Perry's goal. Adds Mike Chen, "By the way, Sleek's watching the game on Tivo so everyone text him 'Pronger broke his leg' intermittently."

Update 10:01: Mike sneaks in a prediction too: Sharks 4, Ducks 2. Goals by Marleau, Boyle, Roenick, and an empty netter by Grier. And soft crying in the rafters from Jeff Friesen.

p.s. I posted a PuckToon today that mixes metaphors about strange cap-motivated roster moves made throughout the Pacific Division. Enjoy!

[9:30 am edit -- even more Sleek guest appearances on the ol' internet! In addition to posting on James O'Brien's new blog, I was also a guest on the LCS Hockey Radio Show last night. I haven't even heard the whole thing, but feel free to give it a listen as we push through some technical difficulties, I hurriedly mis-describe Patrick O'Sullivan as "a poor man's Brian Rolston", and I pull a correct Caspian Sea trivia answer out of my ass.]

Go Ducks.

Not-So-Bold Sharks Predictions

Opening night is just around the corner and I find myself much more cautiously optimistic this season than last. Perhaps it's the coaching change or perhaps it's because last season felt like a genuine "lesson learned" type of thing that you have to fight through in order to achieve greatness (at least to me); whatever it is, my gut tells me that the inconsistencies and brain-fart moments won't be as commonplace for the Sharks this year.

That being said, here's my collection of random not-so-bold predictions about certain players. I like to think they're educated guesses, and if you're cautiously optimistic like me, you're probably predicting similar things.

Joe Thornton will break the 30-goal barrier. Hell, his coach already called him out on driving the net more and we've seen that he can score goals when Joe puts his mind to it. Also, he'll eclipse 90 assists again simply because he'll get more offensive help from the blueline on the power play. Joe's final point total: 32 goals, 94 assists.

Patrick Marleau will have a good year. I've said it several times here at BoC but I truly believe that Marleau turned a corner back in February. For those of you that missed the oft-repeated story, in a listless defeat against New Jersey, Marleau stood up in the locker room and told his teammates that he simply had to be better and that he should be held accountable. To me, that's the mark of a mature player and a leader and give Marleau credit for living up to it by playing with more consistent grit and fire than we'd ever seen. Patty's final point total: 35 goals, 50 assists.

Jonathan Cheechoo will rebound...somewhat. Coach Todd McLellan stated that the Cheechoo/Joe Pavelski/Milan Michalek line was his best during the preseason. Well, it's not because of Cheechoo and his whopping two assists in five games -- pretty bad for a noted goal scorer. Still, Cheech has shown before that he could score 25+ goals with a grinder like Mike Ricci as his center, and he's also been extremely streaky. With McLellan's emphasis on shooting and driving the net, I think Cheech will find his groove again and perform to the level that we saw late last year when he was finally healthy. Cheech's final point total: 40 goals, 23 assists.

Dan Boyle will be awesome...eventually. As much as I love Dan Boyle (I'm a super-fan from his Tampa Bay days), I'm guessing we won't see his true capabilities until about 10-15 games into the season when he gets really comfortable with his new teammates. He won't provide those crazy Brian Campbell spin-o-ramas but he'll still be the best defenseman the Sharks ever had. Boyle's final point total: 16 goals, 42 assists.

(Short aside: Want to know how to irritate Dan Boyle? Find a bunch of his old superhero-themed bobbleheads from Tampa Bay and send them to him. At the Teal & White game, I brought my bobblehead for him to sign, thinking I'd be the only fan with a cool rare piece of memorabilia. When I handed it to him, he grimaced and said, "Oh god. Those things were awful. I hated them." Whoops.)

Ryane Clowe will be ok but not great. There's a lot of media hype about Clowe since he had a relatively strong playoff and his numbers were decent in the games that he actually played. Still, we've never seen a full season from Clowe and I haven't seen anything to make me think he'll be the second coming of John Leclair. Instead, I see Clowe as more a poor man's Ryan Malone: a gritty, in-your-face winger who can score during critical times. Clowe's final point total: 17 goals, 24 assists.

Rob Blake will be good for his age. I don't think anyone's expecting 1998 Rob Blake to be showing up here. If he's reasonable defensively, provides some physical player and locker room leadership, and helps out on the power play, that's all we can ask of the guy. He's overpaid but it's a one-year deal, so there aren't any real long-term consequences. Blake's a Stanley Cup mercenary and that's fine by me. Blake's final point total: 12 goals, 30 assists.

Christian Ehrhoff will finally get it. Ehrhoff's got all the components to be a great two-way defenseman -- fast skater, big shot, improving defensive sensibilities. He's just never put it together consistently. Last year, assistant coach Rob Zettler told Ehrhoff to focus on the defensive side of his game and it worked; as the season went on, Ehrhoff became increasingly reliable in all situations. His monster shot, however, remained wildly inaccurate and if he could have just gotten some more of those on net, the power play might have been different. This season, my gut tells me that both Blake and Boyle will help Ehrhoff fine-tune his game so that he can be a complete player. Ehrhoff's final point total: 14 goals, 28 assists.

As for how the team will do in the end, I'm not going to make any prognostications because so many things rely on unpredictable factors such as injuries and breakout rookies. I will say this, though: I get the feeling that unlike last season, I won't be embarrassed by the team's wildly inconsistent and head-scratching play. I know, that's not exactly the most telling of statements but if you've been through the ups and downs of the last two Ron Wilson seasons, you'll recognize that that's a significant step forward.

Random Pacific Questions: Who's the Sharks' Best Defenseman?

A vicious slapfight occurred right after this picture was taken.

The Sharks were the 3rd best defensive team in the NHL last season, allowing only 187 goals. A big part of this was their underrated defensive core that limited opposing offenses to about 24 shots on goal a game. The Sharks didn't get a whole lot of offensive output from their defense, however, so they brought in two veterans to help with that side of the puck. Dan Boyle and Rob Blake both have a rich pedigree in the NHL and will undoubtedly help the Sharks put the puck in the net, but will they deserve top minutes for the Sharks? Who is the Sharks' best defenseman?

My personal opinion is that it's Marc-Edouard Vlasic (he of the newly minted 4 year, $12.4 million dollar deal). He's only 21 but he was named the most valuable defensive defenseman by Alan Ryder after finishing 3rd the year before.* Sure, he doesn't score very often, but he literally suffocates opposing offenses. It'll be interesting to see how new coach Todd McClellan integrates new additions Dan Boyle (who missed half the season last year) and Rob Blake (who is probably best served playing mostly special teams at this point in his career). Will they play the most minutes because they're highly paid and "have been there before," or will he (rightfully, in my opinion) stick with Vlasic and fellow youngster Christian Ehrhoff in crucial situations?

*Page 24, if you're interested.

Summer Battle of Northern California reading

Sharks coverage on BOC has dropped off a little since the end of the season, and the fact that Northern California has essentially been on fire for 3 straight weeks does not appear to be a major factor. Drawing on a flaming Wild Wing and a thick low lying layer of smoke for inspiration, here is a short recap from Sharkspage of what has gone down in the land of cheap software and expensive offensive defenseman:

• Max Giese of Sharkspage posted a very thorough 2008 Sharks Entry Draft (ptII) review article, with contributions from several NHL scouts and a few comments by other draft related sources. The first part of the Sharks 2008 Draft Review written by yours truely is available here. Included in that post is a video clip of Darren Pang expressing shock that Phoenix Coyotes first round selection Viktor Tikonov spoke English. Yes, San Jose residents can occasionally be accused of speaking English.


• Free agent defenseman Brian Campbell signs 8-year, $56.8 million contract with Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers sign Patrick Rissmiller. Judas, thy name is Brian Campbell. One problem many fans in San Jose have with what went down is the fact that his departure was a foregone conclusion. Instead of feigning that taking $7+ million with Chicago, Atlanta or Ottawa was a difficult decision, acknowledge the fact beforehand and fans have more respect for you. Campbell is tremendously gifted with speed and skating ability matched by few defenseman in the NHL. He also basically evaporated against Calgary and Dallas in the playoffs. If you are brought in to spark the Sharks transition and move the puck on ice, and you consistently hesitate and take it back behind your own net, there are going to be questions. Major questions for Chicago next season: how effectively will he be on defense, will he transform the Blackhawks power play, and how well will a young team respond to Campbell in a leadership role.


• San Jose Sharks sign defenseman Rob Blake to 1-year deal adding a power-play quarterback, report Sharks are pursuing Tampa Bay's Dan Boyle. A number of Kings fans are noting Rob Blake's declining production over the last season. In San Jose he will play a much different role, as the Sharks will have three solid defensive pairings they can use in any situation. Blake will be counted on more to bomb shots on net from the power play than to provide a #1 defensive role. I have a feeling with Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Clowe, Cheechoo and Michalek fighting for rebounds, Blake's numbers are not going to look too bad after 2008-09.


• Veteran defenseman Craig Rivet traded to Buffalo for 2009, 2010 2nd rounders. This is a trade that had to be made for salary cap considerations, but one that nobody likes north of the grapevine.


• Dan Boyle, Brad Lukowich, and Sharks general manager Doug Wilson discussed the recent trades on a conference call with local media.


• Sharks Trade Analysis: Blake, Boyle and Lukowich add missing pieces of the puzzle for Sharks power play and playoff problems. A lot of words essentially boil down to the fact that Boyle could have a bigger impact in San Jose than the brief Campbell experiment, and Rob Blake is the type of proven veteran who has been there and done beat up a lot of Anaheim Ducks.


• Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff signs 3 year, $9.3 million contract. This shores up a large chunk of the Sharks blueline for the foreseeable future, but salary cap issues could force a trade for Kyle McLaren. The future beyond Rob Blake is also a little less clear with Matt Carle, Ty Wishart and a 1st round draft selection headed to Tampa. AHL rookie Derek Joslin should be next in line, and will take more of a leadership role in Worcester this season. Hard hitting Boston College fresheman defenseman Nick Petrecki, who won a National Championship this season, remains as the Sharks top overall defensive prospect. The Sharks may need him to regulate at HP Pavilion before the end of his four year run in college.


• Sharks hire Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Todd McLellan to be the 7th head coach in San Jose franchise history. Some fans were a little irrated at the lack of questions asked by the media at the press conference, there is a hand held 6 minute video of McLellan answering questions from the AP's Greg Beacham, a local television reporter, and from Tony Khing of the Sharks included in that post. One rumor has Trent Yawney as a possible assistant coach.

That is all I have for now. War Sandis Ozolinsh for President.

What a Difference a Few Days Make

Only a few days ago Sharks fans were wondering what Doug Wilson was doing (or not doing) as every team in the league seemed to be doing something in Free Agency. I mentioned here how I was glad Wilson was being fiscally responsible as other GM's were throwing money around. Well, in the last 24 hours the Sharks have 3 new D-men and (if I am doing my math correctly) 4 Stanley Cup rings. To summarize:

-Sign Rob Blake (1 yr/5mill): overpaid for an aging D-man but it will be nice to have a D-man who will shoot from the point. (I can picture Kings fans now "but who knows where the shot is going?")

-Trade Matt Carle, Ty Wishart and picks for Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich: At first I was happy about this trade, but including Wishart is a hefty price. I was thinking Wishart was one of the closest we had to being brought up and given a chance. Wilson must have a lot of faith in youngsters Petrecki, Joslin and others. For the 2nd year in a row, Mike has gotten one of his favorite players on to the Sharks (JR, now Boyle). NO! we better not be getting Forsberg next. The random Dan Boyle superhero action figure he bought on eBay a few years ago needs to be brought out.

-Trade Craig Rivet for two 2nd rounders: I figure this is a salary dump. Lukowich bascially fills the role of Rivet at 1/2 the price. Rivet makes 3.5 per while Lukowich makes 1.65 then 1.8.

All of this movement and I don't think Wilson is done. If the rumored signing of Bret Hedican is true, that would give us 8 D-men. Here are the proposed lines as I see them.

Thornton-Cheechoo-Michalek
Pavelski-Marleau-Setoguchi
Mitchell-Grier-Clowe
Roenick-Goc-Shelley

Blake-Vlasic
Boyle-Lukowich
Ehrhoff-Murray

Hedican?-McLaren

Nabby-Boucher

Not a bad lineup. Kudos to Doug Wilson. It is up to you boys!!!!

Dan Boyle is awesome (and a Shark)

I say "Dan Boyle is awesome" because that tagline was a running joke between me and Cheechew and some of our mutual friends for a number of years. I've always thought Boyle was a great player and secretly wished the Sharks would acquire him somehow.

And now they have. For (allegedly) Matt Carle, a first rounder, a fourth rounder, and a prospect. Details will be worked out later and made official. The Sharks also get Brad Lukowich in return.

More later on the salary cap aspect of it. This, along with resigning Christian Ehrhoff and Ryane Clowe, will put the Sharks over their self-imposed budget but not to the cap. I imagine Kyle McLaren will be waived soon.

Update: Here's part of the salary-cap answer. Craig Rivet was just traded to Buffalo for two second-round picks.

Your defense is now Dan Boyle, Rob Blake, Christian Ehrhoff, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Douglas Murray, Brad Lukowich, Kyle McLaren.

Tonight on the History Channel: The Colonial Lockout

Happy Fourth, everyone! Stay safe and constitutional!

Oh, and here's something for our Canadian/non-patriot readers to talk about:

In return for the 31 year old veteran defenseman (Dan Boyle), its believed Tampa will receive a package that will include 23 old defenseman Matt Carle, a 1st round pick, a prospect and a 4th round pick.

Sources say defenseman Brad Lukowich is also part of the deal going to San Jose.

Dan Boyle on the radar

No Brian Campbell? No Wade Redden? No problem--maybe. Doug Wilson did say to look toward the trade market, and here's news that the Tampa Bay Lightning have gone 180 degrees from yesterday and now asked Dan Boyle to waive his no-trade clause.

Who's the front-runner according to TSN?

However, Boyle has not agreed to waive and wants sufficient time to assess his options and where he believes his best fit is.

Sources say three teams remain in pursuit of Boyle with the San Jose Sharks believed to be the frontrunner and considered Tampa's first choice.

If Boyle consents, there is a possibility the trade goes down today and Lightning management is said to be pushing for that.

We'll see what happens. If the deal goes through, it will be for someone who doesn't make much money as the Bolts are pushing the cap. I'm thinking it will be Marc-Edouard Vlasic in return as Matt Carle has a big contract and Christian Ehrhoff is an RFA looking for a raise. Perhaps Kyle McLaren will be thrown in as well, as Tampa is looking to get some help in terms of stay-at-home defensemen with the hopes that Paul Ranger grows into Boyle's role.