PacificOceanPotion
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- Jun 19, 2009
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Confirmed with Link: Will Smith signs ELC
- Thread starter Lebanezer
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SoftDumpInTheCorner
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I forget where I read or listened to it, but someone made the case that because of Smith's skill level, he'd be better developing in the NHL where there are guys who can take advantage of his ability to read the ice and pass whereas the skill level of the guys in the AHL wouldn't be high enough to take advantage. I don't know whether I fully buy that, but it's an interesting point.
I'm personally rooting for both guys to take their lumps on the big club.
They will both be there. Don't you worry.
Jargon
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The chances of Smith having an *extended* stay with the Cuda is very slim. Maybe if he’s really really struggling in the NHL but it’s doubtful. What’s more likely is he’ll spend some games in the press box and will play heavily sheltered minutes behind vets that Grier will undoubtedly try and get over the summer.
It is highly likely both will start the season in the NHL.
LadyStanley
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A lot may depend in the as yet unknown HC which will determine matches and minutes.
Hodge
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Incredibly naive to think Smith would sign without being guaranteed a spot on the NHL roster.
LadyStanley
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Sharks do not "guarantee" such things. It's merit system to earn a NHL roster spot.
Hodge
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Yeah, that's just not how it works with a prospect who has as much leverage as Smith. If they weren't willing to guarantee him a spot he would be going back to BC.
wishman
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- Jan 20, 2007
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There was a recent great interview with Sheng and Smith’s agent that hit on this topic. In summary, no guarantees but seems expectations for all parties is that he will be predominately be in NHL.
Hodge
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If Smith is truly awful then maybe he gets sent down but I'd imagine if he puts up at least a 30 point pace (with ample PP time) he'll be on the Sharks. Pulling him out of college just to play in the AHL doesn't make sense for either party.
Anyone that thinks Smith is not getting the full chance to reach his 4.15 mil rookie salary this season doesn't pay enough attention to NCAA signed players.
There is no way he signed with Grier telling him he will be in the AHL all season where he makes a max of 82k.
There is no way he signed with Grier telling him he will be in the AHL all season where he makes a max of 82k.
wishman
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Agreed, but I still think there is a scenario where Sharks put him in AHL at some point so that he can qualify for AHL playoffs and maybe make a run there. His agent also alluded to this in the interview.
jMoneyBrah
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Right from his own agents mouth “I wouldn’t use the word guarantee, expectation is what I’d use. All parties are expecting Smith to be in the NHL next season”. About the only guarantee I’d read into the Smith signing is that the Sharks intend to start the clock on his ELC, as there’s not much to gain for the Sharks by signing Smith and then sliding his contract while assigning him to the AHL, instead of him just returning to college.
Not everybody needs a guarantee to challenge themselves and reach for the next step of their career. And as much as outsiders think GMs are passing out guarantees for playing time, I don’t think it happens all that much and certainly not for rookies breaking into the league.
Hodge
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jMoneyBrah
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LOL, Okay. If you must make the most cynical interpretation of his agents words to mean the precise antithetical, then I guess you do you.
It’s also not a stretch that, get this, that no guarantees where given and that the Sharks staff, Smith, and his agent all believe he is capable of earning a full season of ice time in the NHL on merit; and are objective enough to leave room to have misjudged and if necessary do some development time in the AHL.
Jesus Christ. Not everything needs to be so transactional and Machiavellian. People can just be candid and straight with each other. Seems like it behooves all parties involved to start what is likely to be a very long relationship together with a framework of honest dialog and objectivity.
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
The Cuda in the playoffs? More of a long-shot than the Sharks.
It’s not like we have a situation like Columbus where their NHL team was garbage but their AHL team rocked, so it benefitted a young player like Jiricek to play in the AHL getting big minutes instead of being turnstiled in the NHL for 10 minutes a night. I just don’t see a benefit of Smith spending any significant time in the AHL. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but I really, highly doubt it happens.
Smith was picked 4th in the draft and the three players selected ahead of him moved directly into the NHL last season. None of those 3 played a single game in the AHL. Smith had an exceptional D+1 season at BC. Any thought of Smith starting in the AHL is delusional.
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Alaskanice
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I agree with this. Had Smith played in the CHL, I wouldn’t be so impressed. That he did this in his first season in college shows me he will do well at the NHL level.
OrrNumber4
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- Jul 25, 2002
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I think there was a guarantee in the sense that the Sharks weren't going to play Eklund-like shenanigans with Smith...if he could play in the NHL, that's where they want him.
I bet if you go back to look at high profile NCAA players that signed, there next league has and never was the AHL.
They either hold out and don't sign with the original team which then makes them a UFA, or they ask for a trade or they sign and play in the NHL for the rest of there careers.
Patty Ice
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People have got to get out of that old way of thinking. This is a new GM and a new regime.
Hodge
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It also doesn't even apply to the previous regime. Does anyone seriously believe Dylan Gambrell deserved to jump straight from college to a playoff team in the NHL? Of course not, but they had to promise him games to get him to sign. And that was Dylan f***ing Gambrell.
jMoneyBrah
Registered User
Is anyone saying the next league for Smith is the AHL? Literally, no one, from management, the media, or this thread are saying that. At the same time none of the org, his representation, or Smith himself are suggesting he’s guaranteed NHL ice all season.
Grier has made it clear he thinks Smith is ready and it’s not like The roster is chock full of high-talent forwards. The opportunity is being provided and Smith will have to earn his spot. I have no doubt that he’ll seize the opportunity; frankly for Smith this all probably a moot point and he’ll likely have an excellent first season that starts a little slow as he adapts, has a strong middle as he acclimatizes to NHL tempo, and tapers off towards the end as the grind of the much longer season wears on.
I also thought Sheng and Smith’s agent made a cogent point that the perception of college prospects holding all the leverage is greatly overblown by fans based off a small handful of cases. It isn’t the norm that college players are holding out on teams; it’s the rare exception.
