Kunin: I wouldn't take him for free unless it's a 1 year deal for 1mil or less. Grier payed a 3rd rounder (and Leonard) for him and signed him to a ridiculous overpayment of a 2yrx2.75mil deal for a guy who belongs (if he belongs at all) on the bottom line.
Kahkonen: The signing is about right, but probably ~500k too expensive. This is one I'm perfectly happy to live with and don't see as a big deal whatsoever even if it's on the slightly overpayment side of things.
Lindblom: I'm rooting for the player. I truly am and would love nothing more than to see him bounce back and just flourish with the Sharks. But to be blunt, on the hockey/business side of things, this is also a ridiculous overpayment like Kunin. His play has (understandably) fallen off big time and I'm fine with signing him to a 1yr deal at around 2mil or less to see if there's a bounce back in him, but committing to him for 2yrs for 2.5mil aav is just absurd -- particularly in the context of buying out a very good player who drives play and was at a cost-controlled 1.5mil for 1 more year in Balcers, already having enough bottom-6 LWs, and also keeping in mind that the Sharks need all the cap space they can get for Meier's extension for next season. Kunin and Lindblom's deals are glaringly terrible here.
Sturm: I'm fine with this deal. 3 years is a little ridiculous and a 2x2 would've been more appropriate (even taking into account the stanley cup inflation) but I actually think it's a decent-to-good signing and player for the team. Would like to see him with Chmelevsky though since I thought he was doing really well at the end of last season and deserves a spot.
Benning: I like the player. I like the signing and cap hit and the idea of pairing him with Vlasic on the bottom pairing (interestingly, Vlasic also has 4 years and Vlasic was with Grier at the draft and could've placed his 2 cents here). But FOUR 4 (!) years?? Holy... the thing is, Merkley's already with Vlasic on the bottom pairing, and though I wouldn't mind having him with Ferraro on the 2nd pairing, I doubt he'd do well in it just yet and knowing Grier, he'd rather have a physical player there so the Benning signing doesn't fill the void left by Burns in the top-4 at RHD.
Nutivaara: why? The Sharks have 1) Vlasic 2) Knyzhov 3) Ferraro 4) Megna 5) Hatakka 6) Simek -- 6 guys on the left side of the defense alone. Assuming he'll eventually staple Eklund+4 1sts to Simek to ship him out, that still leaves 5. He's really not needed on this team. I'm just glad it's a 1 year deal. Thankfully, Nutivaara's a good player if he's able to bounce back, but that's also a big if in and of itself. Also, I get the idea to scratch Vlasic but I'm taking into account that the Sharks aren't doing that.
Burns: Now that some time has passed, I was initially just "meh" when it came to the Burns trade. Since then, it's become glaringly obvious that CAR absolutely fleeced Grier. The bare minimum with that much retention should have been a 2nd rounder. If CAR didn't want to do it, SO BE IT. If Grier asked Burns if he wanted out and Burns answered in the affirmative, then make him EXPAND HIS TRADE LIST to a team that's willing to shell out at least a 2nd, and if there's no team, suck it up and play in SJ.
Can't wait to see the coming overpayments for the remaining RFAs, attaching high picks to players Grier wants out so that he can mold his team in his image... Grier truly is making me long for the DW days, which now seems like so long ago.
Also, with the plethora of mediocre-to-bad depth signings, I get the feeling that Grier doesn't want SJ to play Eklund, Bordeleau, and Merkley. All three should, but not one of them is a lock to make the team. Even Merkley, since SJ hasn't signed any depth dman on the right side for the Cuda, which makes me think Grier wants to hire a guy as coach who would be in line with taking him down to the Cuda.
This starting roster/lineup has a total of 8 out of 12 forwards who should be 4th liners or not even on an NHL roster. It's also a likely roster for a lineup.
Now, if the idea is for the Sharks to tank for Bedard but to do so while playing hard, there's still a major issue: the 2 year deals for Kunin and Lindblom especially. They're really not intelligent signings for a new NHL GM trying to make a good name for himself in the context of what this Sharks needs and all the team's intricacies salary-cap and player-depth-wise.
*exhales*... rant over. They say talking's the best therapy to move past your frustration. Thanks for humoring my thoughts.
I feel the pain man, Hawks have made some more than dubious moves of late also. At least you've been able to keep some of your top end talent together and have at least a couple of prospects in the pipeline who have quality upside. Eklund and Bordeleau
Good rant. He should not have moved back in the draft. This was regarded as a weak class. Take one quality pick at 11 over three meh chances with the late 1st and 2 2nds (not that these players can’t pan out). You don’t qualify Dahlen and buyout Balcers to sign Lindblom to that deal?! I’m rooting for Lindblom but from a building your team perspective he should not have gotten that deal. Too much term on Sturm, 1 year max if he’s getting 2 mil. If you’re retaining that on burns, you need to get a way better prospect back. Took about one week of action for Grier to show he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
I feel the pain man, Hawks have made some more than dubious moves of late also. At least you've been able to keep some of your top end talent together and have at least a couple of prospects in the pipeline who have quality upside. Eklund and Bordeleau
Appreciate the camaraderie. Least you guys have those 2 cups though. It's looking like we're on our own half-century trajectory 😔
Whats your thoughts on the trading down at the draft?
I'm not a Sharks fan and I get the thought of needing to rebuild the prospect pool but personally I didn't think that was a good move.
Quoting: HiddenValley
Good rant. He should not have moved back in the draft. This was regarded as a weak class. Take one quality pick at 11 over three meh chances with the late 1st and 2 2nds (not that these players can’t pan out). You don’t qualify Dahlen and buyout Balcers to sign Lindblom to that deal?! I’m rooting for Lindblom but from a building your team perspective he should not have gotten that deal. Too much term on Sturm, 1 year max if he’s getting 2 mil. If you’re retaining that on burns, you need to get a way better prospect back. Took about one week of action for Grier to show he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
Yep. Same thoughts on moving back at the draft. It's something that can easily come back to bite SJ. Nazar Lekkerimaki Kemell even Lambert may end up haunting SJ. Bystedt's a good pick but it was a reach even at 27. Also, one of the Sharks' The Athletic writers made a point about the Sharks having gotten a free 2nd rounder in terms of the value they received for pick #11, but lost on that are three points:
1) Different boards have different values -- that was just one. I personally take #11 over a very late 1st and two 2nds.
2) The Sharks are (have been) in desperate need for top-end talent. They've actually done quite well in their depth and later picks at picking up young guys who can contribute thanks to DW Jr (who's now gone btw since he didn't mesh well with Grier -- throw more wood to this rant fire). Besides Eklund, there's no one they've picked that high since they picked Meier, which, for a team that's missed the playoffs for 3 years in a row, is a problem. And here they threw away an opportunity to grab a top talent for more depth -- very similar to their approach to free agency in picking up lots of depth but not even trying to go after a Marchment (btw what was up with that? He would've been perfect given... well, everything, but he wasn't even approached with an offer it looks like) or Palat.
3) The Sharks (including DW before Grier) have a tendency of throwing away mid-to-high draft picks (2nd for Donato, 2nd for Hill, 3rd for Kunin). Taking that into context too makes the trade back out of #11 hurt that much more.
The Nutivarra, Benning and Lidblom signings perplex me the most. Nutivarra got $1.5 mil for not player for a whole season somehow. Benning got 4 years to be a 6/7th defenseman. And Lindblom is a million dollar more expensive Balcers who was just bought out.
I just don’t understand moving Burns with that much retention for scraps to get cap space and then turn around and piss that cap space away with these fringe depth signings when the team needs top 6 scoring.
You need to try to look at these changes with soft eyes.
Firstly, all the players signed are on short-term deals. And this is important. Sturm-3 yrs, Kunin- 2 yrs, Lindblom- 2 yrs. Overpaid? Sure. But that doesn't really matter as this is not a playoff team for at least one more year. These signings allow the organization to be patient with the young guns like Coe, Wiesblatt, Eklund, Bords, Robins, Weatherby, Gushchin etc. Let them develop proper.
These players each have a similar play-style. They're all two-way players that thrive on intensity, tenacity and #grit if you will which is good because over the next year or two when our prospects begin to trickle into the lineup there will already be a bar set as to "how to play" i.e culture change which is really the point of all this anyway. This isn't going to be a skill team anymore that is pretending to want to be a playoff team. This is going to be a suffocating defensive team that is going to score just enough goals to win games. Gone are the years of 57 shots and 6-5 wins.
Benning's contract is maybe 2 years too long but lets be honest here, Laroque and Havelid are 2-3 years away from even touching the Sharks lineup. Benning's AAV is pretty standard for a bottom pairing defenseman which is exactly what he is. He is a very useful depth defenseman. He is better than Simek, Vlasic and who the hell knows what Knyzhov is going to be after missing a full year and isn't a guarantee to be back this year. I don't mind this signing.
Donato was acquired with a 3rd not a 2nd BTW. And it was a late 3rd as it was the pick we got from Pitt for Patty. (the pick Luca Munzenberger is hardly worth complainging about and not many guys after him are significant)
Nutivaara is massively overpaid indeed but it's a one-year deal for a season where expectations are incredibly low. He is a stop-gap that everyone including you will forget about in 2 years.
I frankly loved this draft. Cameron Lund alone was worth making the trade but getting Havelid and Bystedt in the process was simply excellent work from Mike. You will see just how good Lund and Bystedt are as Havelid will take some time to develop but Lund is the real deal.
Wilson left Mike Grier a bunch of giant turds to flush and Mike is just starting that process. Wilson had this team going NOWHERE fast. This is only the beginning and nothing about this mess was going to clean up quietly or easily. Give the swift judgement a rest and see where it lands.
Thanks for the very informative heartfelt expression of frustration. I wouldn't call it a "rant" -- maybe it's just me, but I associate the word "rant" with a lack of foundation, and you give excellent reasons for each one of your opinions here.
I think our teams are three ships passing in the night -- two upbound (if that's possible), and one down.
Grier had 1 week to prepare for the NHL draft and offseason, I don't blame him at all. Management took entirely too long to hire someone and put Grier in a horrible position with no chance to succeed. Friedman mentioned it on his podcast, too. Ownership really dropped the ball on this offseason.
You need to try to look at these changes with soft eyes.
Firstly, all the players signed are on short-term deals. And this is important. Sturm-3 yrs, Kunin- 2 yrs, Lindblom- 2 yrs. Overpaid? Sure. But that doesn't really matter as this is not a playoff team for at least one more year. These signings allow the organization to be patient with the young guns like Coe, Wiesblatt, Eklund, Bords, Robins, Weatherby, Gushchin etc. Let them develop proper.
These players each have a similar play-style. They're all two-way players that thrive on intensity, tenacity and #grit if you will which is good because over the next year or two when our prospects begin to trickle into the lineup there will already be a bar set as to "how to play" i.e culture change which is really the point of all this anyway. This isn't going to be a skill team anymore that is pretending to want to be a playoff team. This is going to be a suffocating defensive team that is going to score just enough goals to win games. Gone are the years of 57 shots and 6-5 wins.
Benning's contract is maybe 2 years too long but lets be honest here, Laroque and Havelid are 2-3 years away from even touching the Sharks lineup. Benning's AAV is pretty standard for a bottom pairing defenseman which is exactly what he is. He is a very useful depth defenseman. He is better than Simek, Vlasic and who the hell knows what Knyzhov is going to be after missing a full year and isn't a guarantee to be back this year. I don't mind this signing.
Donato was acquired with a 3rd not a 2nd BTW. And it was a late 3rd as it was the pick we got from Pitt for Patty. (the pick Luca Munzenberger is hardly worth complainging about and not many guys after him are significant)
Nutivaara is massively overpaid indeed but it's a one-year deal for a season where expectations are incredibly low. He is a stop-gap that everyone including you will forget about in 2 years.
I frankly loved this draft. Cameron Lund alone was worth making the trade but getting Havelid and Bystedt in the process was simply excellent work from Mike. You will see just how good Lund and Bystedt are as Havelid will take some time to develop but Lund is the real deal.
Wilson left Mike Grier a bunch of giant turds to flush and Mike is just starting that process. Wilson had this team going NOWHERE fast. This is only the beginning and nothing about this mess was going to clean up quietly or easily. Give the swift judgement a rest and see where it lands.
I am on board with you! at first I hated the moves but we also have to understand with no coach and a brand new GM and not much cap space we weren’t going to get any high quality FA. the plan of revamping our depth and giving us a reasonable players in case Bordz Eklund or Merkley aren’t ready for real NHL action. personally I feel all would do better with 1 more year of grooming.
plus the reason the sharks traded down was the players the sharks wanted went to early, and the 3 picks actually have a lot of upside. all in all it’s been a plus start wait till next offseason when he has a better grasp of what we have and how our prospects are projecting.
3) The Sharks (including DW before Grier) have a tendency of throwing away mid-to-high draft picks (2nd for Donato, 2nd for Hill, 3rd for Kunin). Taking that into context too makes the trade back out of #11 hurt that much more.
Small correction. DW traded a 3rd round pick for Donato, not a 2nd.
And it wasn't even the Sharks 3rd that he gave up, it was the Pittsburgh 2021 3rd rounder he had received for Patrick Marleau the year before. That pick wound up being 90th overall that year and was packaged with Minnesota's 22nd overall pick in the 1st round in the 2021 draft to move up two spots in the draft day trade that allowed Guerin to take Wallstedt at 20th overall two drafts ago.
I think San Jose buys out labanc before moving him for anything honestly. The buyout isn’t even that bad. Cap hits: Year 1-$808,333, year 2- $808,333, year 3- $1,958,333 and year 4- $1,958,333.
I think San Jose buys out labanc before moving him for anything honestly. The buyout isn’t even that bad. Cap hits: Year 1-$808,333, year 2- $808,333, year 3- $1,958,333 and year 4- $1,958,333.
Im on the bus that says Labanc can possibly bounce back this year and massively improve his trade value.
You need to try to look at these changes with soft eyes.
Firstly, all the players signed are on short-term deals. And this is important. Sturm-3 yrs, Kunin- 2 yrs, Lindblom- 2 yrs. Overpaid? Sure. But that doesn't really matter as this is not a playoff team for at least one more year. These signings allow the organization to be patient with the young guns like Coe, Wiesblatt, Eklund, Bords, Robins, Weatherby, Gushchin etc. Let them develop proper.
These players each have a similar play-style. They're all two-way players that thrive on intensity, tenacity and #grit if you will which is good because over the next year or two when our prospects begin to trickle into the lineup there will already be a bar set as to "how to play" i.e culture change which is really the point of all this anyway. This isn't going to be a skill team anymore that is pretending to want to be a playoff team. This is going to be a suffocating defensive team that is going to score just enough goals to win games. Gone are the years of 57 shots and 6-5 wins.
Benning's contract is maybe 2 years too long but lets be honest here, Laroque and Havelid are 2-3 years away from even touching the Sharks lineup. Benning's AAV is pretty standard for a bottom pairing defenseman which is exactly what he is. He is a very useful depth defenseman. He is better than Simek, Vlasic and who the hell knows what Knyzhov is going to be after missing a full year and isn't a guarantee to be back this year. I don't mind this signing.
Donato was acquired with a 3rd not a 2nd BTW. And it was a late 3rd as it was the pick we got from Pitt for Patty. (the pick Luca Munzenberger is hardly worth complainging about and not many guys after him are significant)
Nutivaara is massively overpaid indeed but it's a one-year deal for a season where expectations are incredibly low. He is a stop-gap that everyone including you will forget about in 2 years.
I frankly loved this draft. Cameron Lund alone was worth making the trade but getting Havelid and Bystedt in the process was simply excellent work from Mike. You will see just how good Lund and Bystedt are as Havelid will take some time to develop but Lund is the real deal.
Wilson left Mike Grier a bunch of giant turds to flush and Mike is just starting that process. Wilson had this team going NOWHERE fast. This is only the beginning and nothing about this mess was going to clean up quietly or easily. Give the swift judgement a rest and see where it lands.
You still can’t excuse the Balcers buyout though. He’s better than Lindblom and cheaper.
Whats your thoughts on the trading down at the draft?
I'm not a Sharks fan and I get the thought of needing to rebuild the prospect pool but personally I didn't think that was a good move.
Quoting: NickC1988
Grier had 1 week to prepare for the NHL draft and offseason, I don't blame him at all. Management took entirely too long to hire someone and put Grier in a horrible position with no chance to succeed. Friedman mentioned it on his podcast, too. Ownership really dropped the ball on this offseason.
I think we wanted the DMan ANH took at 10, when he was gone, traded down for extras, I dont mind it.
As for MG, I think he had almost 0 impact in this Draft, how could he? This was Doug Jr (last) & J.Will's Draft.
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