Uh Oh, We've Got Cap Trouble

According to nhlscap.com (powered by Hockey Buzz, your worldwide leader in fairy tales and tomfoolery) Christian Ehrhoff has signed with the Sharks for three years at $3.1 M per year. I can't find the information on TSN or the Sharks main page, but assume it will be up this morning. It is currently 1:57 AM as I am typing this sentence.

So what does this all mean? Well by jove, we've got quite a situation on our hands. With Marcel Goc at arbitration (now is the perfect time to get his blog rolling again) and Ryane Clowe still unsigned (LEMME TELL YOU......ah, you've guys have heard enough of that already) we have exactly $2,149,166 million steadily declining American dollars left under the cap. Doug Wilson has mentioned before that the Sharks will not spend to the limit. Not that we could even theoretically do so with our current roster (while re-signing Clowe and Goc).

So what does this all mean? Let's head out to Bozo The Clown Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room.


A Is For Adios: Kyle McLaren is on his way out. There's no possible way we keep his $2.5 M contract around. His famous hip check has become a thing of the past, and with our blueline basically set, he's the odd man out. Expect a third to fifth rounder in 2017 in exchange.

B is For Blake: How short-sighted does that Rob Blake signing look right now? Granted he's a power play man and will bring a lot of experience (Stanley Cup anyone?) to the table, but good gravy he's worth 3 million dollars MAX (and I say that solely because the free agent market was insane this year, especially for defenceman- I honestly think one and a half would have been more than reasonable). Blake is overpaid, and will be We Bleed Teal's convenient whipping boy during the season. It won't be fair, but it will be right. If that makes any sort of sense.

C is For Conundrum: Taking into account the Sharks self-imposed cap (does anyone have Doug Wilson's quote on this matter? I think it was around $52 M which is looking damn near impossible right now) we may have to ship someone else out. This does not mean it will happen- it just means it might be what happens. Who could that be? Forget our defencemen (barring McLaren obviously). Half of them were acquired this offseason, Ehrhoff signed a new contract, and Murray/Vlasic have too much upside (as well as cheap contracts), so they aren't going anywhere. That leaves us with two options that I wish I didn't have to discuss.

Jonathan Cheechoo- Ah, the wonder boy of the Sharks organization. His production has been down, but three million dollars for his services is fairly reasonable. I expect him to have a better season a year removed from his surgery. But with money at a premium, he could generate some interest around the league. Stay tuned.

Milan Michalek- Yeah, you may think I'm crazy, but let's throw this out there for the sake of talking about it. His contract runs through 13-14 (that looks so weird) and will mature very nicely- his potential far exceeds the cap space he will be taking up two years from now. But once again, money is at a premium. (Editor's Note: I put the possibility of trading Milan at around 1%)

Now, let's set all this aside and talk about gut feeling. A sort of prediction if you will. McLaren is gone (anyone can see that) and I think management (read: pray management) says ya know what, let's roll with what we have, sign Clowe and Goc, and bid adieu to our pre-stated organizational "cap-limit". Blake will be off the books next year, and that five million dollars he frees up will supply us with some ample wiggle room to keep the Sharks contending for years to come. The cap will increase once again, and we will be fine.

Doug Wilson is a man who knows what he's doing, and you better believe he's talking with the suits who are paying the salaries, letting them know that next year is looking really promising once we have Clowe and Goc on the roster.

Damn the torpedoes!


Go Sharks.

[Humble Pie Update: Earl Sleek from BOC said that the Sharks cap situation was going to be a big factor this offseason, and I sort of scoffed at his assessment. I guess you can now color me concerned.]