Doug Wilson went from a GM people had lost faith in to OMGWELOVEDOUGWILSON over night. I'm just...boggled.
Floored, may be a better word.
Ignoring all other issues, Heatley is not the savior of the team. A decent addition, to be sure, but he doesn't solve all our problems. We lack depth, for one thing and I'm not even sure we can dress a full team at the moment. (ignoring any possible promotions for the boys from woostah) And despite DW assuring us there's room to move as the season progresses, the team is back over the cap.
Stufflife and Plank had some GREAT points on this issue over at Fear the Fin, and I'm posting them below because they both covered it with far more eloquence that I ever could. (link to the thread, if you wish to read the points there instead)
Stufflife: What’s out of the way? We can’t field the team yet. Technically we’re over the cap in payroll, and that’s with Ortmeyer and without an injured Mitchell and a scratched forward and Demers and Joslin taking the #6 and #7 defenseman spots. We couldn’t even afford to bring up Petrecki (I think. My cap knowledge is spotty).
Boy, that paragraph is a mess. Let me try it another way. Ignore any specific line combos or pairings you don’t like.
Heatley – Thornton – Setoguchi
Marleau – Pavelski – Clowe
McGinn – Mitchell (-injured- hurt, need to call up a reserve) – Ortmeyer
Staubitz – Nichol – Shelley
no healthy scratch
Boyle – Blake
Vlasic – Huskins
Murray – Demers
Joslin as healthy scratch
Nabokov
Greiss
Capgeek.com says this is $57,349,163; that leaves a theoretical $690,837 in space, but I don’t see it, especially when the cap is set $56.8M.
I don’t see how DW can go into the season like this. Is there another move coming?
Plank:The “theoretical $690,837 in space” is discluding performance bonuses. I can’t find the specific bonuses for either Blake, Setoguchi, or McGinn, but if they are on pace to hit them by the end of the season (20 G for Setoguchi, 30 points for McGinn etc.) then San Jose will need to make a move at the deadline. I explained it here if you’re interested (it’s the first question). I’ve talked with Mirtle a lot about bonuses this summer, and entry level bonuses (Gooch, McGinn) are usually pretty easy to hit- I assume they do it.
As for $.690 M in space, that’s probably enough to sign a healthy scratch on the cheap. DW doesn’t have to make a move now, but if the aforementioned bonuses look like they’re going to be hit, he will have to make a move.
I’m actually going to update this on the main piece- a very good point stufflife, and I wasn’t even aware of it before you inspired me to look at the numbers. Usually CapGeek factors in the bonuses when dealing with cap space. This might be the first time I’ve looked at it without them listing it.
I will reserve final judgement on the addition of Heatley, (as well as any other players we traded for), until I've had some time to get to know them and watch them on the ice. They're Sharks and I will cheer for them. Unless we get Pronger, that's not a fact that's going to change.
Ignoring my personal feelings regarding the loss of Cheechoo (who, to be honest, we knew was not long for teal) and Milan, and ignoring all the Heatley hoopla, I can accept and deal with this trade. As a fan, that is my duty. But I'm just boggled at the reaction to it. It's like suddenly all the Sharks problems are solved by the acquisition of one player. And yet I still have some concerns and I find myself wondering why it is that so many seem to be overlooking these issues.
I don't get it.
