How do you, GM of the San Jose Sharks, fix the Sharks?

[Juxtaposer]

I’ve been mulling over creating a thread like this for a few games and I feel like today is as good a day as any for it.

The premise is simple: you are magically and suddenly the GM of the Sharks. You can make any reasonable trades, signings, buy-outs, etc. necessary. You have all the draft picks that the Sharks currently have. You can fire the coach, if you have a specific replacement in mind. Whatever you want. But the catch is, you have to fix the Sharks. And one caveat is that you can’t do this in a vacuum; the Sharks are a team of human beings with emotions whose morale will be affected going forward by your actions.

This isn’t a pro-tank thread necessarily. I’m just genuinely curious what you guys all think the best way to handle the Sharks right now is, because I don’t think it’s particularly clear cut. It’s easy to complain about what’s wrong, but it’s much harder to actually think about fixing it.

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[Pinkfloyd]

I’ve been mulling over creating a thread like this for a few games and I feel like today is as good a day as any for it.

The premise is simple: you are magically and suddenly the GM of the Sharks. You can make any reasonable trades, signings, buy-outs, etc. necessary. You have all the draft picks that the Sharks currently have. You can fire the coach, if you have a specific replacement in mind. Whatever you want. But the catch is, you have to fix the Sharks. And one caveat is that you can’t do this in a vacuum; the Sharks are a team of human beings with emotions whose morale will be affected going forward by your actions.

This isn’t a pro-tank thread necessarily. I’m just genuinely curious what you guys all think the best way to handle the Sharks right now is, because I don’t think it’s particularly clear cut. It’s easy to complain about what’s wrong, but it’s much harder to actually think about fixing it.

Define fix.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Define fix.

Make them competitive before losing the entire fanbase. Try to win a Stanley Cup. Yunno, normal goals for a hockey team.

 

[burple]

What's your proposed timeline and definition of fixing? One year? Three years? Playoffs? Or Stanley Cup contender?

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Make them competitive before losing the entire fanbase. Try to win a Stanley Cup. Yunno, normal goals for a hockey team.

Given the circumstances on this team with its contracts, reasonable may be very much stretched for these. lol

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Lose games for the next few years.

 

[hohosaregood]

Hertl, Meier, couture, and labanc are players you can actually sell. Burns maybe. We're stuck with Kane, karlsson, Vlasic, and Jones. If we did everything we could to get rid of their contracts, it would be crippling since we would need to give so many assets and retain so much cap to make it worthwhile for other teams to even be interested.

But, we need playmakers in a bad way. So sell some guys for a franchise playmaking center and go from there

 

[burple]

I mean, if you are asking what can be done to turn this team into a contender again in one year, the answer is nothing. We're stuck with Karlsson, Burns, and Vlasic for a long time. Those contracts are untradeable and even buying out Vlasic doesn't make a lot of sense. This team is going to have to be bad for a few years and build through the draft. Any realistic plan has a 4-5 year time horizon at minimum.

 

[Munnyro]

It's early but the Boogie experiment isn't going well. The team isn't playing like he preached. D are stapled to the point or are rush only for the O-Zone. The way Colorado uses their D is very impressive by comparison. Everyone looks like they 'lost their smile' type of thing. If we assume he is definitely here for awhile then start a re-tool ala John Scott season. It is a short season with no home fans, so sucking for one season isn't that bad.

• Remove Sommer and go with a young coach.
• Try to move salary: Pickles, Burns, Cooch, EK9, Simek, Sorensen, LeBanc even if it costs a pick. Probably won't be this year due to flat cap.
• Eat a bad contract or take one back in the above trade for those with less than stellar value as long as it is less salary and term.
• Add vets on 1 yr deals if they'll sign and use for trade deadline bait.
• Start adding Cuda folks to at least see what you have. Ideally more than the Blichfield 3 game stint. There isn't much there but who knows.

We'll need some dance partners for these shenanigans. EK65 is going to be an anchor for awhile. The only ones that shouldn't 100% go are Hertl, Ferraro, maybeeee Meier . I think Meier doesn't fit into the system and that 10 mil QA is gonna be dicey. I like Donato and Leo thus far but Leo needs time. LeBanc is abysmal on D but since he's gonna be on the top line, his line is gonna keep getting battered.

 

[burple]

I guess I like the idea of trading some combination of Hertl, Meier, Couture, and LeBanc for picks and prospects. If you have to rebuild, you might as well get started. What's the point of keeping Hertl here? In two years he's 29 and likely to leave anyway. He's not the future because the future is too far away.

 

[Internazionale]

This team is in desperate need of a top 10 talent to come in and make fans excited again. Oh, and stop giving out bad contracts!

 

[weastern bias]

 

[CupfortheSharks]

I’ve never agreed with the tear it down and do a complete rebuild crowd until this year. I don’t think we can become contenders with the current core and most are older and will only get worse as the years pass. So, I would do what I could to jump start a rebuild.

Shop Karlsson, Vlasic, Burns, Couture, Kane, and Jones immediately. I would explain to these vets that I plan to start building towards the future and see who is open to waiving contract clauses to move to a more competitive team. I would try to avoid retention as much as possible. Instead, I would look to take back bad players on shorter term contracts to accommodate cap space for other teams. Some examples, Kane to Vancouver for Ericsson and futures or Couture to Buffalo for Okposo and futures. I would avoid adding futures, unless nominal, to get rid of these contracts and I would not buy anyone out. We are going to be bad. Might as well let the big dollar players that I’m stuck with burn a year off their bad contracts while we are bad.

I would listen to offers on Hertl, Meier, and Labanc. Theses players are young enough that I could keep them to help with the transition but I would trade them for a good enough offer.

I would focus the coaching staff on player development. Use the vets we have to take the tough minutes while allowing the young players to play in a role they are ready for. I would make adjustments to the coaching staff as needed. Bring in good character UFAs as needed.

Pick up futures where available. Sell what I can at the deadline, take cap dumps, try reclamation projects.

Focus on drafting and developing the next core.

 

[fasterthanlight]

Make them competitive before losing the entire fanbase. Try to win a Stanley Cup. Yunno, normal goals for a hockey team.

I think this is the most important question. I think most on HFBoards will watch the sharks no matter what. But a lot of my friends only clue into their existence once they reach the second round of the playoffs.

My answer of how to fix the team itself would strongly depend on "drier" economic factors that I don't have insight on. What is the estimated dollar cost of missing the playoffs for 3-5 years? What's the estimated dollar cost of coming in the bottom 5 for 3-5 years? What powers am I beholden to, what promises have I already made to them, and what are their interests?

 

[Barrie22]

I think this is the most important question. I think most on HFBoards will watch the sharks no matter what. But a lot of my friends only clue into their existence once they reach the second round of the playoffs.

My answer of how to fix the team itself would strongly depend on "drier" economic factors that I don't have insight on. What is the estimated dollar cost of missing the playoffs for 3-5 years? What's the estimated dollar cost of coming in the bottom 5 for 3-5 years? What powers am I beholden to, what promises have I already made to them, and what are their interests?

Isn't it something like 2-5 million of revenue per home game? Or something like that

 

[WSS11]

Sell off Couture, Burns, Kane, Labanc for futures while they have positive value. This team isn’t a piece or two from being a contender. Even if they were, they don’t have the cap space and the goalie situation is brutal. DW already screwed the pooch losing Stuetzle. No need to prolong this any more. Suck for a few years and build this team back up right. SAP will fill up again if the sharks are competitive.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I mean, if you are asking what can be done to turn this team into a contender again in one year, the answer is nothing. We're stuck with Karlsson, Burns, and Vlasic for a long time. Those contracts are untradeable and even buying out Vlasic doesn't make a lot of sense. This team is going to have to be bad for a few years and build through the draft. Any realistic plan has a 4-5 year time horizon at minimum.

Yeah, I don't think we can contend next year under any scenario but I don't think we're stuck with those contracts. It all depends on what our GM is willing to do to facilitate a trade for those guys. Karlsson and Vlasic have NMC's. In Karlsson's case, if he doesn't want to go, we don't need to move him. In Vlasic's case, if he doesn't want to go, buy him out. In Burns' case, I think he's very tradeable with retention. Dallas makes the most sense to me for him. Sharks could probably make a deal there where we send them Burns for Bishop and futures.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I come in peace.
Its hard situation that all 3 Californian teams are in but the bright spot is that since fans can't go to games this season it won't matter whether you put a winning or losing product on the ice.
If you want to get back in the playoffs in the short term you could trade draft picks or future draft picks, might be able to get some really good players if the team ur trading with thinks that pick is gonna be higher.
If its a longer term plan to go deeper into the playoffs then a retool is the plan.
I'd keep Hertl and Meier the same way we'd keep Lindholm/Gibson. They'd still be quality players after a retool is over and you need some veterans left to guide the youngsters.
If you go the retool/rebuild route than Couture should be shipped out, he'll be old by the time retool or rebuild is done.

Whats sucks is we hardly get any hockey this year because of shortened season and the teams that are locks for playoff spots are gonna be able to play a bunch of extra games since the playoff series haven't been reduced in number of games they can go.

This makes me miss the days of the california rivalry when all 3 were contenders.

 

[FunkyPhin]

Burns, Couture, Kane, and Karlsson should all be moved. Issue is who the hell has that kind of cap space to take them on, especially for at minimum 5 years. We're guaranteed to take salary back, and I'd be open on any contract that was in the 2-3 year range.

Use Labanc as a sweetener at the expansion to move Jones or Vlasic.

Then just buckle down and suck for 3 years, and be a cap floor team. In 3 years when we hopefully have some elite prospects coming in, and have a ton of cap space, throw the f***ing bank at Mackinnon.

 

[fasterthanlight]

Isn't it something like 2-5 million of revenue per home game? Or something like that

The cost of being bad at hockey vs. good at hockey? While that makes sense as a total amount of revenue for ticket sales, if I were GM, I'd be furiously estimating: if we are bad at hockey, how much money do we lose over time? How much is demand affected if we are last place in the league?

 

[themelkman]

Time to blow up. Trade Labanc, Couture, Kane and any of the NTCers you can. Hold Meier, Hertl, Donato, Ferraro. Play a boatload of rookies next year like Leonard, Dahlen, Chekhovich and see who sticks. Draft high in 2022 to get Wright or Lambert, then look for some FA signings to get us back in it for 2024 and later.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Play this season out, try to get as low as possible for a top 5 pick.
Sell off Marleau, Sorensen, Nosen, Nieto, Gambrell at the deadline if anyone wants them.
Buyout Jones, let Dubnyk walk
Draft one of the Michigan boys, Beniers, Power, Johnson
Pay Seattle to take Vlasic. If we don't want to give up a first, give up a prospect and a pick.
Sign Antti Raanta, hope you can get him for $6 million
Melnichuk for 2G
Sign Mikael Granlund
Re-sign Donato
Sign Nick Bjustad
Sign Jake McCabe
All for shortest term possible, goal being to compete for 2 more years


Wait for Merkley, 2021 pick to mature, Bordeleau/Chm/Chek/Leonard to mature while still competing

 

[Barrie22]

The cost of being bad at hockey vs. good at hockey? While that makes sense as a total amount of revenue for ticket sales, if I were GM, I'd be furiously estimating: if we are bad at hockey, how much money do we lose over time? How much is demand affected if we are last place in the league?

That is for playoffs. So to miss the playoffs it is that much less per home game.

I could be wrong but i believe a few years ago the sharks were making something like 15 million in revenue. Full arenas and marketable star players.

 

[Levie]

Upgrade the sports psychology department. There are too many players underperforming what they are capable of of. Maybe the lockerroom needs couples therapy.

 

[hohosaregood]

Upgrade the sports psychology department. There are too many players underperforming what they are capable of of. Maybe the lockerroom needs couples therapy.

I actually think we need to bring in a skills coach too. I have never seen the Sharks bobble so many pucks and f*** up so many passes.