Hodge
Registered User
- Apr 27, 2021
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It's reasonable for fans and outside observers to expect that but I really hope the front office doesn't think this way. Their goal should always be to turn the Sharks into a true contender as soon as possible.I made the point elsewhere, but we should act as though we expect our window of real contention to open around 2030 (perhaps making the playoffs by 2028).
This is going to be true regardless of what management does or wants.
That doesn't mean trading 1sts or top prospects or signing expensive UFA vets to sneak the current core into a wild card spot. When Grier took over he didn't have much of a choice other than to ride out the first 2-3 seasons just to burn some years off the Karlsson and Vlasic contracts and wait for the flat cap to be lifted. Then Karlsson scored so many points that he actually became tradeable.
If we can maximize the amount of cap relief we receive in the trade, especially in 2024 and beyond, I would be okay with taking a hit on the quality of assets we're getting back. By the end of next season we should have plenty of valuable assets so if we can pair that with plenty of cap space it's possible to acquire multiple star level pieces. Pettersson was just one example but from 2024-2026 there are a ton of relatively young elite players set to hit the UFA and "RFA" (with 1 year left and arb rights) markets.
I'm guessing Grier feels similarly which is why we don't seem to want to retain more than 20-25% of the contract. The stalemate is likely because we are trying to extract as much value as possible without increasing our multiyear cap commitments and being told that Karlsson at 8.5-9.5 million isn't worth a hell of a lot.