Now that the Sharks were eliminated, the always entertaining post season begins.
The challenge for the Sharks, as for every team that competes for the Cup, is how to remain a cup contender within a fixed budget.
The big question marks are going to be Joe Pavelski, an RFA, Patrick Marleau, a UFA, and Nabokov.
Patrick Marleau was playing himself into a miserably poor pay day. His performance against Detroit, and his performance against Chicago, more or less guaranteed him 5+ million with many many years.
Pavelski was playing himself into Marleau like numbers but his disappearance against Detroit, and more ominously against Chicago, more or less put him back into Clowe numbers.
As for Nabokov, the new working theory is that no contending team will ever pay a goalie that kind of money, so we’re looking at either a pay cut or a new goalie.
The challenge for Wilson is that Marleau will be offered some big dollars by various teams.
And there is no guarantee Marleau won’t want a change of scenery, just because.
So my thinking is the following.
Marleau will walk. I think we’ll offer him good money, but he’s gone. He lost the captaincy, he’s blamed for too many defeats and there are stupid GM’s with lots of money to offer him a change of scenery.
Nabokov is also gone. Paying 6 million dollars for a goalie just doesn’t make sense any more.
So what do you do with that money?
I’m so very happy that I get to cheer the Sharks on, rather than have to make those decisions.
Go Sharks.
