Team: 2019-20 San Jose Sharks

Initial Creation Date: Jan. 18, 2019

Published: Jan. 20, 2019

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

First off the obvious: Erik Karlsson gets resigned for 8 x 11M. This is fair for both parties for the elite player he is without completely handcuffing a team that already has a lot of money tied up on their blueline. He could get 12M+ on the open market, but he wont be competing in April if that's the case. If you don't like the 11M AAV, would you rather see him walk on July 1st? Not me.

Next we deal with Timo Meier, who will accept a 2 year bridge deal because that's what all the young stars do in San Jose.
Couture did at 2.875M AAV (4.47 % of cap) after a 32 goal, 56 point season.
Hertl did at 3M AAV (4.11% of cap) after a 21 goal, 46 point season (with a lot of 3rd line minutes)
Meier will be a little above this with the fact his pace is slightly higher, so I have him at a 2 year 4M AAV (4.8% of cap). If he wants more term GM DW uses Guentzal stats and contract as a comparable and get him locked up longer for under 6M.

In this case, the shorter term makes sense to deal with the 2019-2020 squeeze before they get some relief from Paul Martins buyout (1.4M) the following year, and another (likely) cap increase.

Then comes Pavelski who may be the biggest wild card heading into the offseason. Although his production is up this year, he likely wont replicate these numbers throughout his next contract. Pavelski could use Kane/Couture numbers to justify a raise and GM DW will use his age and trend of slowing production to justify a pay cut. The conversation shifts to term and Pavelski stays for the opportunity to win in SJ and takes 6M AAV for 3 years.

After that comes a trade involving Labanc and Melker Karlsson . Labanc has some real offensive potential but hasn't fit as well in SJ and Melker has become an offseason cap casualty . My evaluation is a mid pick and B chip prospect to help balance rosters but I would love to hear some input on this. I picked the Islanders for this deal because they have a fair amount of higher cap hit UFAs (Eberle, Lee, Nelson, Filppula) and are already near the cap floor. They look to have the money and available roster spots to make this trade add value for both sides. Depending on what happens with Duchene and Stone in Ottawa, there could be potential to further fill up the Sens with more ex-sharks with a similar trade. The alternative to this trade would be to trade Braun, who has value but is an expendable cap hit @ 3.8M when EK65, BB88, and MV44 are locked up.

Donskoi is inconsistently incredible and consistently working his ass off and that earns him 2.75M AAV. He fits so perfectly with Hertl and Kane that I hope this deal gets done ASAP because I see his value only rising.

Thornton just wants to play and loves this organization and decides to play another year for league minimum to help the team compete. 1 year: $700,000 AAV. Even if they win the cup in 2019, I think he keeps playing. He is still such an effective player and can have fun playing in whatever role he's needed.

Next year will likely see at least one new prospect/European develop into a regular NHLer. It's anybody's guess as to who but I put Perron and True in for now due to their play in the AHL although Chmelevski, Chekovich, and Blichfeld can potentially make some noise at next year's camp. I'm not forgetting about Suomela, Chartier and Gambrell but they have all had a chance and I like seeing somebody new seize the opportunity. I only signed who I needed to fill the roster even though others would be signed too.

I would love to hear your thoughts and potential trade ideas at the deadline or draft mainly involving Labanc, Melker Karlsson, and Braun. Thanks for reading!