San Jose Sharks Make Fireworks of Their Own

In about 24 hours, the Sharks went from looking like the unexpected losers of free agency to perhaps its biggest winners.

Thursday they signed veteran two-way defenseman Rob Blake, a former captain of the Los Angeles Kings and a champion with the Colorado Avalanche. Friday, they pulled off a deal to bring in Dan Boyle, an integral part of the Tampa Bay Lightning's Stanley Cup championship the year before the lockout, along with veteran defenseman Brad Lukowich.

In return, the Lightning received young, offensive-minded Matthew Carle, who last year signed a four-year, $13.75 million contract extension in the offseason. They also gave away a lot of potential in blue-line prospect Ty Wishart, a 2009 first-round pick and a 2010 fourth-round pick.

The Sharks did lose another defenseman in the process to make it work. They traded cagey veteran Craig Rivet and a seventh-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for second-round picks in each of the next two years, presumably to free up more room for the over $13 million their three, new blueliners are going to cost.

Giving up so much of their future is uncharted territory for the Sharks, who have had a draft-and-develop philosophy through the past two general managers. However, they are a team that has been considered among the best in the league, but has been unable to get over the hump.

Since the Sharks' blueline was their prime deficiency in the past three postseasons, changing half of it does not seem like a bad idea. Adding a little more of a veteran presence to such a young unit also seems logical.

This is made all the more true by the observation that the past two champions have had the best bluelines in the game. In fact, those two teams do more than potentially stand in the way of San Jose: in 2007, the Ducks captured the division crown from the Sharks en route to their title, and the Sharks were knocked out by the Red Wings.

Dan Boyle also fits the prototype of the up-tempo offense as a good skater and passer, with experience. Blake does not quite fit that description, but is a great two-way player whose mere presence makes the power play, which has abandoned the Sharks in the past two postseasons, formidable.

Both come with high price tags, but in retrospect, Boyle's contract is not overpriced: he will make a half-million less than Campbell, who the Sharks let go. Blake will either earn his pay or not be re-signed for the following season, since his contract is just one year.

One concern with Boyle is his defense. He was a whopping -29 in 37 games last season, numbers that would make Patrick Marleau cringe. However, he was -13 the entire rest of his career, and one must consider that he was on what was the worst team in the league (remember they had a MUCH easier schedule than the Kings and still barely beat them out), with poor goaltending.

Nonetheless, San Jose projects to having a top-tier blueline now. I envision putting Boyle on a pair with former Lightning teammate Lukowich, a career +33 stay-at-home defender. On the second pair, I would pair Blake with either skilled skater Christian Ehrhoff (if the restricted free agent is re-signed) or the steady Marc-Eduoard Vlassic. In addition, the unit would still feature hard-hitting blueliner Douglas Murray and veteran Kyle McLaren.