Confirmed Signing with Link: [SJS] F Luke Kunin signs extension with the Sharks (2 years, $2.75M AAV)

[Blackhawkswincup]

Grier has not impressed me thus far

I know its early, but this signing is pretty atrocious

Of course, my view on Kunin is pretty low at this point so maybe I am biased but that AAV for him is absurd

 

[Discipline Daddy]

I'm no expert on Kunin, but I've watched him a number of times and always have liked his game. Maybe he just seems more dangerous against Carolina. My hunch is there was a bit of "suck tax" in effect here. Kunin has no loyalty to a team that just traded for him, and feasibly maybe he wanted a touch more knowing he wouldn't have as many offensive weapons to play with or much of a chance at playoffs, so it took a bit more to convince him to sign.

I have hope for GMMG because I think he inherited a really difficult situation with several boat anchor contracts. He got out of Burns, with the cost of severe retention, but I don't think it's feasible to get out of the Karlsson or Vlasic contracts. No team would do that without unprotected first(s). He's doing what I felt that Wilson should have done a couple years ago, and that is solidify the team as a rebuilder for now. It will take a while but I think that's the right move.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Unless San Jose decided to let him walk he was always going to make more than that. That's how RFA contracts work.

And that's exactly why Nashville, being a pretty smart team that they are, let him go.

 

[FlameChampion]

Seems like an overpay. Not great work by Grier.

 

[ChickenDinner]

Winner winner for kunin. grier has made some interesting first moves...

he's not worth that price tag. he's also not as bad as he was last season.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

The trade is worse than the contract. The Sharks aren’t competing until they find a legitimate player to build around. What they sign someone for in a two year contract is ultimately meaningless but spending assets that can get you a franchise player on those that aren’t when you’re lacking a franchise player is a bad idea. Sign a guy like Kunin in free agency is fine. Trading someone like Burns to get a player like Kunin back is fine. Trading a draft pick for him when you’re the Sharks isn’t a good idea.

Reality is that if Kunin craps out these two years like he did last year will probably see him not get qualified and let go. The team trading a prospect they don’t care about anymore and a 3rd they’d likely get nothing out of is hardly a big loss. It’s just that the Sharks lack a fundamental piece they likely only get through the draft. They need picks more than anything.

 

[BKarchitect]

There’s nothing inherently wrong with guys like Kunin, Lindblom, Sturm and Benning…as depth guys they probably represent a step up from some of the fringe players/prospects the Sharks have been using the last few years.

I just don’t understand the deals being handed out…Grier is laying a premium in AAV and/or years for guys who should be on very marginal deals.

- $6 million over three years for Sturm, who had 0 goals and 5 assists in 34 games with the Avs and was scratched in the playoffs at times. Good hard-working 4th line center…maybe there is some hidden upside and we know he wanted a big payday but that doesn’t mean you have to give it to him.

- $5 million over two years to Lindblom who was bought out by the lowly Flyers. He’s a great story and it’s great that he’s playing hockey again and maybe he can progress to at least something close to what he looked like as a younger prospect but again, a guy like Ondrej Kase went for $1.5 over 1 so I don’t get the cost.

- Kunin…enough discussion here another guy in some universe that may have untapped potential but not sure why he’s getting a raise from his arguably already too much contract.

- Benning for four years? Just…why that kind of commitment for a bottom pair defender who is ok but a dime a dozen? At least the Nutivaara contract was a cheap, no commitment deal.

You can isolate any of these deals and say “well, it’s really not that big a deal…who cares it’s a depth player/filler until the team is good again”. But taken as a whole it seems to be some sort of weird strategy to overcommit to guys you really don’t need to be overcomitting to.

 

[Connor McConnor]

San Jose had 3 of the worst contracts in League history and their fans really acting like MG is the worst GM they've had.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

San Jose had 3 of the worst contracts in League history and their fans really acting like MG is the worst GM they've had.

Complete misrepresentation of the situation but you do you.

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

I’m at a weird place as a Sharks fan where adding mediocre/bad players actually seems like a positive because it gives the team a better shot at Bedard.

 

[Stealth JD]

Pay the man! 2016 was a great year for St. Louis' draftees...glad to see him earn a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract. Hopefully he rewards Greir and exceeds the value of that deal. I'd love to see GMMG succeed!

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I’m at a weird place as a Sharks fan where adding mediocre/bad players actually seems like a positive because it gives the team a better shot at Bedard.

Them letting their current crop of prospects play in the AHL to focus on development isn’t a bad idea conceptually. The issue for the Sharks specifically is that now is when they’ll be implementing a development focused plan for their AHL team. Before they just played the same way as the NHL team and that was really it.

It’s unknown the specifics of what they’re now implementing and obviously unknown how effective it will be. If they do well with this concept then their future is better off having their better prospects experience it before playing on the NHL team. These moves buy them at least a partial season before someone like Eklund, Bordeleau, and maybe Merkley and Knyzhov solidify their NHL roster spot.

We’ll see. I don’t mind the overall direction even if there’s some specifics I’d argue over. Grier hasn’t done anything especially damning but moving Burns was a huge step in the right direction. Getting an overhaul in the coaching of both their teams is a net positive overall no matter how things go imo.

If the Kunin trade and the signings do nothing but buy time for prospects to round out their game before stepping into their NHL time then it’ll be worth it even if it’s just Eklund that gets a little more rounded out.

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Had him confused with Jeannot & thought this was a steal of a deal

 

[Mattb124]

There’s nothing inherently wrong with guys like Kunin, Lindblom, Sturm and Benning…as depth guys they probably represent a step up from some of the fringe players/prospects the Sharks have been using the last few years.

Not to defend, but to perhaps explain: franchise in turmoil (termed the most dysfunctional sports franchise by one pundit), brand new GM, no head coach.

 

[Kranix]

Have faith in Grier. He was eating pizza on his hockey card.

 

[ref19]

What in the world are they doing...

 

[BKarchitect]

Two sets of rather scrubby depth players that both fan sets are rather underwhelmed by:

Florida: White, Tierney, Balcers, Cousins, Staal, Del Zotto

San Jose: Sturm, Lindblom, Kunin, Benning, Nutivaara

Florida bill: $6.3 million committed on 6 players, includes only one deal more than 1 year (2 for Cousins)

San Jose bill: $23 million committed on 5 players, only one deal that is t multiple years and also spent a probably high third round pick

Is the Sharks group slightly better? Maybe. Although if you told me in nine months that White or Balcers had the best season of all of them it wouldn’t be shocking. The point is both groups accomplish the same thing - unexciting depth. One team paid essentially the bare minimum. One team…apparently bid against itself.

 

[Hodge]

Two sets of rather scrubby depth players that both fan sets are rather underwhelmed by:

Florida: White, Tierney, Balcers, Cousins, Staal, Del Zotto

San Jose: Sturm, Lindblom, Kunin, Benning, Nutivaara

Florida bill: $6.3 million committed on 6 players, includes only one deal more than 1 year (2 for Cousins)

San Jose bill: $23 million committed on 5 players, only one deal that is t multiple years and also spent a probably high third round pick

Is the Sharks group slightly better? Maybe. Although if you told me in nine months that White or Balcers had the best season of all of them it wouldn’t be shocking. The point is both groups accomplish the same thing - unexciting depth. One team paid essentially the bare minimum. One team…apparently bid against itself.

These teams are at polar opposite ends of their competitive cycles. The Sharks cap structure has already been destroyed for the next five years by the previous regime. All they needed this offseason was to bring in NHL caliber depth to buy more development time for the prospects. The money spent on those players is irrelevant when they’re clearly not trying to compete for the playoffs. Grier did well to simply not add any cap commitments that extend beyond the Karlsson and Couture contracts.

Florida is already a contending team and was pretty much capped out entering the offseason. They needed to prioritize finding the biggest bargains possible because every dollar counts. Totally different situation.

 

[BillR10]

These teams are at polar opposite ends of their competitive cycles. The Sharks cap structure has already been destroyed for the next five years by the previous regime. All they needed this offseason was to bring in NHL caliber depth to buy more development time for the prospects. The money spent on those players is irrelevant when they’re clearly not trying to compete for the playoffs. Grier did well to simply not add any cap commitments that extend beyond the Karlsson and Couture contracts.

Florida is already a contending team and was pretty much capped out entering the offseason. They needed to prioritize finding the biggest bargains possible because every dollar counts. Totally different situation.

Also 1mil in Florida is 1mil where as 2mil in California is probably 500k after taxes. Obviously that's an exaggeration but there is a HUGE tax difference between playing half your games in Florida vs Cali