Speculation: 2022-23 Sharks Roster Discussion Part II

[Hodge]

LS already posted this article in the season previews section, but I thought it'd be worth putting Sheng's projected roster here:

Sharks 2023-24 projected roster with Erik Karlsson trade done

Sheng Peng breaks down how the Sharks’ roster is shaping up after the blockbuster Erik Karlsson trade this summer.

www.nbcsportsbayarea.com

Hoffman-Couture-Barabanov
Eklund-Hertl-Duclair
Zadina-Granlund-Kunin
Zetterlund-Sturm-Labanc
Smith

Ferraro-Rutta
Vlasic-Benning
Thrun-Burroughs
Knyzhov, Okhotiuk

Blackwood
Kahkonen

I’m sure Hasso would be thrilled about paying Lindblom and Simek $5 million to play for the Barracuda.

It’s not like Eklund has dominated the AHL or Thrun has proven anything at the pro level. They should start on the Cuda and leave no doubt that they’re too good for that league.

 

[Jargon]

I’m absolutely sure Eklund is going to be on the NHL team at the beginning of the season. Lindblom was a scratch a bunch last year, so I wouldn’t be shocked if he was scratched. I would also be surprised if Thrun doesn’t win a spot considering he was better than most of our defenseman last year but we’ll see at training camp.

I think Sheng’s roster is pretty close. Honestly that 4th line, if the players actually played up to their potential, could be a really potent one. I’m still not really sure Labanc is gonna be on our roster to start the year though.

I’m curious how Peterson plays at camp — I hope he can win a spot.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I’m sure Hasso would be thrilled about paying Lindblom and Simek $5 million to play for the Barracuda.

It’s not like Eklund has dominated the AHL or Thrun has proven anything at the pro level. They should start on the Cuda and leave no doubt that they’re too good for that league.

Well, Lindblom shouldn't have been signed in the first place and Simek should've been bought out already. But if we're wanting to keep the big salary players up and bury those that aren't instead then waive MacDonald and Smith to keep up those that are waiver exempt that deserve to make the roster because they're one of the best skaters in the organization. Eklund's bar shouldn't be about dominating the AHL. It should be relative to the roster here.

 

[jMoneyBrah]

I’m sure Hasso would be thrilled about paying Lindblom and Simek $5 million to play for the Barracuda.

It’s not like Eklund has dominated the AHL or Thrun has proven anything at the pro level. They should start on the Cuda and leave no doubt that they’re too good for that league.

I’m extremely beyond caring about a billionaires opinions on how trivial amounts of his vanity sports team’s payroll is deployed. The team has to pay for players and not all of the contracts are going to work out. If he’s bent out of shape over these player contracts not working out and having to pay them he should either:

- Lobby to remove contract guarantees during the next CBA negotiation (good luck)
- Sell the team and, in so much as he just has to have pro sports team toy, go buy a team in a league that doesn’t guarantee player contracts

Otherwise, if those players are sent down, it should fall squarely in the bucket of “thems the breaks sometimes”

 

[Hodge]

I’m extremely beyond caring about a billionaires opinions on how trivial amounts of his vanity sports team’s payroll is deployed. The team has to pay for players and not all of the contracts are going to work out. If he’s bent out of shape over these player contracts not working out and having to pay them he should either:

- Lobby to remove contract guarantees during the next CBA negotiation (good luck)
- Sell the team and, in so much as he just has to have pro sports team toy, go buy a team in a league that doesn’t guarantee player contracts

Otherwise, if those players are sent down, it should fall squarely in the bucket of “thems the breaks sometimes”

I agree with all of that but it’s naive to think one-way vs. two-way contracts and waiver eligibility aren’t major considerations when making roster cuts.

 

[jMoneyBrah]

Well, Lindblom shouldn't have been signed in the first place and Simek should've been bought out already. But if we're wanting to keep the big salary players up and bury those that aren't instead then waive MacDonald and Smith to keep up those that are waiver exempt that deserve to make the roster because they're one of the best skaters in the organization. Eklund's bar shouldn't be about dominating the AHL. It should be relative to the roster here.

I’d judge the process over the results here. In the case of Lindblom, if the process was identifying distressed assets that could be long term players or an asset that could be flipped, the idea is sound. At the time of the signing that case could be made about him, and that he was primed to break out after a prolonged recovery, and that a 2 year contract was a decent small scale bet. There was some thought that he could be a 15/15 bottom 6 guy - so 2x$2.5M doesn’t look too out of line. Obviously, with hindsight it’s easy to see he’s cooked.

As far as Simek is concerned, that was bad from the drop. I’d be hopeful that Grier doesn’t get in the habit of signing depth players to contracts longer than 2-3 years. The Benning contract isn’t giving me the warm and fuzzies, but at least it’s entirely dismissible by sending him down to the AHL should he stop providing utility.

 

[jMoneyBrah]

I agree with all of that but it’s naive to think one-way vs. two-way contracts and waiver eligibility aren’t major considerations when making roster cuts.

I didn’t argue that one/two way contracts aren’t considerations, did’t mention that aspect at all. I argued specifically and exclusively that I don’t give a flying f*** what Hasso thinks about sending Lindblom or Simek down to the AHL, or his feelings on how optimally trivial amounts of the team’s payroll are spent.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I’d judge the process over the results here. In the case of Lindblom, if the process was identifying distressed assets that could be long term players or an asset that could be flipped, the idea is sound. At the time of the signing that case could be made about him, and that he was primed to break out after a prolonged recovery, and that a 2 year contract was a decent small scale bet. There was some thought that he could be a 15/15 bottom 6 guy - so 2x$2.5M doesn’t look too out of line. Obviously, with hindsight it’s easy to see he’s cooked.

As far as Simek is concerned, that was bad from the drop. I’d be hopeful that Grier doesn’t get in the habit of signing depth players to contracts longer than 2-3 years. The Benning contract isn’t giving me the warm and fuzzies, but at least it’s entirely dismissible by sending him down to the AHL should he stop providing utility.

If we're judging the process then identifying distressed assets and giving them term is already a problem as it relates to the process. But that sort of role player just doesn't seem to be one of those for us at least that we ought to put that much money into. Lindblom and players like him should be given one year and reassessed. If they blow it out of the water, they can be re-signed or they can be dealt at the deadline or they can just be dropped for someone else.

As for Simek, the Benning and Burroughs signings give me confidence that if he's going to provide term to a depth player, he's going to keep the dollars low enough to be buried. I just wish they bought him out or announced an LTIR for the season to allow for room to grow for guys like Thrun or Muk or Okhotiuk.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I’m sure Hasso would be thrilled about paying Lindblom and Simek $5 million to play for the Barracuda.

It’s not like Eklund has dominated the AHL or Thrun has proven anything at the pro level. They should start on the Cuda and leave no doubt that they’re too good for that league.

Aren’t you always the one saying that it’s no big deal when we sign bad players to multi-year deals because they can just bury their contracts in the AHL?

 

[Hodge]

Aren’t you always the one saying that it’s no big deal when we sign bad players to multi-year deals because they can just bury their contracts in the AHL?

If we had 14 forwards and 7 defensemen clearly better than Lindblom and Simek respectively then it would make sense to bury them. I don’t think that’s the case, at least to start the season.

I was also specifically talking about Benning and Burroughs whose entire cap hits can be buried under the line. Lindblom and Simek’s cap hits are more than twice theirs so they will still affect our cap (not that it really matters for this season).

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Good Lord I need to watch more hockey this year as I don't know have the team anymore lol.

For more familiar names on our side we have:

Patrick Marleau and Tommy 'Tomas Hertl's best friend' Wingels who are both development coaches.

Joe Thornton is also here as some kind of coach or advisor person, although....he has not officially retired.

 

[jMoneyBrah]

If we're judging the process then identifying distressed assets and giving them term is already a problem as it relates to the process. But that sort of role player just doesn't seem to be one of those for us at least that we ought to put that much money into. Lindblom and players like him should be given one year and reassessed. If they blow it out of the water, they can be re-signed or they can be dealt at the deadline or they can just be dropped for someone else.

As for Simek, the Benning and Burroughs signings give me confidence that if he's going to provide term to a depth player, he's going to keep the dollars low enough to be buried. I just wish they bought him out or announced an LTIR for the season to allow for room to grow for guys like Thrun or Muk or Okhotiuk.

I broadly agree with the part I bolded. What “term” constitutes is debatable (2 years is a pretty minimal commitment, if the caphit fits fine no one cares about a second year), and who’s to say what, if any, other offers Lindblom had on the table. He might have had other similar one year offers and GMMG had to add the second year to close the deal.

Now, is Lindblom a player I’d have entertained even a whiff of a bidding war over? I’d like to think no, but I can’t help but think I’m unintentionally being biased due to how absolutely useless he was this season.

 

[Mattb124]

LS already posted this article in the season previews section, but I thought it'd be worth putting Sheng's projected roster here:

Sharks 2023-24 projected roster with Erik Karlsson trade done

Sheng Peng breaks down how the Sharks’ roster is shaping up after the blockbuster Erik Karlsson trade this summer.

www.nbcsportsbayarea.com

Hoffman-Couture-Barabanov
Eklund-Hertl-Duclair
Zadina-Granlund-Kunin
Zetterlund-Sturm-Labanc
Smith

Ferraro-Rutta
Vlasic-Benning
Thrun-Burroughs
Knyzhov, Okhotiuk

Blackwood
Kahkonen

Couture above Hertl and Knyzhov the #4 LHD? M’kay.

 

[exchequer]

Does anyone think Ferraro is worth $3.2m per year? That's a GMMG contract.

 

[mogambomoroo]

Does anyone think Ferraro is worth $3.2m per year? That's a GMMG contract.

I think because of his young age, locker room presence and if he's deployed right it's pretty ok deal for him. There was rumours some time ago about there being legit interest from other teams, so seems like tradeable contract too. I like it, but I think it's the bad team that can make someone question its value.

 

[Hodge]

Does anyone think Ferraro is worth $3.2m per year? That's a GMMG contract.

Other teams definitely do considering they tried trading for him at the most recent deadline. He’s also under 26 so it can be bought out for pennies on the dollar if necessary. Not much risk there.

 

[Gecklund]

Other teams definitely do considering they tried trading for him at the most recent deadline. He’s also under 26 so it can be bought out for pennies on the dollar if necessary. Not much risk there.

I never once saw anything about Ferraro even being available never mind teams are trading for him. Feel like this is yet another time to cite your sources.

 

[WTFetus]

I never once saw anything about Ferraro even being available never mind teams are trading for him. Feel like this is yet another time to cite your sources.

REPORT: Sharks Rejected ‘Legit Offer’ for Ferraro, Interested in Greenway?

Elliotte Friedman is spilling the tea on Trade Deadline deals that didn’t happen. And the San Jose Sharks were at the center of a lot of them. Friedman and Jeff Marek dropped these nuggets on their “32 Thoughts” podcast on Monday: Marek said that the Sharks were interested in Jordan Greenway...

sanjosehockeynow.com

It was literally the first result when googling “Mario Ferraro Trade Deadline”

 

[Gecklund]

REPORT: Sharks Rejected ‘Legit Offer’ for Ferraro, Interested in Greenway?

Elliotte Friedman is spilling the tea on Trade Deadline deals that didn’t happen. And the San Jose Sharks were at the center of a lot of them. Friedman and Jeff Marek dropped these nuggets on their “32 Thoughts” podcast on Monday: Marek said that the Sharks were interested in Jordan Greenway...

sanjosehockeynow.com

It was literally the first result when googling “Mario Ferraro Trade Deadline”

Well I’m sorry for missing it? The attitude wasn’t super necessary considering I was responding to a guy who regularly makes up rumors and doesn’t back them up with any sort of evidence.

 

[WTFetus]

Well I’m sorry for missing it? The attitude wasn’t super necessary considering I was responding to a guy who regularly makes up rumors and doesn’t back them up with any sort of evidence.

And neither was yours. It would’ve been faster to type those four words into google than making a post trying to call someone out. I can understand if this was a super obscure rumor from an unknown source but it wasn’t.

 

[Gecklund]

And neither was yours. It would’ve been faster to type those four words into google than making a post trying to call someone out. I can understand if this was a super obscure rumor from an unknown source but it wasn’t.

I don’t understand why making someone back up their claim is a huge deal.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I broadly agree with the part I bolded. What “term” constitutes is debatable (2 years is a pretty minimal commitment, if the caphit fits fine no one cares about a second year), and who’s to say what, if any, other offers Lindblom had on the table. He might have had other similar one year offers and GMMG had to add the second year to close the deal.

Now, is Lindblom a player I’d have entertained even a whiff of a bidding war over? I’d like to think no, but I can’t help but think I’m unintentionally being biased due to how absolutely useless he was this season.

Two years and 2.5 mil isn’t a horrific or insanely consequential overpay but it seems to say that it’s a little too liberal with what one is willing to pay for one of them.

 

[Jargon]

Guys, I designed the perfect Sharks defense by height:

Nikolai Knyzhov (6’2) - Jan Rutta (6’3)
Pulli (6’6) - Mukhamadullin (6’2)
Cicek (6’3) - Guryev (6’4)

The goal here would be that the opponents wouldn’t be able to see where our defensive zone even starts.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Guys, I designed the perfect Sharks defense by height:

Nikolai Knyzhov (6’2) - Jan Rutta (6’3)
Pulli (6’6) - Mukhamadullin (6’2)
Cicek (6’3) - Guryev (6’4)

The goal here would be that the opponents wouldn’t be able to see where our defensive zone even starts.

I've heard 6'8'' Tyler Myers is available. Could hold the door while the young elephants get here.

 

[Lebanezer]

Guys, I designed the perfect Sharks defense by height:

Nikolai Knyzhov (6’2) - Jan Rutta (6’3)
Pulli (6’6) - Mukhamadullin (6’2)
Cicek (6’3) - Guryev (6’4)

The goal here would be that the opponents wouldn’t be able to see where our defensive zone even starts.

Mukhamadullin is actually 6’4”. Makes the d corps even better.