Speculation: 2021 Sharks Offseason Roster Discussion part VII

[tealzamboni]

Kane is dead to us. There is no more Kane

 

[Pinkfloyd]

How does Colorado make any sense? Buffalo isn’t going to retain anything of substance for the term that Eichel has left (teams don’t do that except for Toronto on Kessel which they regretted soon after). They have to deal with an impending Mackinnon extension that’s going to cost them at least $5 mil more than the $6.3 million he’s making right now. They have to fill 7 skaters and 2 goalies into the lineup next year with only $25 million in cap space. There’s no realistic way they can make an Eichel deal work, especially because there is no guarantee he plays this year and they’re all in this year or bust.

Colorado is probably one of the few competing teams that can move roster players for Eichel and still compete pretty easily. I agree Buffalo isn't going to retain but they called them up to check on Eichel so they have some interest. To have a MacKinnon-Eichel 1-2 combo would be pretty ridiculous. The MacKinnon extension will coincide with Johnson's contract expiring. I think they'll manage there even with a trade for Eichel. As for next year, the big boys are taken care of so finding depth players cheap won't be too hard.

What kind of appetite does Buffalo have to retain for this season plus 4 more? It seems to me 4+ years of retained salary is exceedingly rare.

That being said, it’s not like they are likely to be cap constrained for the next 3-4 seasons of a rebuild. If they are willing to take the, frankly superficial, sour pill - 4.5 years of Eichel @ $6-5M would probably open the bidding up considerably.

Probably not much and if they're willing to take less from Anaheim or us then they won't have to but contending teams want to squeeze every last cap dollar they can in these situations. It's why it doesn't typically work but it happens. I don't think they'll retain to that degree. It'll be 1.5 max and taking back cap.

 

[Jargon]

I do think, just from listening to his interviews and seeing what he’s done lately, that DW has learned from his mistakes. I agree with the poster who said if an Eichel deal is to be done, he’s going to be offering spare parts and hoping to swing a Thornton-esque trade. The longer it takes for Buffalo to get the deal done, the likelier it will be that he pulls it off.

 

[Shark Finn]

Eichel is a hell of a player but he's another $10M hit on the cap. Yeah, Kane might be off the books for now, but we still have an anchor in Vlasic. Also, even if Eichel's value is dragging lower and lower by the day, I'd still be vary of the health concerns.

 

[OrrNumber4]

I do think, just from listening to his interviews and seeing what he’s done lately, that DW has learned from his mistakes. I agree with the poster who said if an Eichel deal is to be done, he’s going to be offering spare parts and hoping to swing a Thornton-esque trade. The longer it takes for Buffalo to get the deal done, the likelier it will be that he pulls it off.

It seems to me that if the Sharks want Eichel, their first rounder, which could be a very good one, has to be going back.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

I'd rather resign Hertl than trade for Eichel. Obviously Eichel is way better but with hertl we won't have to give up young assets that we've finally been replenishing.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I'd rather resign Hertl than trade for Eichel. Obviously Eichel is way better but with hertl we won't have to give up young assets that we've finally been replenishing.

I don't think the team needs to choose between Eichel and Hertl. They can make both work if they're smart about it. I just don't think the time is right for the Sharks to make that move while trying to compete unless they're only giving up one forward and also getting rid of Simek in the process. If it's Labanc, Simek, Ozzy, Merkley, and a playoff protected 2022 1st then the team can get away with it.

 

[STL Shark]

It seems to me that if the Sharks want Eichel, their first rounder, which could be a very good one, has to be going back.

The talk has been that it is going to be conditional assets that make up much of the deal at this point. There may be a 1st rounder, but I think it is likely to be in 2023 seeing as Eichel is not going to play in 2021-22 for the most part. If there is a 2022 1st rounder going back then I would bet it is protected in some regard because of the medical risk that goes along with trading for Eichel.

 

[sharski]

Do the sharks even need Eichel if William "look at me, I'm the captain now" Eklund is on the team?

I'm on Team Keep Hertl Instead Of Trading For Eichel

 

[ISharkted]

Do the sharks even need Eichel if William "look at me, I'm the captain now" Eklund is on the team?

I'm on Team Keep Hertl Instead Of Trading For Eichel

My worry is recovery from neck/back issues and playing a sport like hockey at any level let alone NHL.

 

[Saskatoon]

Eichel is a hell of a player but he's another $10M hit on the cap. Yeah, Kane might be off the books for now, but we still have an anchor in Vlasic. Also, even if Eichel's value is dragging lower and lower by the day, I'd still be vary of the health concerns.

Don't worry - I've got the lab working on a way to give Vlasic an equipment allergy

 

[tealzamboni]

Do the sharks even need Eichel if William "look at me, I'm the captain now" Eklund is on the team?

I'm on Team Keep Hertl Instead Of Trading For Eichel

aka Team Keep Your Draft Picks amiwright?

 

[Lebanezer]

Do the sharks even need Eichel if William "look at me, I'm the captain now" Eklund is on the team?

I'm on Team Keep Hertl Instead Of Trading For Eichel

This is sheer speculation on my part, and is just a guess at how DW might view the situation.

If you split the team into primary cores separated by age you have the older core:

Couture(32), Burns(36), Karlsson(31)

The younger core:

Hertl(27), Meier(25), Ferraro(23)

And the developing/guys you hope become core players (this is a long list and best case scenario is 2 of these guys become legit core players):

Eklund(19), Dahlen(23), Bordeleau(19), Wiesblatt(19), Gushchin(19), Kniazev(20), Merkley(21), Robins(19), Coe(19), Hatakka(20), Raska(20) and so on and so on.

If the younger core becomes Hertl, Eichel(24), Meier and Ferraro, that re-opens the Sharks' window for another 5 years. (All predicated on Eichel's health, to a lesser extent Hertl re-signing, and of course the Kane situation.)

If the Sharks can trade for Eichel, allow him to have surgery, and play this season, while not removing anyone of significance from the current roster with the exception of Labanc, given the weakness of the division, they have a legitimate chance to contend this year. There are tons of ifs for that to work this year, but even if the Sharks can't pull that off this year, going into next year with Eichel changes their fortunes going forward. I am willing to assume that Doug is at least exploring this very seriously.

 

[Jwec]

DW is definitely exploring chance to trade for Eichel. He is famous for it. Thornton, Burns, Karlsson were all traded for "spare parts". At least at the time of the trade it looked like it. He has managed to extend Sharks contending window making trades for franchise players and I doubt he would stop that if he is given the change to pull the trigger on big fish.

 

[one2gamble]

I dont actually see him doing this. I think he actually over values some of our new prospects and his hands are going to be tied a little bit by Vlasic's contract as well as the shit show that EK65 has been.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

This is sheer speculation on my part, and is just a guess at how DW might view the situation.

If you split the team into primary cores separated by age you have the older core:

Couture(32), Burns(36), Karlsson(31)

The younger core:

Hertl(27), Meier(25), Ferraro(23)

And the developing/guys you hope become core players (this is a long list and best case scenario is 2 of these guys become legit core players):

Eklund(19), Dahlen(23), Bordeleau(19), Wiesblatt(19), Gushchin(19), Kniazev(20), Merkley(20), Robins(19), Coe(19), Hatakka(20), Raska(20) and so on and so on.

If the younger core becomes Hertl, Eichel(24), Meier and Ferraro, that re-opens the Sharks' window for another 5 years. (All predicated on Eichel's health, to a lesser extent Hertl re-signing, and of course the Kane situation.)

If the Sharks can trade for Eichel, allow him to have surgery, and play this season, while not removing anyone of significance from the current roster with the exception of Labanc, given the weakness of the division, they have a legitimate chance to contend this year. There are tons of ifs for that to work this year, but even if the Sharks can't pull that off this year, going into next year with Eichel changes their fortunes going forward. I am willing to assume that Doug is at least exploring this very seriously.

I really like the way you framed this. I've been on the fence, but i don't know, the way you put that made it make sense for me. Appreciate that.

 

[themelkman]

Eklund will be in the core pretty quickly unless something goes majorly wrong.

 

[209]

Eklund will be in the core pretty quickly unless something goes majorly wrong.

Well, we dont play LAK or VGK for a few months so he will be in the core next week lol

 

[Lebanezer]

Eklund will be in the core pretty quickly unless something goes majorly wrong.

100% agree, just trying not to get too ahead of myself.

 

[Jargon]

This is sheer speculation on my part, and is just a guess at how DW might view the situation.

If you split the team into primary cores separated by age you have the older core:

Couture(32), Burns(36), Karlsson(31)

The younger core:

Hertl(27), Meier(25), Ferraro(23)

And the developing/guys you hope become core players (this is a long list and best case scenario is 2 of these guys become legit core players):

Eklund(19), Dahlen(23), Bordeleau(19), Wiesblatt(19), Gushchin(19), Kniazev(20), Merkley(21), Robins(19), Coe(19), Hatakka(20), Raska(20) and so on and so on.

If the younger core becomes Hertl, Eichel(24), Meier and Ferraro, that re-opens the Sharks' window for another 5 years. (All predicated on Eichel's health, to a lesser extent Hertl re-signing, and of course the Kane situation.)

If the Sharks can trade for Eichel, allow him to have surgery, and play this season, while not removing anyone of significance from the current roster with the exception of Labanc, given the weakness of the division, they have a legitimate chance to contend this year. There are tons of ifs for that to work this year, but even if the Sharks can't pull that off this year, going into next year with Eichel changes their fortunes going forward. I am willing to assume that Doug is at least exploring this very seriously.

Yeah, I agree with this. I think he also literally can’t do anything until Kane’s thing is clear which seems like it’ll take at least a while longer to get any information on. If Kane’s contract is voided and Eichel is still available, I imagine he would’ve seen multiple games to evaluate the team and see how they’re feeling. In some ways, I think it’s easier for him to make the trade if the team looks like garbage rather than if they’re doing great. If they’re playing well, you don’t want to reward the players by gutting the lineup for a player who may not be available til next year - that’s a big statement to make about how you feel about the team.

So, yeah, it’s an interesting thing to explore. I think ultimately, DW saw what happened with Karlsson and seems to be actively trying to create the young team of the future. Does he want to mortgage that with a trade for a player signed for a hundred more years who may be totally unable to play up to his ability? Not sure if it’s a risk he’s willing to take unless he can make the trade for pennies.

 

[ISharkted]

Well, we dont play LAK or VGK for a few months so he will be in the core next week lol

We will have Viel Parm back by then. This is really where I miss us having a Nolan, Clowe, Marchment, or McLaren to play meaningful minutes but bring a very physical edge. It was very impressive to see Middleton and team step up immediately for Balcers, that’s been sorely lacking for a few years. Being co-workers versus teammates.

 

[mogambomoroo]

As much as Eichel would be nice (for cheap, DW style offer), seeing guys like Bordeleau and Robins really showing up makes me really want to keep the prospect pipeline. Also if things go shit this year we have a chance to get a really good prospect from 2022 draft.

 

[Alaskanice]

Eichel is only 24. He’s had success at scoring in this league. I’m trading any prospect but Eklund to get him.

Luckily I haven’t the title of GM.

 

[mooncalf]

 

[Pavelski2112]

Woooowwwwwwww