Speculation: 2023-24-25 Sharks Roster Discussion

[coooldude]

I want a good car. There's an Audi on the market, but it'll cost me a Ferrari price. I don't want that Audi.

That doesn't mean the Audi wouldn't be better than my Honda Civic. Of course it would be. And I can afford the gas and maintenance, that's no problem. I still don't want that Audi.

I also have pre-ordered a bunch of mystery cars who might turn into Ferraris or even better (or worse) in the next 3-5 years. Maybe it would be best for me to sit out this Audi bidding war.

This analogy brought to you by Stevens Creek Toyota.

 

[Lebanezer]

Not getting into the playoffs is lost revenue. Remember, professional sports are a business.
I also have a part of me that wants to wait and see how a player such as Musty turns out but if I can get a player who has been in the NHL and can help our young guys just by showing them the ropes and being the physical, nasty and very talented player, do it.

Right, but there's no guarantee that making the move now gets you into the playoffs. And it also comes at the cost of players who could either reach similar levels, or could be used at a more appropriate time to get a similar player to Tkachuk. We don't want to get stuck in no man's land right now. We want to continue to stockpile bluechip players. The goal is to be in the playoffs every year to increase revenue.

I think it's most especially because good wingers are always available by trade that there's no urgency to make the "reverse Timo Meier" trade right now. Once the Celebrini/Smith/Dickinson/Askarov/2025 1st/etc. age group has gotten established in the NHL, then you go after a Brady Tkachuk kind of mercenary player.

Eventually, some of the "second tier" prospects we have will become trade chips, but they'll have more value once they've hit the NHL anyway.

Agreed. I don't think we can let things play out for a bit before we start adding core players.

 

[Lebanezer]

I want a good car. There's an Audi on the market, but it'll cost me a Ferrari price. I don't want that Audi.

That doesn't mean the Audi wouldn't be better than my Honda Civic. Of course it would be. And I can afford the gas and maintenance, that's no problem. I still don't want that Audi.

I also have pre-ordered a bunch of mystery cars who might turn into Ferraris or even better (or worse) in the next 3-5 years. Maybe it would be best for me to sit out this Audi bidding war.

This analogy brought to you by Stevens Creek Toyota.

Well played. I like how you didn't mention any Toyotas, but their dealership is sponsoring your post about 2 superior European cars and their biggest rivals.

 

[Alaskanice]

Right, but there's no guarantee that making the move now gets you into the playoffs. And it also comes at the cost of players who could either reach similar levels, or could be used at a more appropriate time to get a similar player to Tkachuk. We don't want to get stuck in no man's land right now. We want to continue to stockpile bluechip players. The goal is to be in the playoffs every year to increase revenue.


Agreed. I don't think we can let things play out for a bit before we start adding core players.

Similar to Tkachuk? He’s a unicorn.
To add, he’s still a kid, we’d have him at a very fair salary. Then he becomes a part of this core group. He’s the kind of guy that helps in the playoffs.

 

[TheBigDrunkPanda]

Noone would take Josh Norris back?

He only comes in pieces he’s always broken

Tkachuk is no Mark Stone. I'd even take a spleenless Mark Stone over Brady. Brady is like Evander Kane level player.

I hate to admit it but you have a valid point here lol

 

[Lebanezer]

Similar to Tkachuk? He’s a unicorn.
To add, he’s still a kid, we’d have him at a very fair salary. Then he becomes a part of this core group. He’s the kind of guy that helps in the playoffs.

Tkachuk is a fine player, but I don't think he's good enough to warrant acquiring him now. If we're going to eliminate our chance at someone like Schaefer or Hagens or Martone, it needs to be for someone with elite potential. He's also never played in the playoffs, so we have no idea how he would actually perform there.

 

[weastern bias]

Brady Tkachuk is not a unicorn and he's not a kid, he's a prime aged power forward, there's nothing special or unique about him as a player

 

[hohosaregood]

Brady Tkachuk is not a unicorn and he's not a kid, he's a prime aged power forward, there's nothing special or unique about him as a player

if you think about it, every power forward gets called a unicorn these days. so in my head, unicorn = power forward.

 

[Alaskanice]

Tkachuk is a fine player, but I don't think he's good enough to warrant acquiring him now. If we're going to eliminate our chance at someone like Schaefer or Hagens or Martone, it needs to be for someone with elite potential. He's also never played in the playoffs, so we have no idea how he would actually perform there.

He’s the kind of guy to help in the playoffs. He’s more than a power forward, he’s also a great scorer.
He’s done it in this league for a few years. That’s better than what we might get.
If he comes here, I’ll be very happy.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Brady Tkachuk is not a unicorn and he's not a kid, he's a prime aged power forward, there's nothing special or unique about him as a player

He's a fairly unique player, but my argument would be that the 'unique' traits he has aren't that important and are overshadowed by his shortcomings.

 

[TheBeard]

In three years time when the team starts making some playoff rumblings, we're going to regret not having someone like Brady to not only be an offensive force but to help keep opponents honest against the smaller guys like Celebrini, Smith and Eklund.

 

[Lebanezer]

He’s the kind of guy to help in the playoffs. He’s more than a power forward, he’s also a great scorer.
He’s done it in this league for a few years. That’s better than what we might get.
If he comes here, I’ll be very happy.

That’s fair, but I don’t think now is the right time. If we can get a similar player in 2 years, I would be more open to it.

 

[weastern bias]

He’s the kind of guy to help in the playoffs. He’s more than a power forward, he’s also a great scorer.
He’s done it in this league for a few years. That’s better than what we might get.
If he comes here, I’ll be very happy.

We acquired a "playoff style" player with 0 experience once before in Evander Kane, he proceeded to be completely useless in the postseason until he got to ride shotgun with Connor McDavid

Big bodied players who play a physical style aren't automatically good playoff performers, especially if they are also poor defensive players, you can't project postseason effectiveness sight unseen

 

[Juxtaposer]

I feel very, very confident that we won't regret not trading for Brady Tkachuk.

 

[weastern bias]

In three years time when the team starts making some playoff rumblings, we're going to regret not having someone like Brady to not only be an offensive force but to help keep opponents honest against the smaller guys like Celebrini, Smith and Eklund.

In 3 years Macklin Celebrini will be 21 years old, if we're even close to a playoff spot by then I'll be ecstatic, we're so far away from needing to worry about that that this conversation would be charitable to describe as premature

 

[TheBeard]

In 3 years Macklin Celebrini will be 21 years old, if we're even close to a playoff spot by then I'll be ecstatic, we're so far away from needing to worry about that that this conversation would be charitable to describe as premature

If we're not sniffing playoffs in three years then something went wrong. If the plan is to be the ottawa senators/montreal Canadians/buffalo sabres of the West by needing ten years to improve only to end up not improving then we're in more trouble than I thought.

 

[weastern bias]

If we're not sniffing playoffs in three years then something went wrong. If the plan is to be the ottawa senators/montreal Canadians/buffalo sabres of the West by needing ten years to improve only to end up not improving then we're in more trouble than I thought.

Turning around the 2024 Sharks in 3 seasons is simply an unrealistic expectation, last year wasn't a typical tank, it was one of the most scorched-earth rosters the league has seen in a generation, it's amazing we're as good as we are right now and we're still the worst team in hockey

I don't expect playoffs this decade, the 2030s are the Sharks time

 

[TheBeard]

Turning around the 2024 Sharks in 3 seasons is simply an unrealistic expectation, last year wasn't a typical tank, it was one of the most scorched-earth rosters the league has seen in a generation, it's amazing we're as good as we are right now and we're still the worst team in hockey

I don't expect playoffs this decade, the 2030s are the Sharks time

If this ends up being the case then it really sucks Celebrini and Smith and Askarov ended up being so underwhelming.

 

[weastern bias]

If this ends up being the case then it really sucks Celebrini and Smith and Askarov ended up being so underwhelming.

2 or 3 players do not turn a team around, Connor McDavid only made the playoffs once in his first 5 seasons and he's one of the greatest talents the league has ever seen, you are setting yourself up for disappointment with unrealistic expectations

 

[timorous me]

In three years time when the team starts making some playoff rumblings, we're going to regret not having someone like Brady to not only be an offensive force but to help keep opponents honest against the smaller guys like Celebrini, Smith and Eklund.

If we could guarantee Tkachuk would still be a Shark in three years it would change the conversation quite a bit. But since we can't, I wouldn't be willing to bother with such a move right now.

 

[Star Platinum]

If we're not sniffing playoffs in three years then something went wrong. If the plan is to be the ottawa senators/montreal Canadians/buffalo sabres of the West by needing ten years to improve only to end up not improving then we're in more trouble than I thought.

What's going to happen over the next few years is that some of the veterans on the squad are going to be replaced by young players that are coming up and going through the same growing pains that Celebrini and Smith are going through now. It's gonna take a while before the depth of the team gets to the point where everybody's got experience and their talent starts to shine through.

I'd probably give it an extra year before starting to worry.

 

[TheBeard]

2 or 3 players do not turn a team around, Connor McDavid only made the playoffs once in his first 5 seasons and he's one of the greatest talents the league has ever seen, you are setting yourself up for disappointment with unrealistic expectations

His first 4 seasons. Missed his rookie year thanks largely to the broken collarbone, made it second round second year, missed two more and hasn’t missed since.

 

[Alaskanice]

If we could guarantee Tkachuk would still be a Shark in three years it would change the conversation quite a bit. But since we can't, I wouldn't be willing to bother with such a move right now.

I believe he has 3 years left on his contract.

 

[wickedwitch]

In three years time when the team starts making some playoff rumblings, we're going to regret not having someone like Brady to not only be an offensive force but to help keep opponents honest against the smaller guys like Celebrini, Smith and Eklund.

I genuinely don't understand what you mean. Do you think Tkachuk would stop people from taking cheap hits? Or do you think that having Tkachuk would prevent players from pushing them off the puck? Or something else?

 

[weastern bias]

His first 4 seasons. Missed his rookie year thanks largely to the broken collarbone, made it second round second year, missed two more and hasn’t missed since.

Sounds like more than 3 years to me