I'd imagine it's a little like a chicken enthusiast sitting down with Colonel Sanders and hearing him say, "The 11 herbs and spices that make up the original recipe are…" Seated in Doug Wilson's office, deep in the bowels of HP Pavilion, the Sharks general manager asked me a simple question every journalist longs to hear. "What do you want to know?"
There are dozens of topics and hundreds of questions that spring to mind immediately, from the coaching search to the prospect base to the Boyle trade to the drafting strategy to the temperature of the water in the concourse washrooms. Instinctively, I asked the first question that came to mind. "When did you make the decision to spend to the salary cap?" Wilson must have expected it, because he pounced on the query like he was stepping into a one-timer. The response came so quickly, and was delivered so clearly, it threw me off guard a little bit. "Three years ago."
The Sharks haven't been the thriftiest team in the league — there are clubs out there who would purchase sandpaper pants if they could get a 3-for-1 deal on them — but they were approximately $10 million under the salary cap last season, and each San Jose summer has brought both sunshine and rumors of the team either losing money or barely breaking even. The season has ended in a second-round whirlwind the last three years, no doubt contributing to the club's lack of windfall profits.
Turns out Wilson's wishes were granted during the offseason, and not a moment too soon. Raises kicked in for Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Christian Ehrhoff, while Milan Michalek, Joe Pavelski and Ryane Clowe saw their bargain-basement rookie contracts expire. That forced the Sharks to either pay, or find a new place for some high-priced talent to play. Cut $10 million off the Sharks' current player payroll and you can wave goodbye to Dan Boyle and Jonathan Cheechoo, Rob Blake and Milan Michalek, Patrick Marleau and Christian Ehrhoff, or some other big-ticket duo that adds to the win total and revenue stream. Through the first four games, it would appear the money has been well spent.
Defensemen who can fog a mirror are making at least $1.5 million, and their value increases to $2.5 million if they can make a pass out of their own end. Douglas Murray can do both adeptly, so I don't have any qualms with his four-year, $10 million price tag. But I did have questions about the timing of the deal, rewarding a defensive defenseman so handsomely for essentially 66 regular season games in an ultra-conservative defensive system.
Wilson assured me he speaks with each of the 29 other NHL general managers every two weeks, and many inquired about Murray after his performance for Sweden at the World Championships in May. The hard-hitting defenseman was slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and Wilson noted the terms of the contract are all part of the negotiation process. If you're going to lure a player away from the temptations of free agency you have to make the right deal at the right time.
"If we would have waited (until later in the season to make the deal) he would have been gone, there's no doubt about it," Wilson said. "If he'd have gone to free agency he would have made a lot more. He's going to be a big part of our defense for a number of years. We have some defenseman who can move the puck, and we need a guy like him for his physical presence in our own end."
Peer pressure also plays a big role once a player agrees to a new deal, a tool the general manager is happy to employ to help ensure he's not burned by a deal. Expectations go up as the dollar figures increase, and players are held accountable in the dressing room once their salary doubles or triples. "Players know if they're making $3 million a season they have to play like it," Wilson said. "They have to improve and play up to the level of the contract." And if they don't play up to that level? They can always be traded.
Sometimes they're traded even if they do play up that level. Take Craig Rivet for instance. Wilson explained the negotiation process for the veteran defenseman's contract during the summer of 2007. Rivet wanted three years and a no-trade clause, and the sides eventually agreed to a four-year, $14 million deal without the no-trade clause, giving the player an additional year and a little extra cash in exchange for the team's roster flexibility. It came in handy over the offseason, when Rivet's $3.5 million was deemed too expensive after the blueline additions of Dan Boyle and Rob Blake.
The same situation occurred when Brian Campbell bolted for Chicago. It didn't come as a surprise to Wilson, and he was able to put together a deal involving Matt Carle — who was due to began earning (or not earning) his four-year, $13.7 million deal — in exchange for Boyle. Players can always be traded if management sees the opportunity to help the club improve, and Wilson takes pride in the fact the Sharks don't have any contracts (or players) that can't be traded.
Glancing over the roster, the closest thing the Sharks have to an untradeable contract is Rob Blake's $5 million pact, but it's a one-year deal. Patrick Marleau's two-year deal worth $12.6 million would come next, purely as a result of his performance last season. However, if you compare his deal against those of similar players like Scott Gomez, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere then Marleau is a steal. And Milan Michalek might not be there yet, but nobody's complaining about his $4.33 million cap hit and there's no doubt he'll be worth the $6 million he's due to make in the 2013-14 season.
Of course, it's hard for a general manager to commit to a bad contract when his two best players — Evgeni Nabokov and Thornton — are playing on deals well below their market value. You have to give Wilson credit for the Nabokov deal, and I can still remember people who were disgusted when it was first announced. It turned out to be incredible, and the Sharks netminder has developed into the best goaltender in this or any other world. I was fully prepared to give Wilson the same credit for Thornton's deal, but he deflected it all away with a simple explanation.
"The Joe Thornton deal took about 30 seconds," Wilson said. "I just asked him how much he wanted. Joe is a guy who really gets it, and he knows what it takes to win in this league. He realizes he could make $8 or $9 million a year, but it doesn't help the team at all."
The Sharks are constantly evolving, just as the league is under the ever-changing salary cap, and Wilson's moves haven't come with difficult decisions. The Kyle McLaren situation has yet to resolve itself completely, and the veteran defenseman has become the most significant casualty of either the salary cap or Wilson's inability to manage it. Either way, it's an unfortunate story for a player who belongs on an NHL roster.
As good as his original recipe was, Colonel Sanders eventually had to expand his menu, giving people extra crispy, chicken strips, and, eventually, his delicious popcorn chicken. The Sharks general manager acknowledges more changes are on the way. Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Murray will see bigger paychecks next season, while Torrey Mitchell, Tomas Plihal, Lukas Kaspar and Clowe could be in line for raises.
"I'm going to have more tough decisions to make in the future," Wilson said. "We've got some guys moving up, and I'm going to have to trade some players."
Exactly who might that be? Well, at this point I'd have a better chance of figuring out the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices.
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Brad Staubitz has been called up from Worcester, and it will be interesting to see if he suits up for either of the Sharks' games this weekend. There aren't many things better in hockey than seeing a guy get the call-up and compete in his first NHL game, especially a grinder who makes a hard living with his fists. Staubitz certainly made an impression in training camp, and it's nice to see him get a shot with the big club.
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