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* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Day 1: Sharks left Empty-Handed

Today was the 2nd most exciting day of the year (only to trade deadline day). I am thinking that NHL GM's were fooled into thinking that Free Agency lasted only 1 day and all shopping had to be completed today. Going into today I was already thinking that Brian Campbell was signing elsewhere. All last week we heard "family issues" and "wanting to be closer to home." Sure Chicago is closer to Ontario than San Jose but don't tell me that 8 years and 56+ million dollars didn't have anything to do with that. I actually applaud Doug Wilson for not shelling out that much money. That being said, Chicago looks like they will have a pretty good team next year. But note to Campbell, don't look for a comfortable reception when you come back to the Shark Tank next year. Signing closer to home in the eastern conference is one thing, but signing in the west for supposedly the highest offer just makes you look greedy.

Other random thoughts from Free Agency Day 1:

-Where is all this money coming from? I know the salary cap is going up once again, but some of these deals are obscene.

-Did Vancouver really offer Sundin 20 mill for 2 years?

-Sean Avery should sign with Colorado. Can you imagine a line of Darcy Tucker, Ian Laperriere and Avery? That would be the most annoying line ever.

-Dale Tallon is funny. He kept saying how he was keeping Khabibulin even after the signing of Huet. Um, yeah he really wants a cap hit of 12.375 for his 2 goalies.

-Who are Jeff Finger and Mark Streit and why are they getting big money? (Yes, I really do know who they are)

So my plan going into free agency was:

A: sign Campbell
B: sign Redden if Campbell screws us
C: trade for Zidlicky

I hope Doug Wilson has a plan G and H since all his early options are gone.

So the Sharks lost Campbell, Rissmiller and signed.........um

That being said, I still have faith in Doug Wilson but the declaration to us season ticket holders of spending money doesn't look so truthful right now.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a familiar feeling. I don't know if I can name the last big free agent signing by the Sharks.

I don't like the inability of San Jose to actually land any big free agents, but I'll be a lot more worried if training camp starts and our blue line is (still):
Ehrhoff
Murray
McLaren
Rivet
Vlasic
Carle

McLaren is looking broken, and Carle sure didn't impress in his second year. Those two spots are the ones that concern me the most. Maybe McLellan will help Carle's game, but that's a huge gamble. Our power-play and break-out is looking pretty unimpressive right now.

RudyKelly said...

Hey, we'll trade you Visnovsky for Matt Carle and... oh wait, nevermind...

Mike in OC said...

But maybe Schneider for that top 6 forward Burke is looking for. Matt said he wanted to stay in California.

What was reasonable for Campbell? 6.5 mil a year? Seems like 7.1 per year is not that much more than 6.5 or 6.7 per year. Schneider is a steal at 5.6 and the Sharks have a wealth of forwards.

who knows....

Anonymous said...

7.1 for 8 years is a LOT different than 7.1 for 4-6. He put up a career year in his contract year, but before that was good for 45-50 points a season.

It's far more likely that the Hawks'll be paying #1 d-man money for increasingly diminished output on the back-end of the contract.

The only way Schneider goes north is in a 3-way. Wait, that didn't sound very good.

Earl Sleek said...

Schneider is a steal at 5.6 and the Sharks have a wealth of forwards.

who knows....


Hey, and I don't even care if those forwards are good. They just have to be cheap.

I think I'm coining a BoC term: a Schneider Auction. Lowest bidder wins!

I actually applaud Doug Wilson for not shelling out that much money.

The thing I'm proudest of B. Burke today isn't that he signed Perry, but rather that he refrained from doing anything else headline-worthy. July 1st gives me headaches as a fan; I worry that Burke might sign somebody famous.

Note to Burke: The ability for a GM to win ridiculous July 1st auctions doesn't really impress me. Great job today.

Sarah said...

Schneider just got harder to trade. The only team I knew that had battled hard to trade for him at the trade deadline was Chicago. They won't need/want him anymore.

But Schneider in SJ would make me happy. And SJ needs help on the PP. And the need a veteran D. And they have some cheap forwards and/or draft picks to spare.

I've said it his whole career, and I've said earnestly since Niedermayer came back in December... Schneider and SJ make sense! But then again, I'm a selfish bitch. =)

Earl Sleek said...

Schneider just got harder to trade.

I kind of think the opposite. As Mike noted, when guys like Campbell and Redden clean up on UFA day, Schneider keeps looking rosier.

I'm even thinking of upping the asking price. That is, whenever Burke decides to ask my advice.

PJ Swenson said...

Make that:

A: sign Clowe
B: sign Ehrhoff
C: sign Campbell
D: sign Redden if Campbell screws us
E: trade for Zidlicky

Earl Sleek said...

F: fire new coach for not being UFA-appealing enough

Sarah said...

Oh Earl, I love you. I so wish I had an ounce of your optimism. You are a good fan. (and since it is hard to tell on in writing, I'll straight out say I'm not being sarcastic at all)

PJ Swenson said...

G: Sign offer sheets for available Anaheim RFA's.