This is basically it, but Goldobin had no future here. It's not like we traded a prospect like Lebanc, who has already contributed a great degree to the Sharks' success this season.
If Thornton and Marleau are gone after this season, that's pretty much it for our Cup window. Last year was probably the only chance, but DW had to take another shot, and he made a great choice. We'll see where it takes us.
Hansen will be a big part of the Sharks. Being a perennial contender means maintaining a standard of excellence on your actual NHL roster, not in the prospect pool. You can't buy success; you have to grow into it, but once you there, you can ship out prospects and maintain that success for many seasons, as San Jose has.
This is also how Chicago/Washington/New York/Pittsburgh have maintained themselves as perennial threats. They go out and move out prospects for players, and their existing prospects have to fight tooth and nail to earn their spots on deep rosters, rather than be gifted NHL minutes because their team has thrown in the towel and their best players have stopped trying.
This is how Detroit really stayed afloat as long as they did. Players like Larianov, Lang, Shanahan, Schneider, Chelios, Hull were already star players or first liners before they were acquired by a very already-successful team.
