San jose Sharks - Addition by Subtraction
It’s July 1st and the NHL Free Agent season has begun. Our home team San Jose Sharks are adding by first subtracting, letting several players go to make room for the player who will become the latest in a long string of players who will get the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Below is my look at the recent departures and whether I think the Sharks are Gonna Miss ‘Em (G) or Not Gonna Miss ‘Em (NG).
Marcel Goc (C) - A former first round pick, Goc was one of several German players on the Sharks, Goc got off to a good start career-wise when, after spending the entire 03/04 season in Cleveland he was called up during the Sharks 2004 playoffs where he assisted on a clinching goal in the St. Louis series and scored the series-clinching goal against the Avalanche in the conference semi-finals. But, that seems to have been the high-point for Goc who never really had anything other than a mediocre regular season after that and has been particularly absent in the last two playoffs as he put up zero points in those last two Stanley Cup campaigns. Goc is a guy who really needs a change of scenery at this point, he is a good kid though so on a personal level he’s a G, but on the ice, particularly in the playoffs he’s an NG.
Thomas Plihal (LW) - Given opportunities to make an impression, Plihal never did. He may end up back in the Sharks minor league system at some point as I do not see many NHL teams taking him other than to fill a roster spot. Sometimes it seemed like Plihal forgot to look for his on switch. NG
Lukas Kaspar (LW) - Another Sharks first round pick, Kaspar needs to see if he can only play against the LA Kings as both his career goals came against them. The Sharks gave up this kid pretty quickly so they must have seen something they did not like. On the few occasions I saw him play he seemed to be a little lost on the rink. Still, he’s very young and still raw. Short term he’s an NG, but I would be willing to bet he could still develop into a solid NHL player with a team that he does not have first round baggage with.
Mike Grier (RW) - I imagine this one must have been a tough call for Doug Wilson. Grier looked visibly slower after coming back from a late-season injury. He has looked slower all season, making me think he was perhaps masking another injury last year. He was also one of the team’s leaders, or at least he was expected to be, so I think that letting him go may be as much a function of needing to clear some air than clear some space or get another player. Sure he was a little slower than another player, but he was great on the penalty kill when teamed up with Torrey Mitchell and I think Mitchell’s year-long absence had a lot more to do with Grier’s drop in performance. Grier is smart and really knows how to play his position, he’s always in just that right spot making it possible for a guy like Mitchell to go burning up the ice and take the kinds of chances that lead to aggressively killing penalties and occasionally scoring big short-handed goals. So, for me, Grier is a G but I also could see where the team might be able to get someone else to do the same job.
Alexei Semenov (D) - This guy was just to big for his own good and sometimes I think his only role on the Sharks was to be a healthy scratch. They even experimented with him at forward. Maybe there is some potential there, but for now he’s most certainly an NG.
Brian Boucher (G) - Bouch was spectacular early, faded a bit in goal at the end of the season and was a terrific back-up guy as he managed to revive his career with the Sharks. In 23 career starts with San Jose, he was 15-5-3 with a 2.11 goals against average and 3 shutouts. He took a lot less to stay with the Sharks before the 08/09 season and I have to think he was not going to extend another hometown discount. He may have performed well enough to earn a starting job somewhere else, however he signed with the Flyers today to back-up where Ray Emery is the starter. I think he’s a G, but it was not likely he was going to stay anyway.
Claude Lemieux (C) - What was the thinking on this guy again? Wasn’t he supposed to bring some grit, leadership and just plain old nasty attitude to the Sharks? Why did this guy only play one game in the playoffs? What exactly was the point of all this? I guess the Sharks were hoping for another Roenick phoenix-like resurrection of a player everyone figured was done. But it looked like the old man had barely found his game legs again, then he was back to being a healthy scratch. NG for sure, but his even being here calls the Sharks management into question.
Travis Moen & Ken Huskins - Taking these together, their fates have not been decided. Huskins never played a game for the Sharks, Moen was okay but not spectacular. The ultimate rent-a-players it is too soon to tell whether anyone would miss them or not. But, as with Lemieux, you have to wonder why the team even bothered with these guys.
So, all of these guys are gone, but none of them are the reason the Sharks went out in the first round. It is hard to imagine that anyone who would be brought into take these people’s places would make that much of a difference much less be the difference. Hopefully there is more in the works, but for now this addition by subtraction feels very unspectacular.
Below is my look at the recent departures and whether I think the Sharks are Gonna Miss ‘Em (G) or Not Gonna Miss ‘Em (NG).
Marcel Goc (C) - A former first round pick, Goc was one of several German players on the Sharks, Goc got off to a good start career-wise when, after spending the entire 03/04 season in Cleveland he was called up during the Sharks 2004 playoffs where he assisted on a clinching goal in the St. Louis series and scored the series-clinching goal against the Avalanche in the conference semi-finals. But, that seems to have been the high-point for Goc who never really had anything other than a mediocre regular season after that and has been particularly absent in the last two playoffs as he put up zero points in those last two Stanley Cup campaigns. Goc is a guy who really needs a change of scenery at this point, he is a good kid though so on a personal level he’s a G, but on the ice, particularly in the playoffs he’s an NG.
Thomas Plihal (LW) - Given opportunities to make an impression, Plihal never did. He may end up back in the Sharks minor league system at some point as I do not see many NHL teams taking him other than to fill a roster spot. Sometimes it seemed like Plihal forgot to look for his on switch. NG
Lukas Kaspar (LW) - Another Sharks first round pick, Kaspar needs to see if he can only play against the LA Kings as both his career goals came against them. The Sharks gave up this kid pretty quickly so they must have seen something they did not like. On the few occasions I saw him play he seemed to be a little lost on the rink. Still, he’s very young and still raw. Short term he’s an NG, but I would be willing to bet he could still develop into a solid NHL player with a team that he does not have first round baggage with.
Mike Grier (RW) - I imagine this one must have been a tough call for Doug Wilson. Grier looked visibly slower after coming back from a late-season injury. He has looked slower all season, making me think he was perhaps masking another injury last year. He was also one of the team’s leaders, or at least he was expected to be, so I think that letting him go may be as much a function of needing to clear some air than clear some space or get another player. Sure he was a little slower than another player, but he was great on the penalty kill when teamed up with Torrey Mitchell and I think Mitchell’s year-long absence had a lot more to do with Grier’s drop in performance. Grier is smart and really knows how to play his position, he’s always in just that right spot making it possible for a guy like Mitchell to go burning up the ice and take the kinds of chances that lead to aggressively killing penalties and occasionally scoring big short-handed goals. So, for me, Grier is a G but I also could see where the team might be able to get someone else to do the same job.
Alexei Semenov (D) - This guy was just to big for his own good and sometimes I think his only role on the Sharks was to be a healthy scratch. They even experimented with him at forward. Maybe there is some potential there, but for now he’s most certainly an NG.
Brian Boucher (G) - Bouch was spectacular early, faded a bit in goal at the end of the season and was a terrific back-up guy as he managed to revive his career with the Sharks. In 23 career starts with San Jose, he was 15-5-3 with a 2.11 goals against average and 3 shutouts. He took a lot less to stay with the Sharks before the 08/09 season and I have to think he was not going to extend another hometown discount. He may have performed well enough to earn a starting job somewhere else, however he signed with the Flyers today to back-up where Ray Emery is the starter. I think he’s a G, but it was not likely he was going to stay anyway.
Claude Lemieux (C) - What was the thinking on this guy again? Wasn’t he supposed to bring some grit, leadership and just plain old nasty attitude to the Sharks? Why did this guy only play one game in the playoffs? What exactly was the point of all this? I guess the Sharks were hoping for another Roenick phoenix-like resurrection of a player everyone figured was done. But it looked like the old man had barely found his game legs again, then he was back to being a healthy scratch. NG for sure, but his even being here calls the Sharks management into question.
Travis Moen & Ken Huskins - Taking these together, their fates have not been decided. Huskins never played a game for the Sharks, Moen was okay but not spectacular. The ultimate rent-a-players it is too soon to tell whether anyone would miss them or not. But, as with Lemieux, you have to wonder why the team even bothered with these guys.
So, all of these guys are gone, but none of them are the reason the Sharks went out in the first round. It is hard to imagine that anyone who would be brought into take these people’s places would make that much of a difference much less be the difference. Hopefully there is more in the works, but for now this addition by subtraction feels very unspectacular.
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