Patrick Sharp Brings Veteran Savvy to New Home with Stars After Blackhawks Exit

DENVER — Of all the sacrifices the Chicago Blackhawks have had to make to the salary-cap gods in the past few years, the one involving Patrick Sharp might have been the hardest for both sides. 

Not only was Sharp a four-time 30-plus goal scorer with the Blackhawks and a key member of all three recent Stanley Cup championship teams, he was a pillar of the Chicago community. He made numerous charity appearances on behalf of the team and loved living in his 7,300-square-foot, $2.95-million home in Lincoln Park with his wife and children.

Most of all, he loved being a Blackhawk. Playing in front of capacity crowds United Center every game, with longtime friends and teammates such as Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, there wasn't anything not to love.

But Sharp's $5.9 million cap hit with two years remaining on his existing contract, was just too problematic for GM Stan Bowman. At 33, and after 10 years in Chicago, Sharp received the news from Bowman that he would be on the move to Dallas. Blackhawk red would be replaced by Stars green.

Saturday morning at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Sharp sat at his visiting locker stall looking greener than a four-leaf clover in his Dallas sweats. While he still looks somewhat out of place, the soft-spoken native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, said he has been pleasantly surprised at how well the transition has gone thus far.

"It's still early in the season, so I'm feeling out the team, feeling out the guys, to see how we can improve in different areas. But this is a great locker room, a good bunch of guys," Sharp said. "I'm here to help in any way, whether that's in the locker room or on the ice."

Sharp would have a bad game later that evening against Colorado, getting no points and finishing minus-2 in a 6-3 Stars loss. Dallas won its season-opener, 3-0 at home against Pittsburgh, though Sharp also came up empty on the scoresheet. 

Though last season ended with Sharp lifting the Stanley Cup over his head a third time, it was a frustrating year personally. He missed 14 games with a lower-body injury, then saw his playing time and overall role reduced when he came back after the emergence of young winger Brandon Saad.

He was also the subject of unfounded Internet gossip about his personal life that he admitted to the Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc had an effect on him and his family.

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Sharp was the subject of trade rumors all year, but it wasn't until the summer that Bowman was able to find the right deal with Dallas. His family has settled into a new Dallas home (he'll still keep his place in Lincoln Park) and said they enjoy the city.

Now, he just has to get more comfortable with his new teammates, though he does have a familiar face across the locker room in defenseman Johnny Oduya, who signed as a free agent from Chicago.

Now, he's on a team that really wants him and is giving him top-six ice time, as opposed to a team that liked him a lot but wasn't going out of its way to feature him prominently anymore.

Sharp, a left winger most of his career, started the season at right wing on a line with Jason Spezza and Valeri Nichushkin for coach Lindy Ruff.

"Right now, I'm just trying to find my place in the lineup and how things are going to work," said Sharp, who has 249 goals in 747 career games. "Chances are, all the forwards are going to find themselves on the same line at some point, so you want to get comfortable with all your teammates."

"I've watched 'Spezz' and played against him enough to know what he's all about. He's a big, strong centerman who wants the puck and (wants to) distribute it to his wingers. (It's been) a little bit of a transition playing the right side, getting used to different reads. I like to think I can play all three forward positions, so wherever Lindy wants to put me, I'll be happy to play."

Stars GM Jim Nill knows Sharp will be 34 in December and that the NHL is trending younger and younger. But he is firmly convinced Sharp has plenty of good hockey left in him and that his winning history will pay locker room dividends.

The Stars, after all, have made the playoffs just once in the last seven seasons. A priority for Nill this summer was bringing in more guys who have won before, and Sharp fits that bill as well as anyone in the league.

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"It's so important to have a good room, and (Sharp) is a leader type who will really be good with some of our younger players," Nill said. "You want guys like him in your room and on the ice."

About the only thing Sharp doesn't seem to be thrilled about in Dallas is the preponderance of country music. He's a rock-'n'-roll kind of guy, preferring Pearl Jam to Minnie Pearl.

"I go in spurts where I can listen to it for a while. Let's hope I become a fan over the next few months," Sharp told the Tribune's Kuc. 

Adrian Dater covers the NHL for Bleacher Report.