San Jose Sharks: Seven Unrestricted Free Agents Who Got Away

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

For a team that had such a disappointing postseason, the San Jose Sharks have not been very active thus far in free agency. Then again, the same was true last summer.

On the evening of July 2, 2008, I wrote a scathing article about the Sharks inaction dropping them from Stanley Cup contender to a team that would struggle to make the playoffs. By the morning of July 4, I was writing about how the Sharks had just done the most to improve of any contenders.

Through last summer, I learned to have a bit more patience and faith in General Manager Doug Wilson. But that does not override my duty to analyze the efforts to date.

For starters, there is a long list of free agents who left their teams that the Sharks would have benefited from signing. This is not to say that Wilson did not pursue them or does not have a better handle on how to use his cap space.

However, there are four scorers and three grinders I would have pursued who were signed away from their teams. They are listed below in order of how much they would have helped the Sharks (scorers first, as that is the greater need):

1. Marian Hossa (signed with Blackhawks)

The bridesmaid of the last two Stanley Cups is a player I do not think particularly highly of. He is only an average defensive player who has not come up big in the biggest games—having no playoff success prior to 2008 and playing poorly in the 2009 Finals.

Moreover, he showed horrible judgment by thinking his chance of winning a Stanley Cup was better in one year with a waning dynasty than seven with a growing one. But he also has been deeper in the playoffs than almost any Sharks forward, and is the pure scorer to mesh with playmaker Joe Thornton that the Sharks lack.

Havlat is the clutch player the Sharks lack. He scored big goals throughout the Calgary series—including both the game-tying goal in the final three minutes of a game, followed by the overtime game-winner. He has leadership and scoring ability, and would have therefore been worth the risk of his injury-prone history before 2008-09.

The Sharks lack right-handed scorers and impact players with experience among their forwards. Knuble is a leader with a lot of playoff (and Olympic) experience with not only a knack for finding the back of the net, but an ability to play on both ends of the ice.

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