I imagine I wasn't the only person following hockey to foresee a Sharks decline as a possibility so I don't really agree that it was a fluke or pure luck.
Xspyrit,
Jul 2, 2019
"The Sharks 1st could be good too, with Pavelski, Nyquist and Braun gone, Thornton probably too, Vlasic, Burns and Couture getting a bit older, Karlsson still recovering from injuries, Jones on the verge of falling apart... Maybe not super high but they could miss the playoffs"
Xspyrit,
Oct 31, 2019
"losing Pavelski and many key players aging. I mean, Thornton is 40 (and Marleau is back but 40 y/o too). Vlasic is 32 and has lost a step. Burns and EK are still 2 of the best offensive D-men in the league but can't count on them to shutdown the opponent, and EK is EK but let's be honest, his injuries have affected him. That team is just not very good defensively.
I was talking about that last year already after the EK trade and how that team decline was imminent."
Sens were bad with Karlsson in 2017-18 so having him didn't mean that the Sharks couldn't be bad and they were in his 2nd season with them.
The Sens reached the ECF (and almost the SCF) in 2017, but totally sucked the following year whe everything fell appart, so if Dorion was criticized heavily for giving up a "lottery pick" in the Duchene trade, he needs to be praised the same way for getting one in the Karlsson trade. It's about staying consistent with criticism
So far I have seen very little praise in comparison to the bashing he got for giving up the 4th OA in 2019 (really not as valuable as 3rd OA in 2020 IMO)
This is way too premature guys. Yes, Stutzle has all the potential in the world but there's still slim to no (NHL) results from this trade.
Stutzle - potential 1st liner
Norris/Balcers - middle-6 players
Tierney - I want him off the team asap (just a "limp" player)
Sogaard/draft picks- magic bean/mystery
Karlsson - Ottawa's best ever player.
Chris Tierney and Vladimir Namestnikov are middle-6 forwards. I'd be disappointed if Norris can't be better than that. I think the hockey world expects a bit more than that for Norris, particularly with the AHL rookie season he just had. Balcers ending up as a Namestnikov, I could totally see this and that's a valuable player, particularly before he gets more expensive.
I'd wager Karlsson reinstates himself as the best D in the league next season.
Victor Hedman, Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar, Rasmus Dahlin, John Carlson, Roman Josi, Shea Theodore, Seth Jones, Thomas Chabot, Quinn Hughes. Competition is very heavy going forward