With the St. Louis Blues victory last night we are all set for a fantastic Cup Battle....starting Monday. I will certainly be putting out my thoughts on the series, but since we have a few days I thought we'd start off by getting into the Sharks offseason....because with 5 VERY key UFAs to deal with the questions are many....
And of course it all starts with....
On Erik Karlsson....
Yes indeed, feels like old times but the Erik Karlsson rumors are back....after a year's hiatus, by George it's been a while...anyway...
Karlsson still has fuel left in the tank, and there were points this season where that was a little uncertain...well a lot uncertain. When the Sharks traded for Karlsson, the belief was they would extend him, especially if he proved himself worthy in the playoffs...Karlsson's playoffs were at times fantastic and at times telling...He was battling through some serious pain for sure and that is very noteworthy...for positive and negative reasons...There are three teams that have always been in the rumor mill and currently they remain. The Rangers, Lightning, and Sharks are all going to take shots to et Karlsson...The question will be if any drop off or if any are added...That is something that I assume will require time and Karlsson getting green lights from physicians...
On the Joes....
It is widely believed that Pavelski will be back and the Sharks will do all they can to keep him in teal. The Captain was heroic again, especially in the playoffs...As for Joe Thornton we saw Jumbo actually find the secret of youth this year and had a fantastic revival of a season...Thornton may have been considering retirement, but I can't see that now. He will be back, but for what price?
On Nyquist
Following the trade to San Jose, Gustav was flat out money for the Sharks. He did a lot for his own value and will have plenty of possibilities....including San Jose, who truly wants to keep him if at all possible...However, I keep hearing two other teams who think Nyquist could be an important piece...Pittsburgh (e4) and Edmonton (e3)
On Donskoi....
Joonas is an extremely tough player to make a play for because of his lack of consistency...There is no denying his skill and you could see Donskoi, given a bigger role, put up some serious numbers...but he needs to get out of San Jose...Donskoi reminds me a lot of William Karlsson pre-Vegas. There is an untapped something to his game...and others agree. Florida, Columbus, and Vancouver will be a few to get their feet wet I am told....But there may be others.
On Kadri..
Apologize..this was knocked off in the edit...Here ya go...The initial off-season belief was that Kadri would be traded because of concerns regarding his ability to control himself, but lately I am hearing more Toronto might be keeping him... There are teams looking into this though and I still believe he will be moved.. Teams interested include Ny Islanders, Wild, Nashville and San Jose...
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