Does he take the 2015 route and add a couple vets to shore up the forwards and 3rhd spot? Or does he move one of the big contracts and salvage it the best he can? Possibly another blockbuster as were so accustomed to?

I wanted to have a conversation here so 20 people who know nothing about the Sharks dont chime in with ridiculous comments about the window being closed and blow it up nonsense.

@papishark @Klara @RawZuccSauce420 @JumboJoe @Eldoser

I don't think we need any more veterans, we already have enough

What we do need is 1 or 2 top 6 forwards and a half decent goalie. If we can somehow get rid of Jones then we can keep Dell and then sign another free agent goaltender like Khudobin or Greiss. If we can't get rid of Jones then we can still maybe sign a free agent goalie (probably not Dell though, we would need someone better) or trade for a goalie like Georgiev or one of Pittsburgh's goaltenders.

Getting a couple top 6 forwards will be a little harder, though. There's not that many options in free agency. Toffoli fits our team needs (top 6 RW) but I think he will cost too much. There are a lot of trade options, though. Killorn, Bailey, J. Anderson, Johnsson, and Staal just to name a few. We also can re-sign Labanc but I still think we need 2 more top 6 forwards.

I don't think the bottom pairing RD spot will be a big problem. Rutta would be my favorite option, but we could also get another LD like McCabe who would be pretty cheap and play Ferraro on his opposite side again. Merkley may also be ready too.

Don't really think San Jose should be doing any other blockbuster trades unless we're offering the biggest piece and gaining smaller assets, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Doug do it again.

Tradeable assets: True, Suomela, Kellman, Letunov, Gambrell, Chekhovich, Labanc, COL pick, 21 3rds, Burns, Vlasic, Sorensen and Jones

Untouchable: Meier, Hertl, Couture, Kane, Karlsson, Simek, Mario, Chmelevski, Korenar, Melnichuk, Leonard, Pasichnuk, Gregor, the SJ 2nd and TB first.

We really gotta shore up the prospects so keeping our two top 35 picks should be the plan.

@JumboJoe if we lose Jumbo and patty this season i think adding a vet bottom six center would be a good plan like Soderberg or Paquette.

We need atleast one goalie and one forward. I think there are lots of ways to find those, but the smart move would be to bring in a UFA vet backup like Khudobin, Greiss or Talbot, and then make a trade for a top six forward. I think the worst thing to do would be to move our 2021 first rounder so avoid that, so ship one of our picks this year and a player like Gambrel off to get a top six forward like Killorn, Palat, Johnson etc etc. If we have money left then sign a depth forward too like fast

I like the idea of adding Killorn or Palat but im concerned about the 3C spot. Jumbo has lost a couple steps and really shouldnt be relied upon for important third line minutes. I like Paquette and TB can afford to shed him with Coleman and Goody there now. I don't think Sasha is ready to anchor a line on his own.

True, but I think we re-sign Thornton. If we don't I could definitely see us going after those guys. Bozak with a bit of retention could also work.

I feel Bozak is too expensive. It would need to be a lot of retained salary. Paquette makes under 2mil. And Jumbo is slow as slow can get.

That's true, but we do have a lot of cap space and Bozak>Paquette

I dont have an issue with Jumbo. He played great this season when he was forced to step up and play second line, and even first.

Disagree on both fronts. We have around 15mil to sign Labanc, aquire a new top six (4-5 mil) a new goalie (3-3.5 mil) and thats already a good chunk of our cap. Bozak makes 5 mil and is 34. Pass.

I have no issue signing him but to be relied on for 3rd line minutes at 41 seems a stretch.

It does seem like it, but you have to remember we arent talking about some bozo off the street. Jumbo is one of the best playmakers in the history of the league

I know Jumbo. Should get sheltered 4c minutes and 2nd PP unit time. Or pull a Williams/Fisher and sign later in the season so hes fresh for big games, but thats not really Joes style.

I agree, he does probably need some time off this season, but we have guys like Handemark, Chmelevski and True who can take games when needed

Honestly I have no clue what Doug does this offseason. I genuinely don't know what he's gonna do. I think that he has more options than most people would think and that if he truly wants to make this team a contender again, he's gonna have to make some big(ish) trades. All of the Armchair GM's sharks fans have done may not be perfect, but those are proof that there's a lot of different trades Doug could pursue, a lot of different free agents he could sign and a lot of different roster moves he could make. His hands are tied a little by the bad contracts on the team, but I think he has more than enough to work with. Let's hope he does well.

My general checklist for this offseason would be this:

- Fix goalie situation
- Add talented top 6 winger or center
- Move one of Burns or Vlasic (More of a long term necessity)
- Make sure the 3C role is taken care of
- Try to preserve as much cap space as possible

Despite my mixed feelings about Kevin Kurz, his insight tends to be right, or close to right, more often than not. Being that he's the most embedded reporter it makes sense.

So far his reports include:
- Adding a "veteran" goalie; he's named Greiss specifically.
- Adding a top-6 winger; he's named Toffoli specifically.
- Bringing back Jumbo (if he wants to come back) and Patty (DW was quoted as wanting him back so he could break Howe's record on the Sharks), as long as they agree to cheap contracts.
- Possibly trading Labanc, if an unique opportunity arises.
- Moving Burns or Vlasic (most likely Burns) to clear cap space, although he's cooled off on this prospect recently.
- Finding more hidden gems in Europe and the CHL/NCAA.

I have a feeling our style and strategy for the future will depend heavily on if we keep Burns.
Having Burns will encourage a continuation of the gritty, garbage goal strategy, losing Burns will likely push us to adopt a faster, more skill based style, although that would take a lot of adjustment.

Personally, I hope we keep Burns, trade out Sorensen and Gambrell, acquire Killorn, sign Greiss, and, if there's any cap room left, sign some defensive forwards like Fast (NYR) or Larsson (BUF).

Also, thanks for starting this thread!

Bumping thread back up since now I found the forums 🤣

Well, it seems like absolutely NOTHING. Noesen was great and draft was good, but it will be affect us 2022-23.
Rumours say Sharks are not going to do anything crazy, I really hope its not true. We need to do something.

EDIT: Watching the Pacific getting so much better every god damn minute makes me boil to be honest, I just want us to be at least competetive.

We still have the tools to be competitive as we did last year. I think Doug mean he would not sign any big contracts not that he wouldnt acquire anyone.

When we missed the playoffs in 2015 all we did the next season was acquire a bottom pair dman (Paul Martin) a bottom six depth forward (ward) and a Euro free agent who no one knew would be good (Joonas Donskoi). Spaling, Reimer and Polak, all depth players were added at the deadline. Wasnt that bad, we did reach the finals the next year.

I believe Doug will still grab a depth guy or two on cheap deals, we need RHD and a middle six RW unless he believes one of Chmelevski or Blichfeld will take one of those roles.

A permanent and forward thinking coach group who can instill a game plan from day one is going to be huge, the players seem to respond well to Boughner and if the netminders continue to improve as I think they will then we have a chance to make the playoffs at least and if were on track for the playoffs Doug will certainly add a piece via trade next season.

Yeah, I see where you are coming from. Good take. I was just hoping the spark was a little more than Donato/Dubnyk. It is going to be a very competitive Pacific division this coming year with
-Anaheim/Kings getting younger and better
-Edmonton bringing a lot of potential pieces with already McDavid/Draisaitl
-Vancouver being potential beast with young elites
-Calgary taking step forward on goalie pov
-Arizona is the only meh
-Vegas probably being a force they already were (with Lehner now and Pietro probably (I dont know how) going there)

I know Sharks got a good group, but I always watch it from division perspective. Sharks was at the top 3 of the division every year for so long (without a cup), so its hard to accept its going to get harder.

If Karlsson, Couture, Hertl, Burns, Meier, Kane and Vlasic all play to their expected potential then we should have no problem with LA or Anaheim, should be competitive with Vancouver, Calgary and Vegas. This is still a really good team. They need to get on the same page and start strong. I fully expect one of Chmelevski, Leonard or even Merkley to break out this year.

If it all continues downhill then they need to consider trading a piece the core to shake it up and bring someone new in. I’m not concerned but i am in the minority here so go figure.

Yeah, I agree on that. Lets hope! If they play to their potential and the new guys hop in the win train, it could easily be at least a playoff battle. I really want to believe! Go figure and Go Sharks.