Article is pretty much spot on. The Sharks are paying so much for little on defense, and with Karlsson 30, Burns 36 and Vlasic 34 there really is no upside here. Imagine having that 25 million free to invest in other areas? Instead DW or whoever the next GM will be after him are hamstrung until 2025 at the earliest.
All they acquired in the 14-15 offseason was award and Martin and they went to the finals. It sometimes doesn’t take a lot for a bad team to become a good one (and vice versa)
That 2015 team still had a majority of the core that was a perennial playoff team with some of the top players in their primes. Martin and Ward replaced depth pieces like Hannan and Tyler Kennedy, and the team's cap structure was very very good. There's a pretty huge difference.
Which is what I implicated at the bottom.
Fair enough.
I have no issues letting Pave walk to sign Karlsson. Sharks would have been rightfully ridiculed if they didn’t. We just have the benefit of hindsight and perspective to show us just how valuable Pavelski was on and off the ice here.
I thought he was acquired the offseason before for some reason. An oversight on my part.
Oh sure, that's kinda my point. Pavs was about to turn 35 and it was similar to the Marleau situation where we all knew he'd start his decline sooner than later. Karlsson wasn't even 30 yet, the year he was here he had the best stretch of hockey as a Shark since prime Jumbo, and he was a huge part of a team that was two wins away from a second Final.
In the end I’m glad Pavelski got paid and is in a better situation. He deserves it.
That’s very true. It’s very important to make the right decisions with core members and contracts because you can lose a Pavelski and be stuck with a Vlasic and Jones.
Didn't they integrate like 10 new guys that year? I remember that being a common refrain at the end of that season. Donskoi was huge for the top 9 depth too
