San Jose Sharks: Draft & Free Agency: What Will Doug Wilson Do?

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

With the NHL free agency period right around the corner, San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson has some decisions to make heading into Friday's draft.

Despite the fact that the Sharks have placed an extraordinary effort into their development system, they currently do not have a first round selection in this year's draft.

If the Sharks are keen on changing that fact, the most likely scenario in which to make that happen is a trade involving their captain, Patrick Marleau.

Trading into the first round would require the Sharks to give up some current NHL talent but don't expect Wilson to give up any of his core young players.

Young guns such as Milan Michalek, Devin Setoguchi, Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe, Torrey Mitchell, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Douglas Murray should all be "untouchable."

Every single player in that list is about to enter their prime and each one can be a force for many years to come. The chances Doug Wilson trades any one of them away is rather unlikely and would leave the Sharks with an enormous hole in their lineup.

Now along with Marleau, the Sharks have a pair of fellow big fish that could be dealt away including Joe Thornton and goal-tender Evgeni Nabokov.

Yes, even though Thornton was just traded to the Sharks in 2005, his continued sub-par playoff performances are enough to consider moving the soon to be 30-year-old London, Ontario native.

However, in all honesty, Doug Wilson cannot trade away Joe Thornton. Not only has Joe been adamant about loving the Bay Area and being a member of the Sharks, but he also has a no-trade clause.

But whether or not Thornton has a no trade clause is a moot point. Despite his playoff disappointments, "Big Joe" still drives the Sharks' offense. The 6'4" 235-pound center is a lock to lead the team in points every season and is a perennial all-star.

When Thornton first came to San Jose in 2005 he saved the team almost single-handedly. The sharks were amidst a 10-game winless streak and the 2005-06 season was looking to be a year to forget for Sharks fans.

But then Thornton came in and won the Art Ross Trophy for most points and the Hart Trophy as MVP of the league.

Even though San Jose has upgraded Thornton's supporting cast drastically since 2005, it is still difficult to see a scenario in which the Sharks could get further than have in recent years without Thornton on the team.

Jumbo Joe, Big Joe, JT, whatever fans like to call him, most would admit that he is still a rock star in the Bay Area.

Thornton is about to enter just his fourth full season with the Sharks and to be fair the best passer in the league has not had a true goal scorer to finish off his passes.

Trading Thornton would be a the wrong move and it would be extremely odd if Doug Wilson were to deal away the player he received in a trade that is still considered one of the biggest steals in NHL history.

The other big fish amongst the Sharks that could be dealt away prior to the draft is none other than goal-tender Evgeni Nabokov.

Despite being considered by many as one of the "elite" goal-tenders in the NHL, Nabokov had a save percentage of .910 in the regular season in '08-'09, which was lower than 23 other goal-tenders who had played 25 or more games.

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