The Summer Plans For The San Jose Sharks

Well that was an interesting NHL Draft. It is awesome that the Ducks traded Pronger and Bouwmeester is off to Calgary. All is well here in San Jose...not. 

The San Jose Sharks went in to the 2009 NHL Draft looking to make something happen. It is now Monday, July 29 and the Sharks have still done nothing. They did draft three defensemen and two centers that could make big contributions in " three to four years," according to GM Doug Wilson. 

But that really didn't do much for the HP Pavilion-friendly. 

All the teal faithful wanted was some change. Not a big blow up of the organization, but a few changes that could make next season look a bit brighter. The good thing is that there is still a lot of time to make some moves. 

For example, is Rob Blake coming back? Or could San Jose sign Robyn Regehr from Calgary? Blake does want to come back, but the dilemma is for how much. He played well last season but took a lot of penalties and didn't contribute that much in the postseason. 

Another player who might not be back next season is Mike Grier. Grier was hurt for a quarter of the season but did his job on the penalty kill for San Jose during the playoffs. The dilemma here is that the Sharks also could sign Travis Moen, who is basically a younger Mike Grier, but with more of an offensive punch.

The big question is Patrick Marleau. The captain was not traded during the draft despite many rumors that he would be gone. The tough thing about Marleau is that he has a no trade clause. If the Sharks do indeed try to trade him, Marleau has to okay it first. This probably means that Marleau will be back for next year, which is in fact the final year of his contract.

One big rumor that has been circling around the Sharks is the possibilty of them signing Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson. He had a 1.96 GAA and a .932 save percentage in the Swedish Elite League this season. Everybody knows that Nabokov needs a little competition that will force him to play better in order to keep his job. Right now, Gustavsson is interested in four teams: San Jose, Colorado, Dallas and Toronto. 

The Sharks are also in the market for an assistant coach. Todd Richards was hired by the Minnesota Wild a couple of weeks ago. This leaves another hole that Doug Wilson has to fill.

The latest news coming from Wilson is that the Sharks are possibly looking at six to eight roster changes before training camp begins. It will be interesting to see what Wilson does and how he handles this situation. The only thing we know is that Dan Boyle and Joe Thornton will be back for next season. 

There are four players that have received qualifying offers from the Sharks: Ryane Clowe, Torrey Mitchell, Brad Staubitz and Thomas Greiss. There were seven who did not receive qualifying offers: Marcel Goc, Thomas Plihal, Lukas Kaspar, Mike Morris, Riley Armstrong, Ashton Rome, Taylor Dakers and T.J. Fox. 

Let's hope Doug Wilson makes the the right moves so that next year the playoffs will be what we are proud of instead of the regular season.