Speculation: 2023-24-25 Sharks Roster Discussion

[Hobocop]

May as well put this random transaction that just popped up here. Part of the AHL trade deadline today:

Ozzy Wiesblatt has been moved to the Milwaukee Admirals. May just be about assigning him to a playoff team for this season.

This doesn't mean he's been traded to Nashville, I guess he'll just be playing for Milwaukee instead of the Cuda for the rest of 23-24 and be back here next season.

Kind of encouraging a team at Milwaukee's level wanted him, actually.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I imagine that Grier has two different plans: with Celebrini and without. With Celebrini, I think he’ll be a bit more aggressive in adding a bit more of a team around him, so it's not quite as miserable. I can see him bringing in a couple of tweener top 6 guys just to balance out the lineup a little. Probably throw some money at some defensive FAs. We won't make the playoffs, but I think you probably want to give him a few guys to play with, guys that can make a first pass, etc.

I can see us maybe finishing like... 25th in the league and not being so so atrocious.

If we don't get Celebrini, I think next year is another tanky kind of year where he brings Kostin-like players in, maybe shores the defense up just a little, maybe like a vet 3C or something, so the on-ice product isn't so miserable but we're still finishing last or near last.

That's just my guess.

Aside from Celebrini, the other huge question is: are Smith and Musty ready to play in the NHL? If they are, that also changes the team make-up quite a bit. Like we were discussing in the other thread, I'd absolutely love a youth movement and go like:

Eklund -Celebrini - Musty
Guschin - Smith - Zetterlund
Zadina - Granlund - Bordeleau
Kostin - Sturm - Bailey

I mean, that's a fun team, right?! That's a fun team. Maybe Couture makes a real recovery and come in and play wing or something too.

The fun level of that team depends on what that blue line looks like. If guys like Benning, Burroughs, Ferraro, Rutta, and Vlasic are still regulars then it's going to be tough sledding for those forwards and not so fun. As much as Addison has had long stretches of sucking, he's the only one to show even the slightest bit of vision and creativity on the backend this season. Emberson has been solid but he's not anything special with the puck or show flashes of anything special with the puck really. Everyone else pretty much sucks and has to luck their way into producing offense. lol

 

[OrrNumber4]

On a side note, I'd like to point out Brent Burns is having a very underwhelming season in Carolina. Not that he deserves to be dumped on...he was a great player for the Sharks. But, maybe it points to why Grier didn't get a great return for him. Carolina wasn't stupid; they knew that a decline was likely. As much as they got great value out of him in that first year (where he exceeded expectations), they are now paying the price.

 

[Jargon]

The fun level of that team depends on what that blue line looks like. If guys like Benning, Burroughs, Ferraro, Rutta, and Vlasic are still regulars then it's going to be tough sledding for those forwards and not so fun. As much as Addison has had long stretches of sucking, he's the only one to show even the slightest bit of vision and creativity on the backend this season. Emberson has been solid but he's not anything special with the puck or show flashes of anything special with the puck really. Everyone else pretty much sucks and has to luck their way into producing offense. lol

Yeah, agreed. I imagine Jack Thompson and Muhk are likely up next year, and both of them can move the puck pretty well. I think even a Ferraro - Muhk // Emberson - Thompson // Vlasic - Ruuta could be better than what we iced this year. But honestly, I'd love for Grier to go out and find some capable defensemen.

 

[Sendhelplease]

To be clear it was not a good decision now or at the time to extend Hertl for 8 years but with that in mind. Of course Joe Will was going to extend Hertl, the alternative is that the interim GM is the one making the trade. Joe Will as interim GM was not going to make a bold move like trading away the team's best player, he was going to make the move that delayed a decision.

 

[mogambomoroo]

To be clear it was not a good decision now or at the time to extend Hertl for 8 years but with that in mind. Of course Joe Will was going to extend Hertl, the alternative is that the interim GM is the one making the trade. Joe Will as interim GM was not going to make a bold move like trading away the team's best player, he was going to make the move that delayed a decision.

Good point that I didn't take to notice. Joe Will trading with experienced GM's could have been a catasthrope on it's own.

On the defensive conversation, MG should fully go for the teams that have younger good potential defencemen that are forced to play 3rd pairing minutes because of depth and contracts. Just go around and ask the price. In these kind of deals I could see players like Bordeleau/Gushchin being useful assets to swap around. If you can get a defencemen that can play top 4 and could be on the timeline for Eklund/Smith/Musty/2024 1st then it's a win.
I'll try to make a bigger list soon, on which I could Grier going for.

 

[STL Shark]

On a side note, I'd like to point out Brent Burns is having a very underwhelming season in Carolina. Not that he deserves to be dumped on...he was a great player for the Sharks. But, maybe it points to why Grier didn't get a great return for him. Carolina wasn't stupid; they knew that a decline was likely. As much as they got great value out of him in that first year (where he exceeded expectations), they are now paying the price.

He was already on a pretty good decline even in SJ, so not overly surprising. Boughner also just utilized him really oddly by giving him a ton of DZ starts and did not really play up his strengths well (which hurt his point totals and made his decline look worse than it probably really was here). In Carolina, his utilization looks good, but he's just starting to look more like a now 39 year old D-Man that has played a crap ton of hockey in his career and is slowing down.

Kind of remarkable to see a guy like him that I wouldn't categorize as generational or anything like that play 20+ years of NHL hockey in this day and age where the league is getting younger and faster every year. Kudos to Burnzie and his fitness. His childlike joy/attitude at the rink probably helps a ton too in that longevity.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

He was already on a pretty good decline even in SJ, so not overly surprising. Boughner also just utilized him really oddly by giving him a ton of DZ starts and did not really play up his strengths well (which hurt his point totals and made his decline look worse than it probably really was here). In Carolina, his utilization looks good, but he's just starting to look more like a now 39 year old D-Man that has played a crap ton of hockey in his career and is slowing down.

Kind of remarkable to see a guy like him that I wouldn't categorize as generational or anything like that play 20+ years of NHL hockey in this day and age where the league is getting younger and faster every year. Kudos to Burnzie and his fitness. His childlike joy/attitude at the rink probably helps a ton too in that longevity.

827 consecutive games and counting

 

[Bizz]

WRONG. Conflating short term cap space/availability with long-term is ignorant. Imagine being in 2028 and being saddled with another $3M on the Hertl deal because we had short-term cap space in 2024-25.

Perhaps I should've used the sarcasm emoji.

 

[Mattb124]

On a side note, I'd like to point out Brent Burns is having a very underwhelming season in Carolina. Not that he deserves to be dumped on...he was a great player for the Sharks. But, maybe it points to why Grier didn't get a great return for him. Carolina wasn't stupid; they knew that a decline was likely. As much as they got great value out of him in that first year (where he exceeded expectations), they are now paying the price.

I agree with your over-all point of Burns' inevitable decline being part of the poor return, but Burns has been pretty good for the Canes this year even if his counting stats are down.

2023-24 Norris Trophy Tracker: March Update - The Hockey Writers Top 10 Lists Latest News, Analysis & More

The Norris Trophy still seems to be Quinn Hughes trophy to lose, but Cale Makar and a few other defensemen will give him competition.

thehockeywriters.com

 

[OrrNumber4]

I agree with your over-all point of Burns' inevitable decline being part of the poor return, but Burns has been pretty good for the Canes this year even if his counting stats are down.

2023-24 Norris Trophy Tracker: March Update - The Hockey Writers Top 10 Lists Latest News, Analysis & More

The Norris Trophy still seems to be Quinn Hughes trophy to lose, but Cale Makar and a few other defensemen will give him competition.

thehockeywriters.com

My feeling is that Slavin is driving those metrics...

 

[CanadienShark]

Labanc.

Lolbanc

 

[Mattb124]

My feeling is that Slavin is driving those metrics...

My friend likes to remind his wife that feelings aren’t facts. CAR pulled off a SO win over TOR tonight. Burns had 2 primary assists including one with 7 seconds left to tie it up. Slavin in was -2, clearly carrying Burns.

 

[OrrNumber4]

My friend likes to remind his wife that feelings aren’t facts. CAR pulled off a SO win over TOR tonight. Burns had 2 primary assists including one with 7 seconds left to tie it up. Slavin in was -2, clearly carrying Burns.

 

[dmcccdmn]

Is it me or has Zetterlund shown to be better than expected? I know he's a little older at 24 to be a prospect per say but this is his best year yet. Did anyone expect him to be a 20-goal ish scorer on his first year with the Sharks? I'm bummed that we're not getting the Devils' 1st this year but would you consider we got good returns for Meier?

 

[Juxtaposer]

Is it me or has Zetterlund shown to be better than expected? I know he's a little older at 24 to be a prospect per say but this is his best year yet. Did anyone expect him to be a 20-goal ish scorer on his first year with the Sharks? I'm bummed that we're not getting the Devils' 1st this year but would you consider we got good returns for Meier?

We got an incredible return for Meier all things considered. We got our #2 and #3 prospects (Musty and Mukhamadullin) along with Zetterlund, who looks like a long-term top-9 glue guy, and another pick in the early 40’s. Plus, we don’t have Meier on the books for seven more years at $8M+. Pretty clear win.

 

[OrrNumber4]

We got an incredible return for Meier all things considered. We got our #2 and #3 prospects (Musty and Mukhamadullin) along with Zetterlund, who looks like a long-term top-9 glue guy, and another pick in the early 40’s. Plus, we don’t have Meier on the books for seven more years at $8M+. Pretty clear win.

Yes, but can you imagine if they had made the finals last season? An extra lottery ticket this season...

 

[Shark Finn]

Yes, but can you imagine if they had made the finals last season? An extra lottery ticket this season...

Well, what can you expect from a Mickey Mouse organization?

 

[Gecklund]

Is it me or has Zetterlund shown to be better than expected? I know he's a little older at 24 to be a prospect per se but this is his best year yet. Did anyone expect him to be a 20-goal ish scorer on his first year with the Sharks? I'm bummed that we're not getting the Devils' 1st this year but would you consider we got good returns for Meier?

There were some devils fans that were saying Zetterlund had high potential. With NJD he was clearly not given a real opportunity due to their depth. It would be really cool if he could be the Chris Kunitz to one of our young Cs. He could be a great linemate for Smith.

 

[ISharkted]

Would be nice to see Cardwell get rewarded and be brought up for a few games before this season ends.

 

[Cas]

Is it me or has Zetterlund shown to be better than expected? I know he's a little older at 24 to be a prospect per say but this is his best year yet. Did anyone expect him to be a 20-goal ish scorer on his first year with the Sharks? I'm bummed that we're not getting the Devils' 1st this year but would you consider we got good returns for Meier?

I was expecting Zetterlund to be a garbage depth winger (the kind who gets waived multiple times in the season and never claimed), after what he showed with us last year, so he absolutely has wildly exceeded my expectations.

 

[dmcccdmn]

I was expecting Zetterlund to be a garbage depth winger (the kind who gets waived multiple times in the season and never claimed), after what he showed with us last year, so he absolutely has wildly exceeded my expectations.

I did read some Devils fans saying he has potential but from statistics it didn't look convincing. If he can get 20 goals with a bad lineup, I'd like to see what he can do with some good players.

This makes me miss the Thornton Cheechoo line first couple of years. It was magical.

 

[Alaskanice]

During the trade, there was chatter that Zetts was the focus of MGGM. I guess he knew something.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Zetterlund has been fantastic. The Meier return was amazing for us. I thought he could be a 15 goal, 15 assist guy in his prime...he's outperformed that year 1.

 

[Jargon]

Zetterlund has been fantastic. The Meier return was amazing for us. I thought he could be a 15 goal, 15 assist guy in his prime...he's outperformed that year 1.

Seriously, if Musty and Muhk pan out the way we all hope, getting them and Zetterlund for Meier is an absolute steal. Funny considering how mocked we were after the trade.