Well, I suppose we can stop complaining about Kent Huskins being the highest-paid seventh defenseman in the league. In a move that can only be described as a salary dump, the San Jose Sharks have traded defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich to the Vancouver Canucks for Patrick White, a 20-year-old center who was drafted 25th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and Daniel Rahimi, a 22-year old defenseman selected in the third round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
White and Rahimi come to San Jose from Vancouver, where the color blue is fairly prominent. However, they're anything but blue-chip prospects. White is already venturing into bust territory, after failing to make any significant offensive impact during his first two seasons playing for the University of Minnesota. His struggles are magnified by the fact that David Perron — the player drafted 26th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft — put up 50 points playing for the St. Louis Blues last season. Rahimi is a stay-at-home defenseman who appeared in 58 games for the AHL's Manitoba Moose last season. He's not projected to be anything more than a bottom-pairing defenseman at the NHL level.
The other day, we discussed how the worst trades are the ones when you give up talent in exchange for nothing. Clearly, by that definition, this has to be the worst trade Doug Wilson has made during his six-year tenure as Sharks' general manager. It's a trade necessitated by San Jose's salary cap constraints, which can only be pinned on Wilson's terrible cap management. He decided to bring Rob Blake back for another season at $3.5 million, handed Kent Huskins a $3.4 million two-year deal, and gave Ryane Clowe $3.6 million. Each of those moves contributed to Ehrhoff and Lukowich leaving town without any legitimate return.
The move is even more baffling when you look at the prospects and draft picks the Sharks have dealt away each trade deadline, only to have the reinforcements leave in the offseason. The Sharks were the team dealing talent away this time around, losing Ehrhoff (who put up 42 points last season) and Lukowich (who was the stay-at-home foil for Dan Boyle's free-wheeling style) in exchange for a couple youngsters who aren't expected to sniff the NHL any time soon... if at all.
This is clearly one of those Friday trades, a deal made just before the weekend when the bad news will be buried and forgotten by the time everyone returns to work on Monday morning. However, Wilson's past mistakes have really come back to bite him this offseason and they all began with his decision to go for it last summer, acquiring Boyle and Blake while throwing off his salary structure in the process. Just to recap the offseason thus far, here are the current departures and acquisitions.
Looking at the amount of talent that has left town, you have to wonder if the Sharks can even be considered one of the Western Conference's best teams heading into the season. As it stands today, the Sharks have two patchwork depth lines up front, five legitimate NHL defensemen, and an unproven backup goaltender. Each of these areas have been diminished in an effort to keep the core together, once again opting for talent rather than depth.
With $5 million in cap space freed up, you would expect the Sharks to make a few more moves to stabilize the roster. Of course, the Heatley and Kessel rumors will grow even louder in the coming days, but you have to wonder what's headed the other way if the Sharks do land either player. For now, Wilson's strategy of going after the Stanley Cup and sacrificing the future has blown up in his face, and the biggest blow of all has come in the form of a classic Friday trade.
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Everybody needs a place to discuss the Sharks' latest trade, and we'll be holding a special edition of SharksBuzz at 4 p.m. PT. Tune in and get on the blower at (724) 444-7444, talkcast ID# 74909.
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