It’s hard to believe goalie Antti Niemi signing with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday wasn’t the end-game of general manager Doug Wilson’s master plan:
Step 1: On June 18, have captain Rob Blake announce his retirement, opening up a spot on defense.
Step 2: On June 22, announce in a pre-draft press conference that goalie Evgeni Nabokov won’t be brought back to spread his rare case of untimely mediocrity around the locker room any longer.
Step 3: On July 1, sign career back-up Antero Niittymaki to a two-year, $4-million deal, under the guise that he’ll become the team’s new starter. Then smile and laugh maniacally behind closed doors.
Step 4: On July 7, hold a farewell party for Nabokov, as he leaves the NHL to sign with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL... and strangely leave Nabokov off the guest list.
Step 5: On July 9, sign Chicago Blackhawks at-best second-pairing defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to a four-year, $14-million contract offer sheet (to supposedly fill the hole left by Blake’s retirement), prompting the Hawks to match it as a big screw you to Sharks management. Then laugh again as the Hawks unwittingly shoot themselves in the foot and press up further against the salary cap.
Step 6: On August 2, watch as the Blackhawks walk away from Stanley-Cup-winning-goalie Niemi’s arbitration-awarded salary of $2.75 million. Then, playfully imitate Hawks gm Stan Bowman while looking in a mirror and saying: “If only I didn’t match Hjalmarsson’s offer sheet. Damn you, Wilson!” and scream upward into the sky while yelling out “Wilson” for added effect. Then laugh manically to close the evening.
Step 7: On September 2, sign Niemi for $2 million on the cheap by offering him the chance to deliver a bigger screw you to Chicago as a signing bonus, all the while knowing the Hawks could and would have kept him for that much.
Step 8: Sit back and enjoy the fruits of labour. Laughing maniacally is just one of many options at this point.
Wilson may not actually be moonlighting as a diabolical genius, but no one can deny that he is a first-rate gm, or at least that he’s been as much this off-season. He cut ties with Nabokov and saved his team $2 million by signing both Niittymaki and Niemi to $2-million contracts. That the Sharks ended up picking up the Hawks’ number-one goalie is at the very least the icing on the cake this summer, perhaps the one that was served at Nabokov’s going-away party.
In Nabokov, the Sharks are losing a very good goalie who has consistently been among the league’s top performers during the regular season but could not keep it together come playoff time. In Niemi, the Sharks are getting the goalie that helped to eliminate them in the Western Conference finals this past spring.
Despite having only played one full season in the league, he’s already won a championship. Niemi is also eight years younger, which pretty much makes the move a win on all levels. The only thing left for Wilson is to bring the Sharks to the point that they can win at the next level.
In that regard, he still has a ways to go. While San Jose has improved in goal, they still have that aforementioned hole on defense to fill. While this late in the free-agent season few quality defensemen are left, Paul Mara and Marc-Andre Bergeron represent two cheap possibilities. Mara is of course more of a stay-at-home defenseman at this stage of his career and Bergeron can still man the point on the power play with the best of them, despite his defensive deficiencies.
And if Wilson really wants to prove himself as one of the league’s premier gms, he should maybe try and wrest away a top defenseman from another team. I hear the Maple Leafs’ Tomas Kaberle is available, but that’s a story for another day.
So, this latest coup by Wilson needs to take an immediate back seat to what should be his next top priority. The Sharks may still be a top-tier team in the league, but they’re far from a legitimate contender. The Sharks’ ultimate goal of finally winning a Cup after years of falling short and flat on their faces is far from set in stone. San Jose should be alright though, as long as Wilson takes it step by step, along with a few intermittent breaks of laughing his ass off in between. He’s earned that much at least.
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