WRITTEN BY- HellaStrange
The majority of the hockey world expected the San Jose Sharks to make the playoffs this past season. Instead they did the Senators a favour, sliding all the way down to the 3rd last position in the league, guaranteeing Ottawa a fantastic player in this upcoming 2020 draft (Say hello to either one of Byfield or Stutzle, Ottawa fans)!
There were several apparent reasons for the Sharks struggles. Injuries to key players plagued the team throughout the season. The goaltending duo of Martin Jones/Aaron Dell were far from stellar. And coaching was also a major issue; even replacing Peter Deboer in December did not seem to have the desired effect.
These no doubt had an impact, however there were other key reasons the Sharks did not manage to meet expectations this season. And to be quite honest, General Manager Doug Wilson is responsible for all of them:
1) Doug Wilson Hates 1st Round Picks
The NHL Draft is supposed to be a time where a team is able to restock their prospects’ cupboard. Scouts work all year to develop and fine tune their recommendations before ultimately presenting them before management. While teams usually hold 7 picks (one for each round of the draft), this has not been the case for the San Jose Sharks in recent years. In four of the team’s past five drafts, they have traded away their first round draft pick; perhaps one of the most coveted assets in all of hockey!
2016 1st—Traded to the Boston Bruins for Martin Jones (BOS picked Trent Frederic)
Even though Frederic has not amounted to much yet at the NHL level for the Bruins (0 goals + 0 assists in 17 games) this trade was a loss for San Jose, plain and simple. At best Martin Jones has been an average netminder for the Sharks. At worst he has been an absolute liability, causing the Sharks to lose most of their games this season (17-21-2 record, .896 SV%, 3.00 GAA).
Those numbers are unacceptable for any goaltender, let alone a starter who makes 5.75 million dollars a year…for the next four seasons!
It will be much easier for the Bruins to cut ties with a prospect in Trent Frederic than it will be for the Sharks to somehow get rid of Jones’ albatross of a contract.
2017 1st—Josh Norris (later traded to the Senators in the Erik Karlsson trade)
People have several varying opinions on the Erik Karlsson trade as well as of the player himself. It’s unlikely this writer has anything to add that could change this opinion.
Regardless of how you perceive the deal however, there is no doubt the Senators managed to snag a successful prospect. In addition to an outstanding first season in the American Hockey League (Norris collected 31 G and 30 A in only 56 games played), he also managed to win the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award, for being the AHL’s most outstanding rookie of the year.
It also helps that he has already developed chemistry with Ottawa’s best forward in Brady Tkachuk. Both played together on the same team early on in their playing careers. And according to both players, they have managed to develop a rather strong friendship, which has translated to a great degree of on-ice success.
I know many a Senators fan are looking forward to seeing this combination develop over the next several years, starting as early as this upcoming training camp.
#TkachukNorris
2018 1st—Ryan Merkley
When Doug Wilson actually decides to keep his 1st round pick, he can make a decent selection. Selected 21st overall in the 2018 NHL Entry draft, right-handed shot defensemen Ryan Merkley is expected to crack the Sharks D corps as early as this season.
Last season he played with the London Knights of the OHL, collecting 76 points in 60 games; a more than respectable total for any defensemen. And with the departures of Brendan Dillon, as well as the Sharks having committed so much money to their defense, it is likely we will see Merkley slotted in on the bottom pairing on an entry level contract for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
2019 1st—Traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Evander Kane
There is no doubt Kane can be an effective player. He has recorded 40 or more points in five of his 9 seasons in the NHL, and is now slotted in as the top left winger for the Sharks.
However a hefty price tag comes attached to this player in the form of a 7 million dollar contract that stretches over the next six years. While some believe this is a reasonable price to pay for a top line winger, there is an equal belief amongst fans that he is somewhat overpaid.
With a team as close to the cap as the San Jose Sharks, one would imagine they would hope for slightly more production from Kane after signing him to such a lengthy extension.
Particularly since this Kane extension not only cost the Sharks their first-round draft pick in 2019, but it forced them to forfeit their 2020 draft position, due to the conditions of the Erik Karlsson trade.
Even though Evander Kane has managed to produce points, the trade for him and subsequent signing has put the Sharks in an extremely unenviable position. A position where their 2020 first round pick is now guaranteed to be property of the Ottawa Senators.
2020 1st—Also traded to the Ottawa Senators in the Erik Karlsson deal
Doug Wilson was likely jumping for joy after the results of the draft lottery, as it turns out he did not end up trading the 1st overall pick in the Karlsson deal. Instead it was the 3rd overall pick.
Still though, he can’t be too pleased about how the trade unfolded. Giving away Chris Tierney, Josh Norris, Rudolfs Balcers, Dylan Demelo (who was traded to the Jets and became a 3rd round pick) as well as (a 2nd round pick that turned into) Mads Sogaard; in addition to one of Byfield/Stutzle and yet another 2nd round draft pick, appears to be one of the most short-sighted and lopsided hockey trades in recent memory.
It doesn’t take a scout to determine who got the better end of this deal…Doug Wilson took a gamble and lost. Unfortunately for him these things do happen.
But by refusing to cut his losses (re-signing Karlsson for 11.5 million), he dug himself and the Sharks into a massive deficit, one in which they may never recover from.
2) 26.5 Million Dollars Annually Spent On Three Defensemen
Erik Karlsson makes $11.5 million over the next 7 years
Brent Burns makes $8 million a year over the next 5 years
Marc-Edouard Vlassic makes $7 million a year over the next 6 years
Karlsson can still put up points when healthy but at this stage of his career it is difficult to imagine him playing all 82 games in a season. He hasn’t since 2015-16, and all his past injury problems make it appear unlikely he ever will again. When one considers this, it becomes rather difficult to justify his $11.5 million dollar price tag (if it wasn’t already difficult to justify).
Brent Burns did not have a good season this year. He achieved only 45 points, a significant drop from the 2018-19 season where he managed to record a career high of 83. Was this past year just a minor setback in his career? Or is the game finally catching up with him at the age of 35, like it has for many other players?
Vlasic also appears to have lost a step. He finished the season with the second lowest point total of his career (15 points), and was a liability on the back end. When you consider how much hestruggled this past year, you have to wonder if the Sharks would consider a buy-out, to help save them several million and relinquish a roster spot.
This culminates in a total of $26.5 million spent on just three defensemen, just under a third of the Sharks’ entire salary cap! And with the salary cap set to stay firm at $81.5 million for the next several years, Wilson will likely find it rather difficult to ice a competitive team without making any creative moves/sacrifices. Something has to give if the team has any intention of improving in the near future.
3) No Major Additions—Significant Subtractions
Between only three forwards, Joe Pavelski, Gustav Nyquist, and Jonas Donskoi, the Sharks lost 58 goals to free agency last year—roughly 1/5 of their entire total from the 2018-19 season
These are more than respectable numbers for any forward, especially one who has played as long as Pavelski. Evidently though, San Jose did not agree with this assessment, deciding instead to cut ties with him. Between the Kane and Karlsson extensions there was virtually no money left to spend. Wilson put his team right up against the cap, forcing their longest serving player (and captain) to look elsewhere for employment. He signed with the Dallas Stars when it became clear his former franchise was moving in a different direction.
Gustav Nyquist is a top-nine forward usually good for 40-50 points a season. Seven times throughout his career he has managed above 40 points. And most of that time he has played on the Detroit Red Wings, so these stats can be viewed as slightly more impressive.
This past season (whilst playing for the Blue Jackets) he managed to record 15 goals and 27 assists, which would have placed him 4th on the entire Sharks squad, just ahead of Erik Karlsson but behind Brent Burns.
Overall, Nyquist is a depth player that would have been quite useful for the Sharks during their tumultuous 2020 campaign.
Yet another departure from the Sharks 2018-19 roster was Jonas Donskoi. Once again, due to limited cap space, they just couldn’t get a deal done.
“There were talks with the Sharks. It was tight with the cap space for them.” said Donskoi. “But I feel like for me, the thought process was I didn’t develop as a player the way I wanted to my first four years here. I feel like I was kind of stuck in my game. I started thinking maybe it would be good for myself to change scenery, [to] see something else, that would help me take the next step in my career.”
Had the season not ended prematurely due to the pandemic, Donskoi likely would have matched his career high of 37 points… he was only 4 points away with 17 games remaining. Here was yet another victim Wilson had to sacrifice to keep his team under the salary cap.
And it wasn’t just forwards that Wilson let go or traded away, he did the same to one of their more useful defensemen in Justin Braun. Now, it is true that Braun did manage to bring the Sharks a decent haul when he was traded to the Flyers for both a 2nd and a 3rd round pick. While under normal circumstances this deal would be a win on its own, it certainly did not end up this way for Doug Wilson. A year of injuries, a (predictable) drop off in production from both Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, combined with Marc-Edward Vlassic seemingly forgetting how to play hockey all led to a disastrous defense corps for the duration of the 2019-20 campaign.
Doug Wilson was recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (based on his playing career, certainly not his GM capabilities). For this reason, it is difficult to imagine him losing his job before the next season begins. It already appears as though San Jose is willing to give him a chance to turn the team around.
However he remains steadfast in the belief that his team just needs a few tweaks to get back to being competitive. “We did not meet our expectations this year,” he said. “But I do know this, we’ve got some really good players that care a lot. That’s how I look at it. Every year is a different year, a different team. We do not take missing the playoffs lightly. We’re not a team that’s going to go into this long protracted rebuild.”
One thing is for sure though, Wilson will certainly be on a short leash. If the Sharks struggle out of the gate this upcoming season, his firing is all but assured. Cutting ties with the man who traded away most of their valuable prospects as well as a future franchise player in either Byfield/Stutzle will be just the first start towards getting the team back to respectability.
