Sharks again look to fill glaring need for defenseman

The Chicago Blackhawks matched the San Jose Sharks offer sheet for Niklas Hjalmarsson, leaving the Sharks biggest hole still empty in the form of a top-4 defenseman.

There are a billion reasons why the offer sheet made sense.

It subtracted from the team that blocked the Sharks road to a Stanley Cup birth, improving their own roster. It came at a reasonable price and contract length for a player that’s young and provides excellent play in both ends of the ice. However, first and foremost it would have addressed the Sharks biggest need since Rob Blake retired and that’s a high caliber defenseman.

The Sharks were unable to land any of the top free agent defenders though it was clearly the team’s biggest need outside of an additional goalie. The offer sheet for Hjalmarsson proves that GM Doug Wilson knows that; its safe to assume he’s not satisfied with the current defense corps.

The lack of enticing candidates left in free agency means the Sharks will most likely explore trade options to upgrade. Names like Tomas Kaberle, Sheldon Souray, and Kevin Bieksa are on the tips of everyone’s tongues because they are players rumored to be available.

The ideal candidate would have attributes similar to what Hjalmarsson would have brought. Someone who’s a smooth skater, can make the first-pass from the zone like it’s second nature, capable of chipping in above 30 points, and still be responsible enough in their own end to take on 18-22 minutes of ice time.

Those attributes aren’t exactly the easiest thing to find and that’s why Chicago couldn’t let a player of that caliber leave even with a shaky cap situation.

Don’t be surprised to see the Sharks settle for a defenseman if they can’t locate a puck-moving offensive one to help Dan Boyle contribute from the back end. The existing group around Boyle provides some nice elements but nothing equivalent to even what the 40-year-old Blake brought in his 20th season.

Boyle’s defense partner, Douglas Murray is a road block. He provides a very physical, hard-hitting defenseman that can’t keep up with the quicker teams.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic is a young, solid shut-down defender. Perfectly suited for a 2nd pairing defenseman but don’t expect a huge offensive push unless he learns to jump into the play a little more often. Perhaps he learned something from playing alongside Blake and with Blake’s absence will take it upon himself to fill that void.

Then there’s a slew of bottom feeders in Kent Huskins, Niclas Wallin, Jason Demers, and recently re-signed Jay Leach. Players from that group don’t even instill much confidence as 3rd-pairing defenseman, let alone anything higher. If you’re lucky, you could piece together those attributes above from all 4 of these players combined, but no individual one will.

Most fans would prefer the Sharks look internally rather than overpay for another defenseman that the Sharks were forced to add right now.

For example, instead of scooping up Marc-Andre Bergeron, why not give Demers more ice time and responsibility. Demers has a similar make-up and style but would come much cheaper and younger.

There are also players at the AHL level in Worcester that aren’t the worst options in the world.

Derek Joslin has had NHL-level experience off and on the past two seasons. Danny Groulx very quietly led all AHL defenseman in assists with 52 and points with 66.

If Wilson’s past dealings have taught hockey fans anything it’s that he isn’t predictable. The trade for Dany Heatley was rumored numerous times. However, it didn’t seem like many teams were aware Joe Thornton was available at the time of his trade either.

For Sharks fans, Wilson pulls the Jekyll-Hyde’s frequently. He’ll make you pull out hairs after dishing out dollars for bottom tier defenseman like Huskins and Wallin. At the same time, he has your full trust when he pulls off trade steals like the Thornton and Heatley deals.

Assuming Devin Setoguchi signs somewhere in the $3 to $3.5 million range, the Sharks will have somewhere between $2 to $4 million left to add to the roster. Unfortunately, top-4 defenseman the Sharks need don’t come at that discount. The Sharks need to fill out the rest of the roster as well with a few more forwards for the third and fourth lines.